Ireland With Michael
To the Waters & the Wild
2/6/2025 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
To the Waters & the Wild
Traveling along the Wild Atlantic Way, stops include Killybegs and Glencolmcille Folk Village; Byrne Brothers; a surfing lesson on Strandhill Beach; seaweed bath.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Ireland With Michael is a local public television program presented by Detroit PBS
Ireland With Michael
To the Waters & the Wild
2/6/2025 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Traveling along the Wild Atlantic Way, stops include Killybegs and Glencolmcille Folk Village; Byrne Brothers; a surfing lesson on Strandhill Beach; seaweed bath.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMICHAEL: Hello and welcome to Ireland with Michael.
I'm Michael Londra, and, in this show, I get to tell you everything I love about my home country the best way I know how, through music.
Today, we're on the Wild Atlantic Way.
This stretch of the west coast has more than earned its moniker, but it's not all rugged cliff faces and untamed beauty.
In fact, you will more than fill your day going from riding the raging waves to relaxing as deeply as you ever will with the assistance of the salt air and, of course, some seaside spa treatments.
Then, take in and take home a bit of the scenery as captured by local crafts inspired by the nature that's all around us.
It's a landscape that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, so let's just get to it.
♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael is made possible by: ♪ MICHAEL: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.
It's all in Ireland.
♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for 90 years.
♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.
If you're thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.
♪ MICHAEL: I'm at Strandhill, County Sligo, on the Wild Atlantic Way, and I'm about to attend the National Surf Centre.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm about to have my first surfing lesson.
♪ While I'm sure I could handle this... MELANIE: So, you are a beginner?
MICHAEL: Absolute beginner.
MICHAEL: Melanie, the founder of Rebelle Surf, has a different idea.
MELANIE: So, if you're more advanced, you would surf in this area, where there's rocks... MICHAE: Oh, yeah.
MELANIE: And stronger waves.
Whereas where we're going is just over here, and you can see it's just friendly whitewater.
MICHAEL: Yes.
MELANIE: This is the deck of the board.
These are the rails.
That is the nose, and this is the tail.
You're gonna have your front foot around here.
MICHAEL: Oh, yeah?
MELANIE: And your back foot around here.
MICHAEL: Oh, right.
MELANIE: Hand signals that we use.
This is the end of the session.
This means we're party, party.
Exactly.
MICHAEL: That's my favorite one.
MELANIE: And then this means you've gone too far.
MICHAEL: Oh, very good.
MELANIE: You've gone too far, Michael.
MICHAEL: All right.
MELANIE: Okay?
MICHAEL: Can I- before we actually do anything further, can I ask you a few questions about how you do this?
MELANIE: Absolutely.
Yeah.
MICHAEL: What's so magic about surfing?
MELANIE: What's magic about surfing is you have no choice but to be completely present in your body, which, for some people, can be really uncomfortable because a lot of people maybe don't have a great relationship with their body, or they don't have those spaces where they can really relax.
The biggest thing is just movement and presence at the same time.
MICHAEL: So, if I'm visiting here from America and I want to sign up for a lesson with you, what do I do?
Do I just show up at the Surf Centre and hope to find you?
MELANIE: Well, you can do that, and you might get lucky, but, generally, we would recommend that you book online.
So, RebelleSurf.com is our website.
MICHAEL: Say it again.
MELANIE: RebelleSurf.com.
MICHAEL: All right.
So, next step.
MELANIE: Next step.
Okay.
This is our board.
(both speaking indistinctly) Yeah, and then bring the legs over.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
MELANIE: Now, have a look behind you and have a look at the imaginary wave.
Whitewater is coming in.
Take your board, get ready to pop up.
That's it, and then the other foot.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
MELANIE: Yes!
And then just look cool.
MICHAEL: Okay.
MELANIE: That's just what we do.
MICHAEL: I've never looked cool in my life, Mel.
MELANIE: So, let's head in.
MICHAEL: My first try was, I think you could say, underwhelming.
But then, I figured it out.
Hey Mel, I think I'm getting the hang of it.
♪ ♪ Woo ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Neil, I've just come in off the Atlantic here.
And surfing, lemme tell you, it takes it out of you.
And I have a little bit of a chill.
So to come in here to your restful, peaceful establishment, I mean, there's nothing like it.
How did it all start?
NEIL: Well, seaweed baths have been around in Ireland for the last 400-ish years that we can go back.
MICHAEL: I had no idea.
NEIL: Yeah, so, a lot of people would use them that worked on the land and come in September, October when they finished, especially from the Midlands in Ireland.
They would flock to the seaside.
So, they would use it as a medicinus process.
So, back aches, arthritis, rheumatism.
