1 00:00:06,900 --> 00:00:11,160 I'm on a journey around an exotic and beautiful land at the edge of Europe. 2 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,560 I'm in Ireland. 3 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,880 It's a place that's so near and yet can seem so far away 4 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,520 and I've never really explored it. 5 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:32,160 I'm going to travel all the way around Ireland by land... 6 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:34,400 by sea... 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:35,720 and by air. 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,440 This is incredible! 9 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,800 I want to find out more about this island 10 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,240 divided between two countries 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,080 with an often troubled history. 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,440 I'll be meeting the enterprising... 13 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,280 Yes, here's success. 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:53,920 Success, excellent. 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,920 ..and the mildly eccentric. 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,280 I just keep getting offered more monkeys, you know. 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,160 You would take more if you could? Yeah, absolutely. 18 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,720 'This is a land steeped in religious faith.' 19 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:07,520 What are you doing?! 20 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,760 Why barefoot? Well, they say it's the proper way to do it. 21 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:13,800 'And in ancient myths and legends...' 22 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,880 I meet people regularly who have met the fairies 23 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,120 and you don't interfere with them. 24 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,360 Don't mess with the fairies. Exactly. 25 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,120 But in the 21st century, many here are embracing extraordinary changes. 26 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,280 Who would've thought that homosexuality would unify Ireland? 27 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:34,840 I mean, that's pretty amazing. 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,000 On this first leg of my journey, 29 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,480 I'm travelling all the way from the south 30 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,680 up the west coast to Ireland's most northerly point. 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,040 I'm heading to Ireland at a really exciting time. 32 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,960 There have been dramatic changes there in recent years. 33 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,240 They just voted for gay marriage, for goodness' sake. 34 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:08,800 Whatever you think of that, 35 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,520 you've got to see the values of profound cultural change 36 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,960 for an Ireland that is generally considered to be 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,720 overwhelmingly Catholic and conservative. 38 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,200 Ireland's so close to Britain but it can seem so far away. 39 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,240 It's just over 60 miles from Fishguard in Wales 40 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,480 to Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland. 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,200 Despite its dramatic and painful history, 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,000 everybody says Ireland is one of the most welcoming parts of the planet. 43 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,960 If I can't have a good time there, I should probably hand in my passport. 44 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,680 Just a couple of hours across the Irish Sea and we're here. 45 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,160 I better get my bags. 46 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:11,040 Look at this. 47 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,640 The tourist board has even turned the sunshine on for us 48 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:15,080 which is very considerate. 49 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:17,280 Welcome to Ireland! 50 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,720 There's lots of words that spring to mind when you think of Ireland 51 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:34,800 but faith and identity, I think, are very high up the list. 52 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,080 And I wonder if that's still true today. 53 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,000 Be really interesting to find out on this journey. 54 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,360 I'm starting in the south in the Republic of Ireland, 55 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,720 home to roughly 4.5 million people, 56 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,080 not much more than half the population of London. 57 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,640 Just a short drive along the coast from the ferry port in Rosslare, 58 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,120 I'd arranged to meet a man with a unique perspective 59 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,120 on Ireland's history and culture. 60 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:08,720 So I've come here to meet an explorer called Mike O Shea... 61 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,800 who explores the landscape of Ireland using paramotors. 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,000 And I'm going to join him. 63 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:24,360 Bloke in green hat. Mike. Yes, sir, how you doing? Hello, mate. 64 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,160 Simon Reeve. How you doing? Welcome. Lovely to meet you. 65 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,200 Thank you for having us along. Well, this is it. This is your paramotor. 66 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,280 It's a motorised engine that we put on our back 67 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:34,920 so we wear it similar to a rucksack. You strap it to your back... 68 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:36,120 You strap it to your back, 69 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,440 you attach the wing, which is a paramotoring wing here. 70 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,000 It's the same as a paragliding wing 71 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,640 but it's designed specifically with more speed for motoring. 72 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,200 Forgive me for saying, but is one essential part of this the...? 73 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:47,920 Do you need to have a screw loose? 74 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,360 MIKE LAUGHS 75 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,240 No, we usually check that before we start! 76 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,880 I mean, obviously I can see the attraction... Yeah. 77 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,080 ..I can see why it might be a lot of fun. 78 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,520 What do you get from paramotoring 79 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,360 that you can't get from tramping by foot across the landscape? 80 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:04,640 Well, I think if you walk, 81 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,800 you get, obviously, a very low level point of view, 82 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,120 whereas when you get up into the air and you start seeing, 83 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,080 you start seeing where churches are based, where castles are based, 84 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,520 you can actually see that it actually makes a lot of sense. 85 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,040 Some of the castles, some of the round towers and stuff, 86 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,800 they're on hills and stuff like that. They'll actually offer, 87 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,680 you know, really good defensive viewing for them to look out 88 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,080 and see what's coming. So it's a whole other perspective. 89 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,400 Now, look, somebody's had the crazy idea 90 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,760 that I'm going to come up with you 91 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,000 and see you in action on one of these 92 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,560 and you've got your mate Kester over here. 93 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,080 This is Kester. So, Kester... Hello, Kester! 94 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:43,360 'As a complete novice, I was flying in tandem with Kester Haynes, 95 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:44,960 'an experienced instructor.' 96 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,040 OK, if you hold up the bar at the front for me... Yeah. 97 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:52,720 Bloody mad! 98 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,240 OK, push, push, push, keep pushing. 99 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,560 Whoa! Oh, my God! 100 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,320 Trying to remain calm but this is incredible! 101 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,600 I was a swift convert to the joy of paramotoring. 102 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:26,840 Mike was right, 103 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:30,440 it really does give you a new perspective on the lay of the land. 104 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,160 In 1169, what many people think of 105 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,000 as the first English invasion of Ireland 106 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,120 took place here at Bannow Bay. 107 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,640 It was actually the Anglo-Normans who arrived. 108 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,720 We're coming in now and I can see Bannow Bay 109 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:55,080 and you can see exactly why the Anglo-Normans wanted to come in here. 110 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:00,840 It's wide, it's sheltered, there's a white, sandy beach, 111 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,200 plenty of space to get their ships onto it. 112 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:09,320 Our altitude revealed an Anglo-Norman church built high on the headland, 113 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,880 a clear statement of power and that they were planning to stay. 114 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,160 Wow! We're coming in. 115 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,680 Whoa! 116 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,400 Seems I've lost engine power! 117 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,360 Stay steady on your feet and turn to your left. 118 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,720 Kester, that was incredible. That was the smoothest landing I... 119 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:36,640 Well, I'm blown away, mate. 120 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,760 I'm blown away by the whole experience, I really am. 121 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,240 Mike! 122 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,880 I'm in love, Mike! I'm selling the car, Mike. I'm selling the house. 123 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,840 Congratulations on your first flight, 124 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,800 well done. I have to get one. You enjoy that? 125 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,440 Yeah, you could say that. Yeah. I feel quite... 