0:00:06 > 0:00:11I'm on a journey around an exotic and beautiful land at the edge of Europe.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19I'm in Ireland.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24It's a place that's so near and yet can seem so far away
0:00:24 > 0:00:27and I've never really explored it.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I'm going to travel all the way around Ireland by land...
0:00:31 > 0:00:34by sea...
0:00:34 > 0:00:35and by air.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37This is incredible!
0:00:39 > 0:00:41I want to find out more about this island
0:00:41 > 0:00:44divided between two countries
0:00:44 > 0:00:45with an often troubled history.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I'll be meeting the enterprising...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Yes, here's success.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Success, excellent.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55..and the mildly eccentric.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I just keep getting offered more monkeys, you know.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01- You would take more if you could? - Yeah, absolutely.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'This is a land steeped in religious faith.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:07What are you doing?!
0:01:07 > 0:01:11- Why barefoot?- Well, they say it's the proper way to do it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13'And in ancient myths and legends...'
0:01:14 > 0:01:17I meet people regularly who have met the fairies
0:01:17 > 0:01:19and you don't interfere with them.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22- Don't mess with the fairies.- Exactly.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27But in the 21st century, many here are embracing extraordinary changes.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Who would've thought that homosexuality would unify Ireland?
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I mean, that's pretty amazing.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37On this first leg of my journey,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I'm travelling all the way from the south
0:01:40 > 0:01:43up the west coast to Ireland's most northerly point.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I'm heading to Ireland at a really exciting time.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04There have been dramatic changes there in recent years.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07They just voted for gay marriage, for goodness' sake.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08Whatever you think of that,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12you've got to see the values of profound cultural change
0:02:12 > 0:02:15for an Ireland that is generally considered to be
0:02:15 > 0:02:18overwhelmingly Catholic and conservative.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Ireland's so close to Britain but it can seem so far away.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It's just over 60 miles from Fishguard in Wales
0:02:33 > 0:02:36to Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Despite its dramatic and painful history,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48everybody says Ireland is one of the most welcoming parts of the planet.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52If I can't have a good time there, I should probably hand in my passport.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Just a couple of hours across the Irish Sea and we're here.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04I better get my bags.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Look at this.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13The tourist board has even turned the sunshine on for us
0:03:13 > 0:03:14which is very considerate.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Welcome to Ireland!
0:03:22 > 0:03:27There's lots of words that spring to mind when you think of Ireland
0:03:27 > 0:03:34but faith and identity, I think, are very high up the list.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36And I wonder if that's still true today.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Be really interesting to find out on this journey.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45I'm starting in the south in the Republic of Ireland,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47home to roughly 4.5 million people,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50not much more than half the population of London.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Just a short drive along the coast from the ferry port in Rosslare,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I'd arranged to meet a man with a unique perspective
0:03:56 > 0:03:58on Ireland's history and culture.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08So I've come here to meet an explorer called Mike O Shea...
0:04:08 > 0:04:13who explores the landscape of Ireland using paramotors.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16And I'm going to join him.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24- Bloke in green hat. Mike.- Yes, sir, how you doing?- Hello, mate.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- Simon Reeve.- How you doing? Welcome.- Lovely to meet you.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- Thank you for having us along.- Well, this is it. This is your paramotor.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32It's a motorised engine that we put on our back
0:04:32 > 0:04:34- so we wear it similar to a rucksack. - You strap it to your back...
0:04:34 > 0:04:35You strap it to your back,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38you attach the wing, which is a paramotoring wing here.
0:04:38 > 0:04:39It's the same as a paragliding wing
0:04:39 > 0:04:42but it's designed specifically with more speed for motoring.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Forgive me for saying, but is one essential part of this the...?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Do you need to have a screw loose?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49MIKE LAUGHS
0:04:49 > 0:04:52No, we usually check that before we start!
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- I mean, obviously I can see the attraction...- Yeah.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56..I can see why it might be a lot of fun.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59What do you get from paramotoring
0:04:59 > 0:05:03that you can't get from tramping by foot across the landscape?