MICHAEL: It's not just about seaweed baths here, though.
Because Voya, I know, is a big brand here in Ireland.
NEIL: Yeah, well, we're a big brand in Ireland, but we're in 42 countries around the world.
So we're the biggest certified organic seaweed-based products worldwide now.
MICHAEL: I think it's about time.
All this talk of seaweed, it better be what you're telling me it is, 'cause- NEIL: Of course, and more.
MICHAEL: After surfing- NEIL: Yeah?
MICHAEL: Every joint that I have is hurting.
♪ So, Neil, this is probably going to be my favorite part of the day, is getting into this bath.
What exactly am I stepping into, though?
NIEL: Okay, in the simplest form, it's a concentrated version of the sea.
With the seaweed- I'll show you the seaweed in here now.
So, it's a beautiful olive-green color.
And then, from there, you have a load of gel.
So, if you feel that, it's very silky.
MICHAEL: It is.
NIEL: Yeah, so, that's fantastic there for your skin and your hair.
And there's a beautiful smell off it, as well.
You can eat this seaweed, as well.
MICHAEL: All right.
NEIL: This seaweed is actually edible.
MICHAEL: I'm not sure I'm going to but... (Neil laughs) So, how long am I going to get in there for?
NEIL: I'd say at least 20 minutes, 20 to 30 minutes if you can.
You'll feel like a new man.
MICHAEL: Okay, I'm doing it.
So, it's time to tell the crew just to get out.
NEIL: No worries.
We'll do that.
MICHAEL: I'm having a bath.
♪ ♪ Martina, I have heard your name for quite some time now.
You have not only a national, but an international reputation as a jewelry designer.
But I didn't realize that you were kind of in the heart of Sligo.
MARTINA: Thank you.
MICHAEL: And it seems to me that, looking at your pieces, Sligo made you.
MARTINA: Pretty much, that would be the- I'm from this place and it has influenced everything I've done really.
MICHAEL: So, tell us, when you're designing jewelry, like, what influences you?
Is it all around you?
Or is it something you think of?
Is it something you see?
How do you design a piece of jewelry?
MARTINA: Well, it's a real mixture of all those things.
Sometimes it's something like watching the tide going in and out on the shoreline and something random stays in my imagination and then, you know, I get caught up with the textures and what I felt like when I was making the piece.
So I try to embody the piece of jewelry with something of the place and something of the feeling that I had.
MICHAEL: I mean, I can see the place all over this.
I've just been down on Strandhill Beach and I can see the beach right here in front of me, and I'm not talking about the shells, I'm talking about the jewelry pieces.
Tell me about these pieces here.
MARTINA: Yeah.
Well this one is called Bean Rí, and this piece of jewelry, although it has the look of a shell about it, the story behind this piece of jewelry is I made it to commemorate all the women warriors.
And this would be like a spear shape.
But it's also like... MICHAEL: Very good.
MARTINA: A candle flame.
But I called this collection Bean Rí, which is the Irish words for she-king.
And there's a whole series of earrings and things that match with that.
MICHAEL: What I love about your stuff is that it's not the typical Celtic jewelry that you see a lot around Ireland.
This has a very different point of view in that it's very much anchored in nature.
I put on this ring earlier.
MARTINA: You're not gonna want to take it off, are you?
MICHAEL: Oh, it seems to be stuck, I don't know.
I actually love it.
But the reason I love it is that I can see the shoreline in it.
I don't know whether that's your intent or not.
MARTINA: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
The Celts were just one part of Irish history, you know?
There's so much more in Ireland and just the landscape will teach you things.
And for me, looking at the- looking at the impressions that the tide makes and the little water eddies in and out, that's, for me now, that is very magical, and I love making those kind of shapes.
♪ MICHAEL: Because they've hundreds of years of practice, Ireland's artists are very good at describing the nature around them.
Water has been a huge part of this, no surprise for an island country.
In concert, I often perform music with connections to the ocean, to lakes, and, as described in this song, its rivers.
(bird calls) ♪ ♪ When apples still grow in November ♪ ♪ When blossoms still bloom from each tree ♪ ♪ When leaves are still green in December ♪ ♪ It's then that our land will be free ♪ ♪ I wander her hills and her valleys ♪ ♪ And still through my sorrow I see a land ♪ ♪ That has never known freedom ♪ ♪ Only her rivers run free ♪ ♪ I drink to the death of her manhood ♪ ♪ To those men who would rather have died ♪ ♪ Than to live in the cold chains of bondage ♪ ♪ To bring back their rights where denied ♪ ♪ Oh, where are you now when we need you ♪ ♪ What was where the flame used to be ♪ ♪ Are you gone like the snows of last winter ♪ ♪ Will only our rivers run free ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ How sweet is life, but we're crying ♪ ♪ How mellow the wine, but it's dry ♪ ♪ How fragrant the rose, but it's dying ♪ ♪ How gentle the wind, but it sighs ♪ ♪ For what good is youth when it's aging ♪ ♪ What joy is in eyes that can't see ♪ ♪ When there's sorrow in sunshine and flowers ♪ ♪ And only her rivers run free ♪ ♪ And only her rivers run free ♪ ♪ And only her rivers run free ♪ (audience applauding and cheering) ♪ MICHAEL: We're further along the coast on the Wild Atlantic Way in County Donegal.
