The “abundant, expansive, majestic” aspect of the Irish west coast cliffs is the theme of a new maritime tv series broadcast on TG4.
“Nature’s greatest cathedrals” is how Donegal-born Clare-based coastal guide Cormac MacFhionnlaoich described them in a two-part series, entitled Aillte (Cliffs), which begins on TG4 this Wednesday (Jan 14).
As The Sunday Independent reports, the Donegal cliffs of Sliabh Liag provide the set for part one of the series.
They formed a “600 metre-tall garden fence” behind MacFhionnlaoich’s childhood home near Teelin, he says.
Cormac MacFhionnlaoich and his canoe beneath towering Atlantic cliffs, offering a sea-level perspective on the landscapes featured in TG4’s Aillte series on Ireland’s west coast.
“They shaped me. They’re ancient, breathing things – full of music, memory and life. And if you listen closely, I believe they have something to say to everyone,” he says.
MacFhionnlaoich is the eldest of four sons reared by Joan O’Doherty and Mick McGinley.
O’Doherty initiated the successful west coast search and rescue (SAR) campaign in 1988, which led to the establishment of four Irish Coast Guard SAR helicopter bases and the expansion of the RNLI lifeboat station network.
She initiated the campaign with the support of a group including Aran Island GP Dr Marion Broderick after the death of John Oglesby, a friend of her fisherman husband Mick McGinley.
MacFhionnlaoich studied zoology, marine biology, geology and palaeontology at Aberdeen University in Scotland and travelled extensively before setting up Cormac’s Coast guided tours in Clare.
Two of his younger brothers, Micheál and Niall, also make a living on the west coast.
“I suppose I wanted to steer away from the imagery we sometimes see reflected in beautiful documentaries about the Irish west coast, where there’s a negative edge to the narrative,”MacFhionnlaoich says.
He told the newspaper that the series came about after a friendship he struck up with photographer and cameraman Kev L Smith.
Smith used drones as well as his own underwater skills to film some dramatic footage of humpback whales creating a bait ball for feeding, and basking sharks arriving in under Sliabh Liag in search of plankton.
Aillte took four years to make, and is directed by Paddy Hayes of Tua Films and Kev L Smith.
It is described by TG4 as a “love letter” to the cliffs of Donegal, Mayo and Clare.
Aillte part one will be broadcast on TG4 at 21:30 on January 14th.
More here from The Sunday Independent