126 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:52,560 I feel quite euphoric. 127 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,360 I think I need a hug. 128 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,280 Many historians say the landing here 129 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,920 led to centuries of English occupation, 130 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:02,920 but that wasn't how it began. 131 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,360 So strange to be here, 132 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,200 to think that 850 years ago, 133 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:14,480 this is where the English first arrived, where they invaded. 134 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:18,560 I say invaded, 135 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,040 they were basically invited in. 136 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,080 And they weren't just the English, they were Anglo-Normans, 137 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:27,120 a lot of them were French. 138 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,160 The invading foreign mercenaries were invited in by an Irish chieftain 139 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,560 who wanted help to defeat his enemies. 140 00:08:33,560 --> 00:08:38,080 It BECAME an English occupation but it started out as something else. 141 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,160 A century after the Battle of Hastings 142 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:44,360 and the Norman conquest of England, 143 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,480 it was Ireland's turn. 144 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:50,480 This was one of the first Norman churches in Ireland. 145 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:08,320 This is a church of course, but it's also a memorial. 146 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:14,560 It marks the spot where Irish history was changed forever. 147 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:17,840 The invasion led to what many Irish would see 148 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:24,000 as centuries of colonisation and subjugation by the English. 149 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,360 There's really nowhere closer to England 150 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:31,200 that the English treated quite so badly as Ireland and the Irish. 151 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,480 Part of what lured the Anglo-Normans here initially 152 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,480 were the huge tracks of fertile farmland on the island. 153 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,800 I wanted to see what they'd been after. 154 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,840 I headed to one of the best areas of farmland in Europe. 155 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,240 To get from County Wexford to County Waterford, 156 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,400 I could've travelled 25 miles by road around this bay 157 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,840 but it's a lot more fun to hop on the ferry. 158 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,080 Thanks to healthy quantities of sunshine 159 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,320 and occasionally just a little bit of rain, 160 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,120 Ireland's been famous for its dairy products for more than 1,000 years. 161 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,880 Those cliches about the Emerald Isle really are true. 162 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:23,920 Ireland is very green. 163 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:33,640 Ireland has been exporting butter right back to the time of St Patrick. 164 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,920 I'm now heading into an area called the Golden Vale 165 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,760 and I am off to meet a farmer. 166 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,600 The Golden Vale is an area of fertile pastures 167 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,840 spanning the counties of Limerick, Tipperary and Cork. 168 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,920 It's home to some of Ireland's leading dairy farmers. 169 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,000 This is lovely. 170 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,680 Hello. Pat? Hello, welcome. 171 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:04,720 Simon Reeves. Hello. 172 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:09,000 'Pat Mulrooney has been farming here for more than 40 years.' 173 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,640 You're hoovering the kitchen! I escaped, 174 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:12,840 I don't have to do it. 175 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,080 Oh, come on, let's escape. 176 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,960 'He's done a few unconventional things that have earned him 177 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,000 'a reputation as a bit of a maverick.' 178 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,880 I believe you've also got an absolutely crucial farm worker 179 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,760 here called Gretchen. Oh, yes. Actually... Can we meet Gretchen? 180 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,080 You're headed in the right direction. 181 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,920 So Gretchen is through here. Gretchen's through here. 182 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,320 The office is there and all the computerised stuff. 183 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,640 I've heard stories about Gretchen. Yes. 184 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:41,880 This is Gretchen. 185 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:43,520 SIMON LAUGHS 186 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:48,160 You've got a robot called Gretchen milking your cows. 187 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,480 Well, I should maybe explain the Gretchen bit. 188 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:54,080 You see, she rings me on a regular basis. Right. 189 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,240 Sometimes in the middle of the night when I'm having my dreams 190 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:58,440 and I don't like it. 191 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,400 So I had to give it a name that I didn't particularly like... 192 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,680 So this robot, if it's got a problem, 193 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,640 it calls you up on your mobile phone and tells you, "I've got a problem." 194 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,200 Yes. Right. Oh, my goodness. 195 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,040 So there's some brushing of teat going on, I think. 196 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,040 Brushing and washing. Right. 197 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,480 And now look, the brushes are moving out of the way. Yeah. 198 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,200 Oh, my goodness. Can't be positioning... Oh, no. 199 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,720 Oh, God, look at that. 200 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:25,440 Suckers are moving into position. 201 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,600 I can see red lasers flashing all around her udders. 202 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,280 It looks sort of ridiculous, to be honest, 203 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,040 but at the same time it's... It's genius. 204 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,360 Look! There we go. 205 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:42,880 It's filling up in here. Yep. 206 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:51,320 This looks like a huge investment of money and time. 207 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,880 What are the main advantages to you 208 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,640 and to the cows of having a robot in here? 209 00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:58,360 To me, it eliminates a lot of the labour. 210 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:00,640 To me, it eliminates a lot of the labour. 211 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,560 For the cow, they've become terribly independent. 212 00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:06,480 What, do you mean they wander in when they want to be milked? 213 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,840 They come when they want to be milked. 214 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,480 So you're not forcing a daily cycle on them? 215 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,960 No, they dictate their own movements. 216 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,200 Pat says Gretchen reduces injuries cows can sustain 217 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,400 on many dairy farms when they're herded together for milking. 218 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,600 The robot fits with his ethos, 219 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,160 Pat was one of the first organic farmers in Ireland. 220 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,600 Organic doesn't just mean no pesticides, it's about respect 221 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,800 and even love for the land and animals. 222 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:35,720 It's an ethical belief. 223 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,000 Well, this is a lovely sight. 224 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,920 Why did you want to become an organic farmer? 225 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,800 This is a lovely asset, lovely farm and my ambition is 226 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,840 to actually hand it on in better condition than I got it. 227 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:51,280 I don't want to destroy it. 228 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,360 The sense I get from you, though, 229 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,760 is that the reason you decided to farm organically 230 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,520 wasn't just environmental, but it was ethical as well. 231 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,480 It was moral. Yes, moral, ethical, very much so. 232 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,320 I think... 233 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,760 people are going too far in just looking at it 234 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,960 as a commercial operation. 235 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:11,400 That's not for me. 236 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,080 I want to see the quality food, 237 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,200 I want to see the environment looked after 238 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,680 and I want to see the animal actually having a nice lifestyle. 239 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:20,760 We're in rural Ireland... Yes. 240 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:24,880 ..this is Ireland that I've always thought of as being very religious, 241 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:26,400 very Catholic. 242 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,080 But at... I get this slight feeling for you that, 243 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,280 I'm not suggesting that one has replaced the other, 244 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,160 but that your organic faith is a belief 245 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,600 that's comparable to conventional religion. 246 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,280 Well, first of all I suppose Ireland is a very different place 247 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,560 than it was 20, 30 years ago. Very different place. 248 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,520 It's not controlled by churches any more. 249 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,560 People, I'm glad to say, have started to think for themselves. 250 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,880 I always thought for myself and I always said I'm... 251 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,280 I'm socially a Catholic. 