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Well, I think if you walk,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06you get, obviously, a very low level point of view,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08whereas when you get up into the air and you start seeing,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11you start seeing where churches are based, where castles are based,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14you can actually see that it actually makes a lot of sense.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Some of the castles, some of the round towers and stuff,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19they're on hills and stuff like that. They'll actually offer,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22you know, really good defensive viewing for them to look out
0:05:22 > 0:05:24and see what's coming. So it's a whole other perspective.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Now, look, somebody's had the crazy idea
0:05:27 > 0:05:29that I'm going to come up with you
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and see you in action on one of these
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and you've got your mate Kester over here.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- This is Kester. So, Kester... - Hello, Kester!
0:05:39 > 0:05:43'As a complete novice, I was flying in tandem with Kester Haynes,
0:05:43 > 0:05:44'an experienced instructor.'
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- OK, if you hold up the bar at the front for me...- Yeah.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Bloody mad!
0:05:52 > 0:05:55OK, push, push, push, keep pushing.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Whoa! Oh, my God!
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Trying to remain calm but this is incredible!
0:06:21 > 0:06:25I was a swift convert to the joy of paramotoring.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26Mike was right,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30it really does give you a new perspective on the lay of the land.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34In 1169, what many people think of
0:06:34 > 0:06:37as the first English invasion of Ireland
0:06:37 > 0:06:39took place here at Bannow Bay.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42It was actually the Anglo-Normans who arrived.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49We're coming in now and I can see Bannow Bay
0:06:49 > 0:06:54and you can see exactly why the Anglo-Normans wanted to come in here.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00It's wide, it's sheltered, there's a white, sandy beach,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03plenty of space to get their ships onto it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Our altitude revealed an Anglo-Norman church built high on the headland,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12a clear statement of power and that they were planning to stay.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Wow! We're coming in.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Whoa!
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Seems I've lost engine power!
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Stay steady on your feet and turn to your left.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Kester, that was incredible. That was the smoothest landing I...
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Well, I'm blown away, mate.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I'm blown away by the whole experience, I really am.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Mike!
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I'm in love, Mike! I'm selling the car, Mike. I'm selling the house.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Congratulations on your first flight,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48- well done.- I have to get one. - You enjoy that?
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- Yeah, you could say that.- Yeah. - I feel quite...
0:07:51 > 0:07:52I feel quite euphoric.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I think I need a hug.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Many historians say the landing here
0:07:58 > 0:08:00led to centuries of English occupation,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02but that wasn't how it began.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05So strange to be here,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08to think that 850 years ago,
0:08:08 > 0:08:14this is where the English first arrived, where they invaded.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18I say invaded,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20they were basically invited in.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24And they weren't just the English, they were Anglo-Normans,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26a lot of them were French.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30The invading foreign mercenaries were invited in by an Irish chieftain
0:08:30 > 0:08:33who wanted help to defeat his enemies.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It BECAME an English occupation but it started out as something else.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39A century after the Battle of Hastings
0:08:39 > 0:08:44and the Norman conquest of England,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46it was Ireland's turn.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50This was one of the first Norman churches in Ireland.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08This is a church of course, but it's also a memorial.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14It marks the spot where Irish history was changed forever.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17The invasion led to what many Irish would see
0:09:17 > 0:09:23as centuries of colonisation and subjugation by the English.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26There's really nowhere closer to England
0:09:26 > 0:09:31that the English treated quite so badly as Ireland and the Irish.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Part of what lured the Anglo-Normans here initially
0:09:37 > 0:09:40were the huge tracks of fertile farmland on the island.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50I wanted to see what they'd been after.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53I headed to one of the best areas of farmland in Europe.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59To get from County Wexford to County Waterford,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I could've travelled 25 miles by road around this bay
0:10:03 > 0:10:05but it's a lot more fun to hop on the ferry.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Thanks to healthy quantities of sunshine
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and occasionally just a little bit of rain,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Ireland's been famous for its dairy products for more than 1,000 years.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Those cliches about the Emerald Isle really are true.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Ireland is very green.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Ireland has been exporting butter right back to the time of St Patrick.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I'm now heading into an area called the Golden Vale
0:10:38 > 0:10:40and I am off to meet a farmer.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45The Golden Vale is an area of fertile pastures
0:10:45 > 0:10:48spanning the counties of Limerick, Tipperary and Cork.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It's home to some of Ireland's leading dairy farmers.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54This is lovely.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Hello. Pat?- Hello, welcome.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Simon Reeves. Hello.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'Pat Mulrooney has been farming here for more than 40 years.'