I'm here at Glencolumbkille Folk Village for a glimpse into the past.
♪ (spinning wheel whirs) So, Margaret, the feeling of community in this place is very strong.
How did it all start?
MARGARET: Well, it started- Father James McDyer came here from Glenties and- and in 1967, he had discovered that a lot of Irish people were emigrating from here and they'd maybe fallen on hard times in London.
He wanted to keep people in a community like this, so it was built voluntarily, and everything was donated by the people.
And, to this day, the people still come, and they take part in the crafts or they love to come and eat our breakfast in the tea house or the soup.
And they also supply crafts, but they really feel a strong sense of belonging to the folk village.
MICHAEL: So, what do you think his original idea for the place was?
MARGARET: It was- the way of life was dying out, the culture.
He wanted to save the- preserve the way of life.
♪ (indistinct chatter) MICHAEL: Ladies, you're reminding me of my grandmother Maggie, who sat all day by the fire knitting.
Have you been knitting your whole lives, have you?
KNITTER: Yes, yes I have, yeah.
MICHAEL: Well, who taught you to knit?
KNITTER: My grandmother.
MICHAEL: Yeah?
KNITTER: Yeah.
MICHAEL: I'm looking at the wool there, it's a gorgeous kind of a color.
KNITTER: Yeah.
MICHAEL: Is that locally sourced?
Do you get that nearby?
KNITTER: Yes, yeah, in Kilcar.
MICHAEL: In Kilcar, which is only a couple of miles up the road, is it?
KNITTER: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MICHAEL: What do you like making most?
KNITTER: I like making socks.
MICHAEL: Oh, yeah?
KNITTER: Stockings.
MICHAEL: Yeah, show me the socks.
KNITTER: That's the socks there.
MICHAEL: Oh, very good.
Oh, lovely color.
Very, very nice.
It looks very difficult.
KNITTER: No, not at all, no.
MICHAEL: Oh, right, do you think I could knit me own?
KNITTER: Well, you could try.
♪ MICHAEL: James, I grew up listening to my grandmother talking about my grandfather, also called James, repairing nets at home before he'd go off fishing.
And I never thought that I'd get a close-up look at it.
How did you learn how to do this?
JAMES: Basically, we grew up along with it and we were lucky enough to learn it when we were young.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
JAMES: So, basically, this is what they would have used to repair nets and make covers for lobster pots.
MICHAEL: Oh, very good, yeah.
JAMES: Back in the day, you know?
MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah.
JAMES: Especially when it wasn't freely available to buy the netting.
MICHAEL: Now, I imagine that a fishing life up in this part of the world is a tough, tough- JAMES: 'Twould be hard, yeah.
MICHAEL: Way to- JAMES: Yeah.
MICHAEL: Have you fisherman -men in your family?
JAMES: Right.
People would have been fishermen, yeah.
My grandfather was actually a lighthouse keeper, too.
MICHAEL: Oh, is that right?
JAMES: Yeah.
MICHAEL: Because the winters here are fairly, fairly hardy.
JAMES: They are hardy, yeah, without a doubt, yeah.
As hard as you'll get anywhere in the world.
MICHAEL: So, tell us about your life here in the village.
More than anything, you've got a legacy that you're upholding because you're preserving the old ways that, look, people are forgetting about.
JAMES: Yes, without a doubt, yeah.
It's important that we remember what we came from and how little we had, you know?
♪ MICHAEL: Behind me is Loughros Beg, a beautiful bay just outside Ardara, and I can't believe I'm on the site where some of the most beautiful Donegal tweed is made.
(machine rumbling) Kieran, when I think of Donegal tweed, I think of all the jackets that I have at home.
I have a lot of Donegal tweed, I might point out.
I think that there's not only kind of great natural colors, but also, within all of those colors, there's tiny little flecks of all sorts of colors within.
KIERAN: Yeah, so the flecks of color, that's what is synonymous with Donegal tweed.
That's what we're known for, and that's what has been produced here for generations.
MICHAEL: Now, you sell Donegal tweed to fashion houses all over the world, am I right?