252 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,560 It ends there. It ends there, that's it? It ends there, yes. 253 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,880 I've always thought of the Republic of Ireland 254 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,760 as being profoundly Catholic but Pat's view is now widely held here. 255 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,040 The power of the Church has hugely declined in recent years, 256 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,720 driven in large part by a series of scandals about child sex abuse 257 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,920 and the treatment of unmarried mothers. 258 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,520 Many of the roles previously performed by the Church, 259 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,400 such as looking after the urban poor, have had to be taken up by others. 260 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,280 I'm heading towards the city of Cork. 261 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,800 Cork's had a tough time during Ireland's recent economical problems 262 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,840 and I'm now heading to a place that's been dealing 263 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:47,360 with some of the fallout. 264 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,680 This soup kitchen was established more than 100 years ago, 265 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,840 probably by Christians, but today it's run as a charity 266 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,080 by a team of magnificent, altruistic volunteers. 267 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,760 Catriona, hello. Hello. Simon Reeve, sorry. 268 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:08,360 Sorry to interrupt. 269 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,000 SIMON'S LAUGHTER DROWNS SPEECH 270 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Hi, Simon. Welcome. You're a little bit busy. Yup. 271 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,760 Welcome to Penny Dinners. Are you always a little bit busy? 272 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,200 Always busy. It's never any other way. 273 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,640 No standing around here, is there? No, no. You don't have time... 274 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,080 Everybody's a volunteer so when everybody comes, 275 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,960 they come to work, like, so everybody's under that. 276 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,760 And the trick is the more you do, the younger you look. I'm about 96. 277 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,880 Are you? 96 years old, you're doing all right. 96 years old, yeah. 278 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,080 Catriona Twomey has volunteered at Cork Penny Dinners 279 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,800 since her dad started bringing her here when she was a child. 280 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,040 She's now grafting here seven days a week. 281 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,240 Going back about five, six years ago before the recession, it was... 282 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,520 It was just maybe, I'd say less than 100 people a week, you know, 283 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,040 sometimes maybe 40, 50, 60 people. 284 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,440 But now we're feeding 1,500 plus because with the recession... 285 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,840 My goodness. ..it's growing in numbers the whole time. 286 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,280 Penny Dinners welcomes anyone and everyone. 287 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:07,280 Morning. 288 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:08,760 We'll just get things ready. 289 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,080 This is bread that we collect in the evenings from the bakeries... 290 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,040 'Most of the food is donated by private companies 291 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,240 'and collected by the volunteers. 292 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,320 'Some of whom even work here during their school holidays.' 293 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,120 How have you managed to get these youngsters to be doing this? 294 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:26,200 They've asked to come... No, I'm going to make you stand there. 295 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:27,640 I'm going to ask them. OK. 296 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,840 Have you all volunteered or are you being forced to do this? Volunteered. 297 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,320 Volunteered. Come on now! Is that the truth? Yeah. 298 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,720 You've volunteered to be here at ten o'clock on a Wednesday morning 299 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,040 peeling potatoes. Half eight. Half eight?! 8:30, yeah. 300 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:41,400 Half eight you got here. 301 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,040 I mean, it's a lovely thing to do 302 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,440 but it's not everybody's idea of a jolly morning, is it? 303 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,160 I just thought, like, I'd come down for, like, experience 304 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:50,320 and see how it was. 305 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,400 And then I asked my friends if they wanted to do it 306 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:53,840 and they agreed. Like, we came down 307 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:55,320 and we actually enjoyed it. 308 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,480 And I actually love coming down here now. 309 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,800 She's here because I dragged her down... No, I didn't. 310 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:01,480 She's my daughter. 311 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,480 You've been held here since you were seven years old, working, 312 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,840 peeling potatoes. Oh, this is a... And carrots. 313 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,920 ..hark back to the 1800s, isn't it? Goodness me. 314 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,760 Ireland's been on an economic rollercoaster. 315 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,200 Following the global financial crisis that began in 2007 316 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,480 and a series of banking scandals, the economy crashed. 317 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,440 It's started to bounce back but many people have been left behind. 318 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,440 If you had to say what were the main reasons 319 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:37,240 that bring people in the door here, what would be the main issues? 320 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,520 We're talking about people down on their luck 321 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,840 and for whatever reason they're down on their luck, 322 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,200 be it unemployment, 323 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,120 be it not being able to keep a roof over your head - 324 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,280 pay your mortgage, pay your rent - 325 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,600 be it not being able to pay your bills 326 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,160 so they have to come down here to fill that little gap in the wheel. 327 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,040 Do you feel able to tell us what brings you here? 328 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,840 Erm, loads of different issues, really. Er... 329 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,920 Family problems, family break ups... 330 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:06,560 Have you got work at the moment? 331 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:11,160 I was working, I'm not working at the moment. I'm looking for work. 332 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,240 And how easy or hard is that? 333 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,280 It is difficult when you get older, 334 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,800 it really gets that more difficult to get it. 335 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,360 I'm just wondering whether volunteering here, 336 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:25,560 has it strengthened your own personal religious faith? 337 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:29,080 It strengthened my belief in the goodness of people. 338 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,880 Because you have no idea how good people are to us. 339 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,440 This isn't run by the Church, is it? It's not run by them, no. 340 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,920 And my impression would've been in what I still perceive 341 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,680 as Catholic Ireland that this would've been the Church behind... 342 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,520 Maybe Catholic Ireland was a caring Ireland, maybe that might be 343 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,360 another good name for being Catholic. I'm a Catholic, right? 344 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:50,240 And I care, you know, and... 345 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,520 But I have friends, you know, of all different denominations 346 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,280 and they care as well so maybe we should have a caring religion. 347 00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,160 I don't know, but what I'm saying is... 348 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:03,000 Move on from the religious aspect. Yeah, and just, you know... 349 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,640 And just care. 350 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:09,680 It's a good point. 351 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:14,000 Of course you don't need to have a strong faith to give a damn. 352 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,240 Until recently, Ireland was fervently Catholic. 353 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,680 Many think that's a result of people seeking solace 354 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,360 in religion during centuries of suffering. 355 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:24,920 The key catastrophe in this country's history 356 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,280 was the great famine of the 1840s. 357 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,040 During the early 1800s, the Irish poor were labouring, 358 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,080 often for English landlords, 359 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,760 and they'd become heavily dependent on potatoes for food. 360 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,760 When the potato crop was devastated by blight, 361 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,760 farmers evicted tenants. 362 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,320 Famine then claimed an estimated million lives. 363 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,960 It was one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies of its time. 364 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:55,280 Hello, Pat. Simon. Thank you so much. Simon, you're very welcome. 365 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,680 I'm glad you've brought a beautiful, fine day with you. 366 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,720 It looks beautiful on a day like today. It really does. 367 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,360 Local historian Pat O'Donovan has studied what happened 368 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,400 in one particular famine village on this hillside. 369 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,440 There would've been over 1,200 people living round here 370 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,000 at the time of the famine. 