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- You're hoovering the kitchen! - I escaped,
0:11:11 > 0:11:12I don't have to do it.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Oh, come on, let's escape.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17'He's done a few unconventional things that have earned him
0:11:17 > 0:11:20'a reputation as a bit of a maverick.'
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I believe you've also got an absolutely crucial farm worker
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- here called Gretchen.- Oh, yes. Actually...- Can we meet Gretchen?
0:11:28 > 0:11:30You're headed in the right direction.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- So Gretchen is through here. - Gretchen's through here.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The office is there and all the computerised stuff.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- I've heard stories about Gretchen. - Yes.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41This is Gretchen.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43SIMON LAUGHS
0:11:43 > 0:11:47You've got a robot called Gretchen milking your cows.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Well, I should maybe explain the Gretchen bit.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53- You see, she rings me on a regular basis.- Right.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Sometimes in the middle of the night when I'm having my dreams
0:11:57 > 0:11:58and I don't like it.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01So I had to give it a name that I didn't particularly like...
0:12:01 > 0:12:04So this robot, if it's got a problem,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07it calls you up on your mobile phone and tells you, "I've got a problem."
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- Yes.- Right. Oh, my goodness.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13So there's some brushing of teat going on, I think.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- Brushing and washing.- Right.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- And now look, the brushes are moving out of the way.- Yeah.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Oh, my goodness. Can't be positioning... Oh, no.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Oh, God, look at that.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Suckers are moving into position.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I can see red lasers flashing all around her udders.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34It looks sort of ridiculous, to be honest,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36but at the same time it's... It's genius.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Look!- There we go.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42- It's filling up in here.- Yep.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51This looks like a huge investment of money and time.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53What are the main advantages to you
0:12:53 > 0:12:57and to the cows of having a robot in here?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00To me, it eliminates a lot of the labour.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03For the cow, they've become terribly independent.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06What, do you mean they wander in when they want to be milked?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08They come when they want to be milked.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12So you're not forcing a daily cycle on them?
0:13:12 > 0:13:15No, they dictate their own movements.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Pat says Gretchen reduces injuries cows can sustain
0:13:18 > 0:13:22on many dairy farms when they're herded together for milking.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24The robot fits with his ethos,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Pat was one of the first organic farmers in Ireland.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Organic doesn't just mean no pesticides, it's about respect
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and even love for the land and animals.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It's an ethical belief.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Well, this is a lovely sight.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Why did you want to become an organic farmer?
0:13:41 > 0:13:45This is a lovely asset, lovely farm and my ambition is
0:13:45 > 0:13:49to actually hand it on in better condition than I got it.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51I don't want to destroy it.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53The sense I get from you, though,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56is that the reason you decided to farm organically
0:13:56 > 0:14:00wasn't just environmental, but it was ethical as well.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- It was moral.- Yes, moral, ethical, very much so.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05I think...
0:14:05 > 0:14:07people are going too far in just looking at it
0:14:07 > 0:14:09as a commercial operation.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11That's not for me.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12I want to see the quality food,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14I want to see the environment looked after
0:14:14 > 0:14:18and I want to see the animal actually having a nice lifestyle.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20- We're in rural Ireland...- Yes.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24..this is Ireland that I've always thought of as being very religious,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26very Catholic.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28But at... I get this slight feeling for you that,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I'm not suggesting that one has replaced the other,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34but that your organic faith is a belief
0:14:34 > 0:14:37that's comparable to conventional religion.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Well, first of all I suppose Ireland is a very different place
0:14:40 > 0:14:43than it was 20, 30 years ago. Very different place.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46It's not controlled by churches any more.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52People, I'm glad to say, have started to think for themselves.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I always thought for myself and I always said I'm...