KIERAN: Yeah, so we're selling to the US, we're selling to Japan, to South Korea, to- a little bit to China.
MICHAEL: The one thing that's pretty apparent is, and it's probably because you're here, is that this is both old world and very modern, as well.
This is, by the way, this is incredible, but this jumps out at me as being a very young person's design.
That's probably you.
KIERAN: A bit, yeah.
MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah.
And yet you've got these traditional tweeds.
KIERAN: Yeah, the traditional herringbones and the traditional tweeds, yeah.
But even our more traditional customer, you can sell them something more interesting if you can show them in the right way.
MICHAEL: Right, right, you win them over?
KIERAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and- MICHAEL: They come in for this and they leave with this.
KIERAN: Yeah, yeah, but even for selling fabrics to fashion brands, like, maybe you need to show them something interesting and new every season.
So maybe you're showing them like some new colors we've made.
MICHAEL: Right.
KIERAN: But then, a lot of them, they'll end up buying the super traditional black-and-white plain-weave Donegal.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
KIERAN: But you have to show them something new every season.
MICHAEL: Of course.
KIERAN: So we're always progressing, always changing.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
KIERAN: But it still could be the most traditional patterns that are, like, our main sellers.
Which just makes you proud of the fact that you're still able to do the same thing.
But yeah, hopefully we'll carry on for another few generations.
♪ MICHAEL: And, speaking of a few generations, also originally from Donegal, here's the Byrne Brothers with their dad, Tommy.
♪ ♪ ♪ When you moved to America, I saw these three youngsters and I've watched them grow up and ye're turned into this fantastic band here in Irish America, touring every- it seems like, every festival on the planet.
TOMMY: Yeah.
MICHAEL: How did it all happen?
TOMMY: So, we went on vacation to a- a place called Raglan Road in Disney in Florida.
MICHAEL: Fantastic Irish pub down there.
TOMMY: Yeah, on- on vacation.
And the boys were very small.
Dempsey was six, so six, nine, and 11 years of age or something.
And it was the last day of our vacation, and we went up, the boys got up on the stage and they did a dance with the band.
MICHAEL: Brilliant.
TOMMY: Went down a storm with everybody and then Raglan Road emailed us when we got home, and they said they heard all about the commotion of the boys getting on stage.
They've done some research and seen our videos online and they said, "Would you fancy coming out "to Raglan for two weeks during the St. Patrick's Day celebration next year?"
Finished that, went back to Donegal.
So the boys said, "There's only one thing for it, we have to move to America."
♪ ♪ MICHAEL: So, do you think that the music, so, you brought it from Ireland, obviously you're all traditional players, but do you think, because you're in America now, it's evolved over the few years that you've been here and playing for festivals?
TOMMY: One thing we really love about the festivals is to get to play with all the other musicians at the end of the festival and in the hotels for the sessions.
People like John Williams and all those kind of heroes.
MICHAEL: Right, right.
I mean, the masters of Irish music.
TOMMY: Yes, absolutely.
MICHAEL: Heroes.
And I guess that's where you're going to learn that great Irish tradition of picking up tunes that you've never heard of before.
TOMMY: Absolutely, yeah.
MICHAEL: Now, I'm just going to warn you, don't ever tell the public about those secret sessions that happen at the end of the festival.
We shall never speak of it, okay?
TOMMY: Yeah.
(laughs) ♪ (feet tapping) ♪ (feet tapping) ♪ MICHAEL: Thanks for joining me on my travels around the Wild Atlantic Way.
I'm Michael Londra and I hope to see you next time on Ireland with Michael.
But for now, cheers.
Sláinte.
ANNOUNCER: Want to continue your travels to Ireland?
Your choice of the Ireland with Michael DVD Seasons one and two or Seasons three and four with bonus concert footage is available for $30.
Ireland with Michael: A Musical Journey CD with songs from Michael and his guest artists, is available for $20.
The Ireland with Michael Companion travel book, featuring places to visit as seen in all seasons, is also available for $30.
This offer is made by Wexford House.
Shipping and handling is not included.
MICHAEL: To learn more about everything you've seen in this episode, go to IrelandWithMichael.com.
ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael was made possible by: ♪ MICHAEL: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.
It's all in Ireland.
♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for 90 years.
♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.
If you're thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.
MICHAEL: Okay, put your hands up in the air!
Come on, let's get a-wavin'!
♪ In my heart, its rightful queen ♪ ♪ Ever loving ♪ ♪ Ever tender ♪ That's it!
♪ Ever true ♪ ♪ Like the Sun, your smile has shone ♪ Go on, Wexford!
♪ Gladdening all it glowed upon ♪ ♪ ♪
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Ireland With Michael is a local public television program presented by Detroit PBS