371 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,240 1,200 people living up here? 1,200 people living here, yeah. 372 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,520 And there was 123 houses recorded in 1851. 373 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,240 What is a famine village? 374 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,000 People had been evicted and they all just came to... 375 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,120 and built a shelter for themselves, really. 376 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:32,920 There was enough animals, 377 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,160 there was enough corn to feed the population 378 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:41,120 but it suited large landowners at that time to make their money 379 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,320 and get these people off their holdings. 380 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:48,040 So when the famine started, they were evicted from their homes... 381 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:49,600 That's right. ..and they came... 382 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,120 What, I presume they came up here because it was common land? 383 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,280 It was common land, they couldn't be evicted out of this land. 384 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,360 There was food here but many of the large landowners 385 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:00,600 kept on selling and exporting it. 386 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:10,160 So, people starved and they died up here in sight of food down there? 387 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,400 Looking down at corn. 388 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,440 Looking down to there you can see fine cattle and corn fields 389 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,080 all the time but they couldn't touch it, they were arrested or whatever. 390 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,800 The work houses here in Limerick, there was over 200 dying a month 391 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,280 in this particular area during the famine. 392 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,560 So, incredible levels of poverty and suffering. Incredible. 393 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:34,280 This is a small but still surviving house, Pat. Has this been...? 394 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,360 This is one of the larger ones. Is it? 395 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:39,200 Has this been rebuilt? No. 396 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,480 Mind your head. OK. 397 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,960 Do we know how many people were living here? 398 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,640 There was an average in this area round here of a family of seven. 399 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,440 For stone seats, there's one here and then, of course, 400 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,120 you have the famous hob-seats, by the fire. 401 00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,280 Children or younger people would have sat on those 402 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:00,480 and the fire in the middle. 403 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,400 Ireland was part of the United Kingdom 404 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:05,960 but when famine struck, 405 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,840 the government in London did little to help. 406 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,720 Some actually said the famine was a punishment from God. 407 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,560 Pat, who should we blame for the famine? 408 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,120 I suppose the English really at the end of the day 409 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,080 and nobody else but the English and the landlords 410 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:28,160 which they had planted in previous generations into this country 411 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,400 to take over the land from the original Irish settlers. 412 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,920 A million died, another million and a half migrated. 413 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:45,440 Ireland's population today is still lower than it was before the 1840s. 414 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,680 But in spite of the horrors visited on them by the famine, 415 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,640 the potato remains an object of affection, even reverence. 416 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,880 I drove to Dingle in County Kerry on the west coast 417 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,040 towards an event I just couldn't miss. 418 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,160 I'm heading now into the rather stunning Dingle Peninsula 419 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,240 and I'm on my way to a potato festival. 420 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,920 The potato originally came from the high Andes. 421 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,640 It grew well in Ireland because it tolerated a wet climate. 422 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,720 Before the famine, many Irish ate potatoes for breakfast, 423 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,280 lunch and dinner. 424 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,520 An adult male might eat up to 70 potatoes a day. 425 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:35,000 'They still love them. 426 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,840 'This rather jolly Irish spud off is a local competition 427 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:39,680 'between potato growers.' 428 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:41,360 I'm being press-ganged into... 429 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:42,960 'Inevitably, I was roped in.' 430 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,560 OK. Thank you. Thank you. 431 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,480 Put your name on top of the lid. 432 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,400 You're going to be tasting nine spuds. 433 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,520 'On the panel was Miss Kerry 2015, 434 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,560 'as well as slightly more experienced judges.' 435 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,800 It's water only, no pints. What?! 436 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,840 No butter, no salt, no pepper because, after all, 437 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,040 we're tasting spuds. 438 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,840 We're ready to roll. Potato number one. 439 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,360 We have blind tasting 440 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:15,320 and the judges don't know whose spuds are being tasted. 441 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:20,080 Quite dry but lots of flavour. 442 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,080 We are now tasting the second potato. 443 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,600 Oh, that looks fluffy, I would say. 444 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:38,240 'It wasn't just eating them, there was also a potato peeling competition 445 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,600 'and in my heat, I was matched with Miss Kerry.' 446 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,440 Are you a champion spud peeler? 447 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,280 I peel at home all the time but with a peeler, not a knife. 448 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,560 Ha-ha! So we have a fairly level playing field. 449 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,800 What is your technique going to be? Are the contestants ready? No, no. 450 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,240 Ready, steady, go! 451 00:25:58,280 --> 00:25:59,280 Come on! 452 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,920 Oh, no! 453 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,880 20 seconds. No pressure. Come on, Simon! 15 seconds. 454 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,880 10 seconds. We need more... 455 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,920 If there's peel left, you'll be disqualified. What?! 456 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,640 Four, three, two, one! 457 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,800 Stop! CHEERING 458 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:25,480 Simon adopted a new technique that seemed to work very, very well. 459 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:27,480 So, the results. 460 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,320 In first place... 461 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,400 First, the winner of the blind taste test was announced. 462 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,320 Sean Phapa O Muircheartaigh. 463 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,480 CHEERING 464 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,960 Give somebody the pint and come on up. 465 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,000 'But of course all I really cared about was the potato peeling.' 466 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:59,040 The second place at the peeling, we have Simon Reeve. No! 467 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,840 CHEERING 468 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,880 And, Simon, your prize is a bag of spuds, 469 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,560 from the champion grower. 470 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,800 CHEERING 471 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,160 Ireland's changed. 472 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,760 It's not stuck in the past as many outsiders seem to think. 473 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:23,600 But in rural Ireland, faith, 474 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,240 belief and ancient legends are still vital to many. 475 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,480 From the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry, 476 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,920 I drove north towards Limerick. 477 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,560 I was heading to meet someone who specialises in Irish folklore. 478 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,360 And I think this, according to the sat nav, is where he lives. 479 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,680 KNOCKING 480 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,440 Oh, my goodness. Oi, oi. Stay, are you supposed to stay? 481 00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,840 Catch him, get him! Monsters. 482 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,200 They're feckers. Hello. 483 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,840 Morning. Eddie? Simon Reeve, lovely to meet you. 484 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:08,640 And my family. These are your family? 485 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,120 Quite new additions by the look of them. Yes, indeed... 486 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,360 'Eddie Lenihan has spent a lifetime collecting stories that have 487 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,960 'been handed down by word of mouth.' 488 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,120 You've got to stay. Come in, please. 489 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:21,080 Thank you very much. 490 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:22,440 Now, Eddie, 491 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:27,160 I hear that you're one of Ireland's foremost storytellers. 492 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,680 Is that true? Well, I didn't say that. 493 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:31,240 Would you like that description? 494 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,680 The only stories I tell are the stories I've heard from old people 495 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:35,880 over the last 40 years 496 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,760 because the only stories I do tell are Irish traditional stories, 497 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:42,600 what you call legends. 