0:14:55 > 0:14:58I'm socially a Catholic.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- It ends there.- It ends there, that's it?- It ends there, yes.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08I've always thought of the Republic of Ireland
0:15:08 > 0:15:13as being profoundly Catholic but Pat's view is now widely held here.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16The power of the Church has hugely declined in recent years,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20driven in large part by a series of scandals about child sex abuse
0:15:20 > 0:15:22and the treatment of unmarried mothers.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Many of the roles previously performed by the Church,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31such as looking after the urban poor, have had to be taken up by others.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36I'm heading towards the city of Cork.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42Cork's had a tough time during Ireland's recent economical problems
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and I'm now heading to a place that's been dealing
0:15:45 > 0:15:47with some of the fallout.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54This soup kitchen was established more than 100 years ago,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57probably by Christians, but today it's run as a charity
0:15:57 > 0:16:00by a team of magnificent, altruistic volunteers.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- Catriona, hello.- Hello. - Simon Reeve, sorry.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Sorry to interrupt.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09SIMON'S LAUGHTER DROWNS SPEECH
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- Hi, Simon. Welcome. - You're a little bit busy.- Yup.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16- Welcome to Penny Dinners. - Are you always a little bit busy?
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Always busy. It's never any other way.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23- No standing around here, is there? - No, no. You don't have time...
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Everybody's a volunteer so when everybody comes,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28they come to work, like, so everybody's under that.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32And the trick is the more you do, the younger you look. I'm about 96.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36- Are you? 96 years old, you're doing all right.- 96 years old, yeah.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Catriona Twomey has volunteered at Cork Penny Dinners
0:16:39 > 0:16:43since her dad started bringing her here when she was a child.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46She's now grafting here seven days a week.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Going back about five, six years ago before the recession, it was...
0:16:51 > 0:16:55It was just maybe, I'd say less than 100 people a week, you know,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57sometimes maybe 40, 50, 60 people.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01But now we're feeding 1,500 plus because with the recession...
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- My goodness.- ..it's growing in numbers the whole time.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Penny Dinners welcomes anyone and everyone.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Morning.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08We'll just get things ready.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11This is bread that we collect in the evenings from the bakeries...
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'Most of the food is donated by private companies
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'and collected by the volunteers.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20'Some of whom even work here during their school holidays.'
0:17:20 > 0:17:22How have you managed to get these youngsters to be doing this?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- They've asked to come...- No, I'm going to make you stand there.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27- I'm going to ask them.- OK.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- Have you all volunteered or are you being forced to do this?- Volunteered.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- Volunteered.- Come on now! Is that the truth?- Yeah.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37You've volunteered to be here at ten o'clock on a Wednesday morning
0:17:37 > 0:17:39- peeling potatoes.- Half eight. - Half eight?!- 8:30, yeah.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Half eight you got here.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42I mean, it's a lovely thing to do
0:17:42 > 0:17:46but it's not everybody's idea of a jolly morning, is it?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48I just thought, like, I'd come down for, like, experience
0:17:48 > 0:17:50and see how it was.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52And then I asked my friends if they wanted to do it
0:17:52 > 0:17:53and they agreed. Like, we came down
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and we actually enjoyed it.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57And I actually love coming down here now.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59She's here because I dragged her down... No, I didn't.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01She's my daughter.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07You've been held here since you were seven years old, working,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- peeling potatoes. Oh, this is a... - And carrots.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13..hark back to the 1800s, isn't it? Goodness me.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Ireland's been on an economic rollercoaster.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Following the global financial crisis that began in 2007
0:18:19 > 0:18:23and a series of banking scandals, the economy crashed.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27It's started to bounce back but many people have been left behind.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32If you had to say what were the main reasons
0:18:32 > 0:18:36that bring people in the door here, what would be the main issues?
0:18:36 > 0:18:39We're talking about people down on their luck
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and for whatever reason they're down on their luck,
0:18:41 > 0:18:42be it unemployment,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45be it not being able to keep a roof over your head -
0:18:45 > 0:18:47pay your mortgage, pay your rent -
0:18:47 > 0:18:50be it not being able to pay your bills
0:18:50 > 0:18:54so they have to come down here to fill that little gap in the wheel.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Do you feel able to tell us what brings you here?
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Erm, loads of different issues, really. Er...
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Family problems, family break ups...
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Have you got work at the moment?
0:19:06 > 0:19:10I was working, I'm not working at the moment. I'm looking for work.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13And how easy or hard is that?
0:19:13 > 0:19:14It is difficult when you get older,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18it really gets that more difficult to get it.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I'm just wondering whether volunteering here,
0:19:20 > 0:19:25has it strengthened your own personal religious faith?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It strengthened my belief in the goodness of people.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Because you have no idea how good people are to us.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- This isn't run by the Church, is it? - It's not run by them, no.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And my impression would've been in what I still perceive
0:19:38 > 0:19:41as Catholic Ireland that this would've been the Church behind...