498 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:47,080 Right. And legends now in the true folklore sense, 499 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:51,920 things that are supposed to have happened and some of them I believe. 500 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,800 Fairy stories. 501 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:55,600 Now, remember, 502 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:00,960 Irish fairy stories aren't like what you normally hear of. 503 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,560 I meet people regularly, old people who have met the fairies. 504 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:07,400 Who have met them. Goodness me, 505 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,440 and these are some of the stories you've collected? 506 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:15,000 Yes, and for example, the fairies, these old people would say, 507 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:16,520 are just like us. 508 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,440 They have their pastimes, they buy, they sell, 509 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,400 they have their roadways, they have their habitations, 510 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,880 their places where they live and you don't interfere with them. 511 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,760 If you do, you're on a loser in a big time. 512 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:32,560 It could cost you your life. 513 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,520 Don't mess with the fairies. Exactly. Don't mess with them or else. 514 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:42,120 A surprising number of rural Irish do still believe in the little people 515 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,200 as they're known, although generally they don't admit it on camera. 516 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,240 In 1999, in a bid to protect a specific bush 517 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:52,680 he said was important for fairies, 518 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,840 Eddie campaigned to divert a new motorway. 519 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:59,560 He warned there could be deaths if the fairies were displaced. 520 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,440 After a long battle, he got his way. 521 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:08,080 Now, here is the bush. OK. 522 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,960 The fairy bush. Right there in front of us. 523 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,960 Which one are you pointing at? The one over there next to the sign? 524 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:19,080 Next to the signpost. It's a good sized bush, isn't it? It is, it is. 525 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:28,520 Have a look there now and you can see yourself. 526 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:30,520 Look at the variation there. 527 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:34,080 Look at how they went around the bush and you can see yourself 528 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,600 that there's a little bit of a bottleneck there. 529 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,000 So they moved the motorway to accommodate the bush, 530 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,880 to avoid messing with the fairies 531 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,320 and creating some sort of disaster as a result? 532 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,560 And I think they did the sensible thing. 533 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,800 In modern Ireland, with church attendance falling 534 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,920 and big technology companies setting up here... Yes. 535 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:02,920 ..is there still space for these stories? 536 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:04,200 More space than ever. 537 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,000 We need a different kind of faith - what people think. 538 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,480 And where people think about things like this, 539 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,920 think back about who we are and where our traditions come from. 540 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,560 By preserving Irish folklore, 541 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:19,960 Eddie's helping to preserve a sense of Irish national identity 542 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:24,680 and stories of leprechauns and giants are good business for Irish tourism. 543 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:30,080 I think Eddie's more than a storyteller who dabbles in folklore. 544 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:35,520 I think he's a sort of patriotic activist. 545 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:41,560 We need to have a few strange tales in our culture, in my view. 546 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:43,400 Be so boring without. 547 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,880 You don't have to believe in the fairies 548 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,040 to rather love the fairytales. 549 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,480 My journey was taking me up the stunning west coast of Ireland. 550 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,800 Recently rebranded by the tourist board, 551 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,120 with some justification, as the Wild Atlantic Way. 552 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,360 The weather had taken a turn for the worse 553 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:11,920 but it was still spectacular. 554 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,080 It's a dramatic coastline. 555 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,160 Look at the waves pounding the rocks down there. 556 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:29,360 It's thanks to the turbulent weather system and currents here 557 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,920 and these waves that Ireland's now home to a sport 558 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,480 you wouldn't normally associate with this part of the world. 559 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:38,520 Surfing! 560 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,480 Numerous boutique little surf schools have sprung up 561 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,200 in the seaside town of Lahinch in recent years. 562 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,800 Here we are. It's the surf school. 563 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,840 Simon. Hey, John. Welcome to Lahinch, man. 564 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,000 You're very welcome. Thank you very much indeed. 565 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,880 Thanks for having us along. 566 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,080 For a surf lesson. I'm excited to bring you out. 567 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,720 You're going to love it. It's warm out there, Simon. 568 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,760 In the wild Atlantic, are you sure? 569 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,600 Come on, let's do it! All right, all right! Come on. 570 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:36,760 You see I really feel the cold... 571 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,000 ..so I might get another one. 572 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,800 I might need something even... A bit more than this though. 573 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,880 Yeah, we... Peter, we can keep giving Simon more layers. 574 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,120 Peter, can you, mate? 575 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,120 Like, most customers wear one wet suit 576 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,640 but if Simon needs three or four wet suits, let's do it, you know? OK. 577 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:54,720 We're off. 578 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:01,320 You can put the boards down here. 579 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,320 Oh, we're a bit close to the water already. 580 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:06,760 Great, OK. Now, Simon. Yes. 581 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:10,240 I've heard that you've surfed quite a number of times before. No, no. 582 00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,320 So I've heard that you've picked up this information 583 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:13,800 from some of the best surfers 584 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,120 so you're going to show me what you've learnt. 585 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:19,200 Basically I remember... Come on, on the board. Something about... 586 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:23,720 Show me what you did. Something about that you paddle out... 587 00:34:23,720 --> 00:34:26,920 like this. Then you see the wave, then you paddle a bit 588 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,760 and then you sort of go... Wow, OK. That's good. That's good. 589 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:32,800 Did you hear that? Yeah, that's good. 590 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,520 John McCarthy's a former Irish surfing champion 591 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:42,040 who travelled the world for years in search of the perfect wave. 592 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:48,320 But in 2002, he returned to Ireland and, as is so often the case, 593 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,680 realised that what he'd been searching for 594 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:51,880 was in his own back yard. 595 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,760 He found perfect waves, met the woman of his dreams, 596 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:58,400 got married and had children. 597 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,840 My attempts in the surf were pretty pathetic but it was fun 598 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,280 and you know what, I was toasty warm as well. 599 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,800 It's beautiful here. Yeah. But it's not exactly Hawaii, is it? 600 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:24,000 Why have you...? 601 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,240 How would you compare surfing here on the west coast 602 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:30,320 to other great surf spots around the world? 603 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,360 Yeah, you know, if you wait around long enough 604 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:39,120 here on the west coast of Ireland, you will get the perfect wave. 605 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:40,520 On the best day here, 606 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,440 it's as good as anywhere in the world, maybe better. 607 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,480 A lot of surfers do talk about it as being an almost... 608 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,960 a mystical, glorious experience. 609 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:53,840 Would you go along with that? 610 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:58,160 That is the mystery of surfing is that, like, it can appear 611 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:03,040 very spiritual but, like, if you go out to a crowded beach in Australia, 612 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:05,240 surfers are, like, they're boxing each other. 613 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:07,320 It's like, "That's my wave." Oh... 614 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:12,520 So it's actually super unspiritual but, like, on a good day to go out 615 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:16,080 with one friend and to see creation, 616 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,640 yeah, that's... It is a spiritual thing, yeah. 617 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,760 I'm a Christian, so, you know, the creation... 618 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,080 It points to the creator. 619 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:26,520 So surfing for me, 620 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,160 it is just like there's an opportunity 621 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,080 to see the awe of creation. 622 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,400 I don't share John's religious conviction 623 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:39,960 but I can completely understand 624 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,200 why being out in this stunning landscape 625 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,200 helps him to feel closer to his maker. 626 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:52,360 Ireland's gorgeous, 627 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,440 much more beautiful than I'd thought before coming here. 628 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,840 I headed on up the west coast and through the wild, 629 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:03,320 glorious region of Connemara, towards Ireland's most sacred mountain. 630 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,760 In the 5th century, Christianity was spread here by St Patrick 631 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:12,480 who's thought to have been a Welsh slave captured by Irish pirates. 632 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:14,760 He escaped his captors, studied as a priest 633 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:19,200 and then sailed back to Ireland, or so the stories say. 634 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,400 I was arriving at the holy mountain on the last Sunday in July, 635 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,840 when St Patrick's central role in Irish culture 636 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,080 is celebrated with a climb and a pilgrimage. 637 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:29,200 So, look, you can get a stick for climbing. 638 00:37:29,200 --> 00:37:31,640 Three euros to buy, 1.50 to rent. 639 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,840 Morning to you. How are you doing? All right, thank you. 640 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,160 'Thousands of hikers climb Croagh Patrick 641 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:41,080 'in honour of Ireland's patron saint.' 642 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:51,160 So this is the mountain where St Patrick, 643 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,280 the 5th century preacher, 644 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:56,520 who tramped and wandered around Ireland converting people 645 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,720 is said to have fasted for 40 days 646 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:02,360 while he was busy wrestling with demons 647 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:05,720 and banishing snakes from Ireland. 648 00:38:05,720 --> 00:38:08,680 'But the first pilgrim I met was not from Ireland 649 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:09,960 'but the Philippines.' 650 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:13,000 Are you offering a stick? Yes. I'm finished... Oh... 651 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,040 So I'm handing it over to you now. That's very kind of you. 652 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:20,600 Will I need it? You'll probably do when coming down. You think? 653 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,760 Why did you go up? Was it for exercise or for...? 654 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:25,800 No, it's my 13th year now. 655 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:27,800 I'm a missionary with the Columbans - 656 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:30,000 St Columban, an Irish saint. 657 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,560 You came to Ireland as a missionary. Yes. To spread... 658 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:38,200 Well, they went to my country so it's now my turn to do the same. 659 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,600 Do you think the Irish have lost some of their faith, then? 660 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:41,760 I don't think so. 661 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,280 Look at these people here still coming here. 662 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,720 And perhaps maybe the connection with the church, 663 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:51,040 maybe that's the one that might not be strong at the moment 664 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:54,880 but certainly the faith is there. The faith is here. 665 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,040 That did seem to be the case on the evidence of all the people here 666 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,720 who are ignoring the worst weather in living memory 667 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:04,480 and the advice of the emergency services not to climb the mountain. 668 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:12,920 Sir... 669 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:16,280 What are you doing?! Barefoot. Barefoot. 670 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:17,760 Why, why barefoot? 671 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:20,520 Well, they say it's the proper way to do it. 672 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,880 It's good, you feel good after. Very impressive. 673 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:25,520 And you have a warm bath when you get down. I will. 674 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:35,040 Croagh Patrick rises at its peak to more than 2,500 feet above sea level. 675 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:42,560 You can see the mountain has just rolled out from behind the clouds 676 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:43,560 and the rain. 677 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:46,760 That is Croagh Patrick. 678 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,880 Croagh Patrick was the sacred mountain for pagan Ireland 679 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:54,960 but Christians took it as their own sacred site. 680 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,680 It was something that early Christians did very well, actually. 681 00:39:57,680 --> 00:39:59,240 If they turned up somewhere 682 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:01,840 and found that the heathens had views they wouldn't let go of, 683 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:06,520 they would co-opt or assimilate those pagan views into early Christianity. 684 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,040 That's one of the principle reasons Christianity spread so quickly 685 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,880 and took such a firm hold in Ireland following St Patrick's mission. 686 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,800 This is the steep and tricky bit. 687 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,800 It took me more than two hours to reach the peak of the mountain. 688 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:39,640 The top! 689 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:41,880 Look at the view! 690 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:47,760 It's not for the view 691 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,240 and it's not for faith in my case, 692 00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:52,440 though it is for a lot of people here. 693 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,320 But it's for the fun, the excitement. 694 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,520 The feeling of accomplishment you get from climbing a mountain 695 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:00,320 is unbelievable. 696 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:06,440 This used to be the most Catholic country in the world. 697 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:11,120 In the early 1980s, almost 90% of Irish Catholics went to weekly mass. 698 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:13,840 25 years later, it was less than 20%. 699 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:16,120 Our Father who art in Heaven... 700 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:18,480 But many people's individual religious faith 701 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:20,080 clearly remains strong. 702 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,480 An estimated 10,000 people made the difficult climb 703 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:27,280 in spite of the awful weather. 704 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:42,000 I left Croagh Patrick in County Mayo and headed north, 705 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,400 leaving the Republic behind 706 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,120 and crossing the border into Northern Ireland. 707 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,400 Although you'd be hard pushed to notice. 708 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:51,720 Bloody hell. 709 00:41:51,720 --> 00:41:56,000 There's a road sign in miles per hour, that means we must've... 710 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,640 We must've just crossed the border. 711 00:41:58,640 --> 00:41:59,680 That's bizarre. 712 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:04,120 There's absolutely nothing saying, "Welcome to the UK. 713 00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:06,880 "Welcome to Northern Ireland." 714 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:08,240 How strange. 715 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,880 By the early 17th century, Protestant England held sway 716 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:14,680 over most of Catholic Ireland. 717 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,120 But the north, the province of Ulster, 718 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:19,160 proved difficult to control. 719 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:20,800 During the reign of King James I, 720 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:23,320 a process began, partly to pacify the Irish, 721 00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,440 known as the Plantation of Ulster. 722 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:28,800 Vast tracks of land were given to Protestant settlers from England 723 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:30,160 and mainly Scotland. 724 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:32,680 It was one of the most ambitious colonisation schemes 725 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:34,360 in modern Europe. 726 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,040 So I'm going to learn a bit about the history here 727 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,920 because we're coming to Crom Castle. 728 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:45,360 The castle is massive! 729 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:53,400 Crom Castle sits on a vast estate gifted by the crown 400 years ago 730 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:55,120 to a family who still live here. 731 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:03,040 Lord Erne? Yes. Hello, Lord Erne. Simon Reeve. You're very welcome. 732 00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:05,000 Come along in. Thank you. Come on. 733 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,920 My goodness. Now, that's an entrance. 734 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:09,800 These steps are fairly steep 735 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,520 but so far nobody's ever actually fallen down them. 736 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:13,640 SIMON LAUGHS 737 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:14,720 It's a miracle. 738 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:21,560 SIMON GASPS 739 00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:22,960 It's breathtaking. 740 00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:26,920 Our family first arrived from Scotland. 741 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:30,280 And the first Creighton, our family name being Creighton, 742 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,680 arrived, married Bishop Spotiswood's daughter 743 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:37,960 and that's a picture up there of Bishop Spotiswood. 