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Maybe Catholic Ireland was a caring Ireland, maybe that might be
0:19:44 > 0:19:47another good name for being Catholic. I'm a Catholic, right?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And I care, you know, and...
0:19:50 > 0:19:53But I have friends, you know, of all different denominations
0:19:53 > 0:19:57and they care as well so maybe we should have a caring religion.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58I don't know, but what I'm saying is...
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- Move on from the religious aspect. - Yeah, and just, you know...
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And just care.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09It's a good point.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Of course you don't need to have a strong faith to give a damn.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Until recently, Ireland was fervently Catholic.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Many think that's a result of people seeking solace
0:20:19 > 0:20:22in religion during centuries of suffering.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24The key catastrophe in this country's history
0:20:24 > 0:20:28was the great famine of the 1840s.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30During the early 1800s, the Irish poor were labouring,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32often for English landlords,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and they'd become heavily dependent on potatoes for food.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39When the potato crop was devastated by blight,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41farmers evicted tenants.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Famine then claimed an estimated million lives.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It was one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies of its time.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55- Hello, Pat.- Simon.- Thank you so much. - Simon, you're very welcome.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I'm glad you've brought a beautiful, fine day with you.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- It looks beautiful on a day like today.- It really does.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05Local historian Pat O'Donovan has studied what happened
0:21:05 > 0:21:08in one particular famine village on this hillside.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13There would've been over 1,200 people living round here
0:21:13 > 0:21:14at the time of the famine.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- 1,200 people living up here? - 1,200 people living here, yeah.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22And there was 123 houses recorded in 1851.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24What is a famine village?
0:21:24 > 0:21:28People had been evicted and they all just came to...
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and built a shelter for themselves, really.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32There was enough animals,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35there was enough corn to feed the population
0:21:35 > 0:21:40but it suited large landowners at that time to make their money
0:21:40 > 0:21:43and get these people off their holdings.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47So when the famine started, they were evicted from their homes...
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- That's right.- ..and they came...
0:21:49 > 0:21:51What, I presume they came up here because it was common land?
0:21:51 > 0:21:54It was common land, they couldn't be evicted out of this land.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58There was food here but many of the large landowners
0:21:58 > 0:22:00kept on selling and exporting it.
0:22:02 > 0:22:09So, people starved and they died up here in sight of food down there?
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Looking down at corn.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Looking down to there you can see fine cattle and corn fields
0:22:14 > 0:22:17all the time but they couldn't touch it, they were arrested or whatever.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22The work houses here in Limerick, there was over 200 dying a month
0:22:22 > 0:22:25in this particular area during the famine.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28- So, incredible levels of poverty and suffering.- Incredible.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34This is a small but still surviving house, Pat. Has this been...?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- This is one of the larger ones. - Is it?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39- Has this been rebuilt?- No.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- Mind your head.- OK.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Do we know how many people were living here?
0:22:47 > 0:22:51There was an average in this area round here of a family of seven.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54For stone seats, there's one here and then, of course,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56you have the famous hob-seats, by the fire.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Children or younger people would have sat on those
0:22:59 > 0:23:00and the fire in the middle.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Ireland was part of the United Kingdom
0:23:04 > 0:23:05but when famine struck,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08the government in London did little to help.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Some actually said the famine was a punishment from God.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Pat, who should we blame for the famine?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20I suppose the English really at the end of the day
0:23:20 > 0:23:23and nobody else but the English and the landlords
0:23:23 > 0:23:27which they had planted in previous generations into this country
0:23:27 > 0:23:31to take over the land from the original Irish settlers.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36A million died, another million and a half migrated.
0:23:38 > 0:23:45Ireland's population today is still lower than it was before the 1840s.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48But in spite of the horrors visited on them by the famine,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52the potato remains an object of affection, even reverence.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I drove to Dingle in County Kerry on the west coast
0:23:57 > 0:23:59towards an event I just couldn't miss.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06I'm heading now into the rather stunning Dingle Peninsula
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and I'm on my way to a potato festival.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18The potato originally came from the high Andes.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22It grew well in Ireland because it tolerated a wet climate.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Before the famine, many Irish ate potatoes for breakfast,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27lunch and dinner.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30An adult male might eat up to 70 potatoes a day.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34'They still love them.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37'This rather jolly Irish spud off is a local competition
0:24:37 > 0:24:39'between potato growers.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:41I'm being press-ganged into...