744 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:42,560 And the first Creighton was granted rather huge lands 745 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:44,640 out to Mayo and up to Donegal. 746 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,400 What are huge lands, do you know the size? 747 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:51,040 Erm, I do but I couldn't tell you exactly. But they were... 748 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:53,720 They boasted they could go from here to Dublin 749 00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:57,720 without going off their own land, via Mayo. My goodness. 750 00:43:57,720 --> 00:43:59,120 So, it was huge. 751 00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:02,240 And the west wing belongs to my son John 752 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:06,440 and so we live in a semidetached castle. 753 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:08,080 SIMON LAUGHS 754 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:11,520 But anyway, let's go on to the library. Sure, that'll be lovely. 755 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:14,320 Oh, this is gorgeous. 756 00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:19,360 And for such a large room it does feel very comfortable actually. 757 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:23,920 Cosy. It is cosy and I think books are rather wonderful. 758 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:27,520 My mother's father, 759 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,600 his sister married Ned Lutyens, 760 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,680 the architect who built Delhi and all that. 761 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,800 And when he stayed here, he used to get upset 762 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:37,440 because the line of the chimney piece 763 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:39,760 didn't go down the centre of the alcove. 764 00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:42,120 But I'm not sure it bothers me two hoots. 765 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:44,600 He would get upset by that, would he? He did. 766 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:48,920 'The present day castle is Victorian 767 00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:51,720 'but the ruins of the original plantation castle 768 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,120 'date back to the early 1600s.' 769 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:57,440 It feels very well fortified. 770 00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:00,160 It feels like a castle built for conflict. Is that fair? 771 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,880 Well, I think it was definitely a fortified castle 772 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:07,560 but how much of it is original and how much of it is Victorianised? 773 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:12,520 The settlers built plantation castles to defend themselves 774 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:15,960 against rebellion by the Catholic population. 775 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:20,760 Not surprisingly, the locals objected to the colonisation of their land. 776 00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:24,400 Crom Castle survived two Catholic sieges. 777 00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:30,520 How respectful do you as a family need to be of history? 778 00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:34,200 You still presumably have a sense of responsibility 779 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:39,440 towards not upsetting people from any side? Yes. 780 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:42,040 Because I think there's a great feeling today 781 00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:45,200 of reconciliation, whatever troubles they've had. 782 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:49,120 And I honestly don't particularly want to stir it all up. No. 783 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:52,080 It's simple as that. 784 00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,080 Lord Erne didn't want to dwell on the controversial history 785 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:57,480 that the estate is a part of. 786 00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:00,800 But the seeds of division sowed by the Plantation of Ulster 787 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:02,280 eventually led to 788 00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,960 the violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland 789 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:06,920 that became known as the Troubles. 790 00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:13,120 It is incredible, the story of this place and the estate goes 791 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:17,960 right back to one of the most difficult periods of Irish history. 792 00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:24,520 A time of plantation and occupation and division and suffering. 793 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:26,560 And where I'm heading to next 794 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:30,440 feels the consequences of those events to this very day. 795 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:37,360 70 miles north of Crom is Derry, or Londonderry, 796 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:39,320 a city of less than 100,000. 797 00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:44,160 Originally a plantation city, the famous walls were built 798 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:47,480 to protect the English and Scottish Protestant settlers. 799 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,080 But eventually the Catholic population 800 00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:53,600 outstripped the Protestants 801 00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:55,240 and Derry become synonymous 802 00:46:55,240 --> 00:46:57,360 with some of the worst of the Troubles. 803 00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:03,720 It's astonishing to think there was virtual civil war 804 00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:06,000 on the streets here within living memory. 805 00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:10,640 Now, nearly 20 years on from the Good Friday peace agreement, 806 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:12,480 the city's been transformed. 807 00:47:13,720 --> 00:47:16,760 A new Peace Bridge has been built across the River Foyle 808 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,520 and in 2013, Derry was made UK City of Culture. 809 00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:27,720 A quiet Sunday morning and the only people who are out are cyclists 810 00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:30,560 and joggers, the occasional car. 811 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:38,920 Looks sleepy and perfectly normal, of course. Morning. Morning. 812 00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:46,000 But you think what's happened here in the last couple of decades. 813 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:52,160 It is unbe-bloody-lievable what they've achieved. 814 00:47:53,760 --> 00:48:00,440 To go from full-on armed conflict to relative normality and peace. 815 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:04,880 It's a magnificent thing, 816 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:08,360 it's a shining example to the rest of the world. 817 00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:11,080 And this is the People's Gallery. 818 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:18,800 The People's Gallery is a series of huge murals 819 00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:21,960 painted in a Catholic area of Derry known as the Bogside. 820 00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:26,640 This was the epicentre of the Troubles here. 821 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:31,240 This is where the Bloody Sunday massacre happened, scores died here. 822 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:37,200 Today, the murals have become a tourist attraction 823 00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:40,760 and they're still regularly restored by the original artists. 824 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:45,520 I met up with one of them, Tom Kelly. 825 00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:50,400 It's such a powerful image. 826 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:55,080 This is for the anniversary of the Battle of the Bogside 827 00:48:55,080 --> 00:48:57,280 which was a three day battle 828 00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:01,080 that pretty much brought us to the brink of civil war here, 829 00:49:01,080 --> 00:49:02,400 you know? 830 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:07,160 It's actually a 12-year-old kid wearing a Second World War gas mask. 831 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:09,840 And he has a petrol bomb or a Molotov cocktail, 832 00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:11,320 whatever you want to call it. 833 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:15,120 But the police force at this time were well-trained, 834 00:49:15,120 --> 00:49:18,720 supported by the British government. 835 00:49:18,720 --> 00:49:23,240 The people were on the streets looking for very basic human rights 836 00:49:23,240 --> 00:49:25,840 and civil rights. It was civil rights marches that we had 837 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:28,400 right at the beginning of this conflict. 838 00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:31,440 Your right to a home for your family, 839 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:32,760 a right to a job. 840 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,960 The murals commemorate Catholic victims of the Troubles 841 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:42,640 but of course Protestants and many others also lost their lives here 842 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,680 in a conflict characterised by violence and suffering on all sides. 843 00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:50,520 Coming here as an outsider for me, 844 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:54,240 I've never been anywhere in the world where... 845 00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:56,440 intense situations like this 846 00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:00,640 are so vividly portrayed on an individual level. Yeah. 847 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,720 I mean, it feels to me like the community here, 848 00:50:02,720 --> 00:50:06,560 you really do remember every single name, 849 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:10,680 every single soul that was lost and suffered. 850 00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:15,120 And that in and of itself is a pretty extraordinary thing. 851 00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:18,360 When you're experiencing discrimination and injustice 852 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:21,800 and brutality on a day to day basis, 853 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,520 then you don't forget. 854 00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:26,320 I mean, they can talk all they want about reconciliation 855 00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:29,720 and peace bridges and how things are wonderful but, you know, 856 00:50:29,720 --> 00:50:32,400 the real root is still there. 857 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:37,040 What we tried to do as the Bogside artists is to paint it 858 00:50:37,040 --> 00:50:39,720 so that we can look at it 859 00:50:39,720 --> 00:50:41,080 and not sweep it under the carpet 860 00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,760 as the tourist board and the authorities would like to do. 861 00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:47,400 And that's all that the Bogside artists have created - 862 00:50:47,400 --> 00:50:50,200 we've created a human document that tells a story. 863 00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:55,760 It's one side of the story. 864 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:58,440 But it's not surprising that Tom and many other locals 865 00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,440 don't want to forget what happened here. 866 00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:03,720 A huge number of people in Northern Ireland 867 00:51:03,720 --> 00:51:07,320 are now working to heal the wounds of history. 