0:24:41 > 0:24:42'Inevitably, I was roped in.'
0:24:42 > 0:24:45OK. Thank you. Thank you.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Put your name on top of the lid.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51You're going to be tasting nine spuds.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54'On the panel was Miss Kerry 2015,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57'as well as slightly more experienced judges.'
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- It's water only, no pints.- What?!
0:25:00 > 0:25:04No butter, no salt, no pepper because, after all,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06we're tasting spuds.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09We're ready to roll. Potato number one.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11We have blind tasting
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and the judges don't know whose spuds are being tasted.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Quite dry but lots of flavour.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24We are now tasting the second potato.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Oh, that looks fluffy, I would say.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38'It wasn't just eating them, there was also a potato peeling competition
0:25:38 > 0:25:40'and in my heat, I was matched with Miss Kerry.'
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Are you a champion spud peeler?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I peel at home all the time but with a peeler, not a knife.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Ha-ha! So we have a fairly level playing field.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- What is your technique going to be? - Are the contestants ready?- No, no.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Ready, steady, go!
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Come on!
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Oh, no!
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- 20 seconds.- No pressure. - Come on, Simon!- 15 seconds.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- 10 seconds.- We need more...
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- If there's peel left, you'll be disqualified.- What?!
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Four, three, two, one!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- Stop! - CHEERING
0:26:19 > 0:26:25Simon adopted a new technique that seemed to work very, very well.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27So, the results.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29In first place...
0:26:29 > 0:26:32First, the winner of the blind taste test was announced.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Sean Phapa O Muircheartaigh.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38CHEERING
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Give somebody the pint and come on up.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52'But of course all I really cared about was the potato peeling.'
0:26:52 > 0:26:58- The second place at the peeling, we have Simon Reeve.- No!
0:26:58 > 0:27:01CHEERING
0:27:01 > 0:27:06And, Simon, your prize is a bag of spuds,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09from the champion grower.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11CHEERING
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Ireland's changed.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21It's not stuck in the past as many outsiders seem to think.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23But in rural Ireland, faith,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26belief and ancient legends are still vital to many.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29From the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I drove north towards Limerick.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36I was heading to meet someone who specialises in Irish folklore.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40And I think this, according to the sat nav, is where he lives.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52KNOCKING
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Oh, my goodness. Oi, oi. Stay, are you supposed to stay?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59- Catch him, get him!- Monsters.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- They're feckers.- Hello.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05- Morning.- Eddie? Simon Reeve, lovely to meet you.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08- And my family. - These are your family?
0:28:08 > 0:28:10- Quite new additions by the look of them.- Yes, indeed...
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'Eddie Lenihan has spent a lifetime collecting stories that have
0:28:14 > 0:28:16'been handed down by word of mouth.'
0:28:16 > 0:28:18- You've got to stay.- Come in, please.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Thank you very much.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Now, Eddie,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26I hear that you're one of Ireland's foremost storytellers.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- Is that true? - Well, I didn't say that.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Would you like that description?
0:28:30 > 0:28:34The only stories I tell are the stories I've heard from old people
0:28:34 > 0:28:35over the last 40 years
0:28:35 > 0:28:40because the only stories I do tell are Irish traditional stories,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42what you call legends.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46- Right.- And legends now in the true folklore sense,
0:28:46 > 0:28:51things that are supposed to have happened and some of them I believe.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Fairy stories.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Now, remember,
0:28:55 > 0:29:00Irish fairy stories aren't like what you normally hear of.
0:29:00 > 0:29:05I meet people regularly, old people who have met the fairies.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- Who have met them.- Goodness me,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10and these are some of the stories you've collected?
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Yes, and for example, the fairies, these old people would say,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16are just like us.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19They have their pastimes, they buy, they sell,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22they have their roadways, they have their habitations,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25their places where they live and you don't interfere with them.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30If you do, you're on a loser in a big time.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32It could cost you your life.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36- Don't mess with the fairies.- Exactly. Don't mess with them or else.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41A surprising number of rural Irish do still believe in the little people
0:29:41 > 0:29:45as they're known, although generally they don't admit it on camera.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50In 1999, in a bid to protect a specific bush
0:29:50 > 0:29:52he said was important for fairies,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Eddie campaigned to divert a new motorway.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59He warned there could be deaths if the fairies were displaced.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02After a long battle, he got his way.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07- Now, here is the bush.- OK.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10The fairy bush. Right there in front of us.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Which one are you pointing at? The one over there next to the sign?
0:30:13 > 0:30:18- Next to the signpost.- It's a good sized bush, isn't it?- It is, it is.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Have a look there now and you can see yourself.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Look at the variation there.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Look at how they went around the bush and you can see yourself
0:30:33 > 0:30:37that there's a little bit of a bottleneck there.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40So they moved the motorway to accommodate the bush,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43to avoid messing with the fairies
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and creating some sort of disaster as a result?
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And I think they did the sensible thing.
0:30:51 > 0:30:56In modern Ireland, with church attendance falling
0:30:56 > 0:30:59- and big technology companies setting up here...- Yes.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02..is there still space for these stories?
0:31:02 > 0:31:04More space than ever.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06We need a different kind of faith - what people think.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09And where people think about things like this,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12think back about who we are and where our traditions come from.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16By preserving Irish folklore,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Eddie's helping to preserve a sense of Irish national identity
0:31:19 > 0:31:24and stories of leprechauns and giants are good business for Irish tourism.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29I think Eddie's more than a storyteller who dabbles in folklore.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35I think he's a sort of patriotic activist.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41We need to have a few strange tales in our culture, in my view.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Be so boring without.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47You don't have to believe in the fairies
0:31:47 > 0:31:49to rather love the fairytales.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59My journey was taking me up the stunning west coast of Ireland.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Recently rebranded by the tourist board,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04with some justification, as the Wild Atlantic Way.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10The weather had taken a turn for the worse
0:32:10 > 0:32:11but it was still spectacular.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14It's a dramatic coastline.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Look at the waves pounding the rocks down there.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29It's thanks to the turbulent weather system and currents here
0:32:29 > 0:32:31and these waves that Ireland's now home to a sport
0:32:31 > 0:32:35you wouldn't normally associate with this part of the world.
0:32:37 > 0:32:38Surfing!
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Numerous boutique little surf schools have sprung up
0:32:50 > 0:32:53in the seaside town of Lahinch in recent years.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Here we are. It's the surf school.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13- Simon.- Hey, John. - Welcome to Lahinch, man.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15- You're very welcome. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Thanks for having us along.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19- For a surf lesson. - I'm excited to bring you out.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22You're going to love it. It's warm out there, Simon.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24In the wild Atlantic, are you sure?
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- Come on, let's do it! - All right, all right!- Come on.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36You see I really feel the cold...
0:33:37 > 0:33:39..so I might get another one.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I might need something even... A bit more than this though.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Yeah, we... Peter, we can keep giving Simon more layers.
0:33:45 > 0:33:46Peter, can you, mate?
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Like, most customers wear one wet suit
0:33:48 > 0:33:53but if Simon needs three or four wet suits, let's do it, you know? OK.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54We're off.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01You can put the boards down here.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Oh, we're a bit close to the water already.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06- Great, OK. Now, Simon.- Yes.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- I've heard that you've surfed quite a number of times before.- No, no.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12So I've heard that you've picked up this information
0:34:12 > 0:34:13from some of the best surfers
0:34:13 > 0:34:15so you're going to show me what you've learnt.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- Basically I remember...- Come on, on the board.- Something about...
0:34:18 > 0:34:23- Show me what you did.- Something about that you paddle out...
0:34:23 > 0:34:26like this. Then you see the wave, then you paddle a bit
0:34:26 > 0:34:30- and then you sort of go... - Wow, OK. That's good. That's good.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32- Did you hear that?- Yeah, that's good.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38John McCarthy's a former Irish surfing champion
0:34:38 > 0:34:41who travelled the world for years in search of the perfect wave.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48But in 2002, he returned to Ireland and, as is so often the case,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50realised that what he'd been searching for
0:34:50 > 0:34:51was in his own back yard.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56He found perfect waves, met the woman of his dreams,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58got married and had children.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03My attempts in the surf were pretty pathetic but it was fun
0:35:03 > 0:35:06and you know what, I was toasty warm as well.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22- It's beautiful here.- Yeah. - But it's not exactly Hawaii, is it?