868 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:09,520 In Derry or Londonderry, campaigners believe 869 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,480 the arts can bring Catholics and Protestants together 870 00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:15,360 and help the whole community to move on from the past. 871 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:19,920 In the early 1990s, Derry had no public theatre. 872 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:21,760 But with a grant of just £300, 873 00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:24,200 one woman took it upon herself to start one 874 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:27,840 in order to try and build bridges between different communities. 875 00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:34,880 Pauline. Hiya. Sorry to interrupt. 876 00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:38,400 Pauline Ross is the inspiring founder of the Derry Playhouse. 877 00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:41,880 Sorry, what's going on here? This is a youth theatre 878 00:51:41,880 --> 00:51:46,680 from our only integrated secondary college in the whole north-west. 879 00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:49,440 Steve is the theatre director and their teacher 880 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,160 and these are all young students, crazy about theatre. 881 00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:56,680 And we have one integrated primary school. Meaning, in simple terms? 882 00:51:56,680 --> 00:51:58,520 95%... Catholic and Protestant. 883 00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:01,320 95% of our education system is segregated 884 00:52:01,320 --> 00:52:03,400 and I think it is something... 885 00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:06,240 96% of our social housing is segregated. 886 00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:08,040 Segregated. What does that make for? 887 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:12,520 Well, it means ghettoised, basically, doesn't it? Yes. Goodness. 888 00:52:12,520 --> 00:52:16,360 Would you like to make some of them? Well, I would, really, yes. 889 00:52:16,360 --> 00:52:22,120 Can I ask, when you hear, you know, older folk of my age and up, 890 00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:25,320 talking about the past and the Troubles, 891 00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:29,560 does it sound to you like it's from your... 892 00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:33,000 from your world or does it sound as though they're talking about, 893 00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:36,480 like almost from another planet, but certainly another country? 894 00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:39,400 We have, like, the odd bomb scare or someone gets shot 895 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:41,440 or someone had a bomb left under their car. 896 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:44,760 Like, just this week or last week, 897 00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:48,440 somebody had a... A police officer had a bomb under their car. 898 00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:51,680 That's not so far from here. 899 00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:53,200 So, you have lots of that. 900 00:52:53,200 --> 00:52:55,600 But I think our generation, 901 00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:58,040 we hear about it but we just want to move forward. 902 00:52:58,040 --> 00:53:02,080 We just want to live in the present and look towards the future. 903 00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:06,920 I collaborate with a school that is an all girl's school. 904 00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:10,400 We would be walking the walls and then she would tell me, 905 00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:14,280 "Oh, I can't go there, I can't go there with my uniform on." 906 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:18,560 Because that would be a predominantly Protestant area 907 00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:22,600 and her uniform signifies her as a Catholic. 908 00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:25,440 First question you always get asked is, "Where do you live?" 909 00:53:25,440 --> 00:53:28,880 And that defines you? Yes, it's automatically assumed. 910 00:53:28,880 --> 00:53:33,000 "Oh, you live there and you're in this religion." It's just not right. 911 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:36,640 It doesn't sound like it happens in north-west Europe 912 00:53:36,640 --> 00:53:40,960 in the 21st-century, but it's very much still the reality, isn't it? 913 00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:45,080 But we sustained here a 35 year conflict and from 1998... 914 00:53:45,080 --> 00:53:48,640 It's not going to finish overnight, is it? 915 00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:52,400 No, I think you eloquently put it that there's a residue, 916 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:54,040 there's a legacy. 917 00:53:54,040 --> 00:53:55,680 We don't want to get stuck in the past, 918 00:53:55,680 --> 00:53:57,000 we don't want to dwell on it, 919 00:53:57,000 --> 00:53:58,840 but we need to learn the lessons from it. 920 00:53:58,840 --> 00:54:02,480 Because these bright, young, talented people 921 00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:05,240 need a better future. A shared future. 922 00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:10,120 The ongoing segregation of schools in Northern Ireland 923 00:54:10,120 --> 00:54:12,520 was the single biggest shock to me. 924 00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:15,480 To an outsider, it is disappointing and depressing. 925 00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:21,280 Pauline took me to see another project on the outskirts of the city. 926 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:22,520 Oh, goodness, look! 927 00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:29,440 What is going on? Hello. Pleased to meet you. Simon Reeve. 928 00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:32,080 Hi, Simon, pleased to meet you. Elaine, lovely to meet you. 929 00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:34,880 Elaine Ford coordinates the Street Talk Project 930 00:54:34,880 --> 00:54:37,720 close to the Protestant Tullyalley housing estate. 931 00:54:37,720 --> 00:54:39,160 One of its aims 932 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:43,200 is to bring youngsters from different communities together. 933 00:54:43,200 --> 00:54:45,680 So, these kids, the majority of them here, are from Tullyalley, 934 00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:47,320 which is a Protestant community. 935 00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:49,520 There's only one or two from the Catholic community. 936 00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:51,200 There's meant to be more. 937 00:54:51,200 --> 00:54:54,400 But they have only started building a bridge together 938 00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:56,040 in the last few months. 939 00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:57,400 This time last year, 940 00:54:57,400 --> 00:55:00,120 the Catholic young people and the Protestant young people 941 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:03,000 wouldn't have engaged with each other. So, really... 942 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:05,360 Those young people would've been involved in rioting 943 00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:08,160 and fighting on what we call the interface here. 944 00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:13,080 Does it feel weird to you that so little is mixed 945 00:55:13,080 --> 00:55:16,360 or is it just life? Is that just normal? 946 00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:18,800 It doesn't feel any different. It's the way we're brought up. 947 00:55:18,800 --> 00:55:20,840 It doesn't feel that different, 948 00:55:20,840 --> 00:55:23,200 because there's been a gap for so long. 949 00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:26,880 You haven't met people from the other community outside the project? 950 00:55:26,880 --> 00:55:28,280 No, not really, no. 951 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:33,840 Billions of pounds have been paid to support the peace process. 952 00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:38,040 People agreed to stop fighting, but there are still real divisions. 953 00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:39,480 History runs deep here. 954 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:42,120 Real reconciliation will take generations. 955 00:55:43,520 --> 00:55:45,320 Goodness me. 956 00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:51,440 I mean, it is astonishing just how much segregation there still is, 957 00:55:51,440 --> 00:55:52,600 in the North. 958 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:55,920 Pretty shocking for an outsider. 959 00:55:55,920 --> 00:55:59,200 Perhaps inevitable for a lot of the people who live here, 960 00:55:59,200 --> 00:56:01,000 but it has to change 961 00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:04,440 and this sort of project has got to be the way forward. 962 00:56:11,480 --> 00:56:13,000 I'm getting close to the end 963 00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:15,880 of this first leg of my journey around Ireland. 964 00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:20,480 But I'm now just driving up into the Inishowen peninsula 965 00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:23,760 which, by all accounts, is completely spectacular. 966 00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:34,160 It's only about 30 miles from the city of Derry to Malin Head, 967 00:56:34,160 --> 00:56:36,800 the island of Ireland's most northerly point. 968 00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:41,640 I crossed the border back into the Republic to get there. 969 00:56:46,320 --> 00:56:47,960 Malin Head. 970 00:56:50,240 --> 00:56:52,080 I've heard that name mentioned 971 00:56:52,080 --> 00:56:55,480 so many times on The Shipping Forecast 972 00:56:55,480 --> 00:57:01,360 and I've always thought it must be ludicrously remote and bleak. 973 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:02,680 And you come here, 974 00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:06,240 and you find it is stunning. 975 00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:30,520 It is so beautiful here. 976 00:57:30,520 --> 00:57:33,840 I'm just standing here smiling to myself. 977 00:57:33,840 --> 00:57:34,840 Look at it. 978 00:57:37,120 --> 00:57:39,960 I've come from the far south of this island, 979 00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:43,200 all the way here to the very far north. 980 00:57:43,200 --> 00:57:46,240 I've loved every moment and every mile of the journey so far 981 00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:51,920 and it's taught me so much about an Ireland that I really didn't know. 982 00:57:51,920 --> 00:57:54,680 I've learnt a lot about the history and the culture. 983 00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:57,800 Also the faith and the belief of people here, as well. 984 00:57:57,800 --> 00:58:01,080 I'm really looking forward to the next leg of the journey, 985 00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:05,120 which is going to take me down the stunning east coast of Ireland. 986 00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:10,040 I arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital city, 987 00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:12,880 on one of the most controversial weekends of the year. 988 00:58:14,040 --> 00:58:16,600 My God. Bottles are being chucked. Hoods are coming up. 989 00:58:16,600 --> 00:58:18,240 We need to move back out the way. 990 00:58:20,080 --> 00:58:22,440 And as I travel south through the Republic of Ireland, 991 00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:26,000 I hear a surprising theory that turns history on its head. 992 00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:29,080 You are saying that Cromwell was framed? 993 00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:31,760 I'm exactly saying that and I know who framed him. 994 00:58:33,360 --> 00:58:35,000 With the Open University, 995 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:39,080 you can further explore Ireland's rich history and culture. 996 00:58:39,080 --> 00:58:40,840 To find out more, go to our website 997 00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:43,320 and follow the links to the Open University.