0:35:22 > 0:35:23Why have you...?
0:35:23 > 0:35:26How would you compare surfing here on the west coast
0:35:26 > 0:35:30to other great surf spots around the world?
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Yeah, you know, if you wait around long enough
0:35:34 > 0:35:38here on the west coast of Ireland, you will get the perfect wave.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40On the best day here,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43it's as good as anywhere in the world, maybe better.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46A lot of surfers do talk about it as being an almost...
0:35:46 > 0:35:50a mystical, glorious experience.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53Would you go along with that?
0:35:53 > 0:35:57That is the mystery of surfing is that, like, it can appear
0:35:57 > 0:36:02very spiritual but, like, if you go out to a crowded beach in Australia,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05surfers are, like, they're boxing each other.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07- It's like, "That's my wave."- Oh...
0:36:07 > 0:36:12So it's actually super unspiritual but, like, on a good day to go out
0:36:12 > 0:36:15with one friend and to see creation,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18yeah, that's... It is a spiritual thing, yeah.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22I'm a Christian, so, you know, the creation...
0:36:22 > 0:36:24It points to the creator.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26So surfing for me,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29it is just like there's an opportunity
0:36:29 > 0:36:32to see the awe of creation.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38I don't share John's religious conviction
0:36:38 > 0:36:39but I can completely understand
0:36:39 > 0:36:41why being out in this stunning landscape
0:36:41 > 0:36:43helps him to feel closer to his maker.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Ireland's gorgeous,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55much more beautiful than I'd thought before coming here.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58I headed on up the west coast and through the wild,
0:36:58 > 0:37:03glorious region of Connemara, towards Ireland's most sacred mountain.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08In the 5th century, Christianity was spread here by St Patrick
0:37:08 > 0:37:12who's thought to have been a Welsh slave captured by Irish pirates.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14He escaped his captors, studied as a priest
0:37:14 > 0:37:18and then sailed back to Ireland, or so the stories say.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22I was arriving at the holy mountain on the last Sunday in July,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24when St Patrick's central role in Irish culture
0:37:24 > 0:37:26is celebrated with a climb and a pilgrimage.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28So, look, you can get a stick for climbing.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Three euros to buy, 1.50 to rent.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36- Morning to you.- How are you doing? - All right, thank you.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38'Thousands of hikers climb Croagh Patrick
0:37:38 > 0:37:40'in honour of Ireland's patron saint.'
0:37:47 > 0:37:50So this is the mountain where St Patrick,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52the 5th century preacher,
0:37:52 > 0:37:56who tramped and wandered around Ireland converting people
0:37:56 > 0:37:59is said to have fasted for 40 days
0:37:59 > 0:38:02while he was busy wrestling with demons
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and banishing snakes from Ireland.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08'But the first pilgrim I met was not from Ireland
0:38:08 > 0:38:09'but the Philippines.'
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- Are you offering a stick?- Yes. I'm finished...- Oh...
0:38:12 > 0:38:15- So I'm handing it over to you now. - That's very kind of you.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20- Will I need it?- You'll probably do when coming down.- You think?
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Why did you go up? Was it for exercise or for...?
0:38:23 > 0:38:25No, it's my 13th year now.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I'm a missionary with the Columbans -
0:38:27 > 0:38:29St Columban, an Irish saint.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33- You came to Ireland as a missionary. - Yes.- To spread...
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Well, they went to my country so it's now my turn to do the same.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Do you think the Irish have lost some of their faith, then?
0:38:40 > 0:38:41I don't think so.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Look at these people here still coming here.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47And perhaps maybe the connection with the church,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50maybe that's the one that might not be strong at the moment
0:38:50 > 0:38:54but certainly the faith is there. The faith is here.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57That did seem to be the case on the evidence of all the people here
0:38:57 > 0:39:00who are ignoring the worst weather in living memory
0:39:00 > 0:39:04and the advice of the emergency services not to climb the mountain.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Sir...
0:39:12 > 0:39:15- What are you doing?! Barefoot.- Barefoot.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Why, why barefoot?
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Well, they say it's the proper way to do it.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22- It's good, you feel good after. - Very impressive.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25- And you have a warm bath when you get down.- I will.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34Croagh Patrick rises at its peak to more than 2,500 feet above sea level.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42You can see the mountain has just rolled out from behind the clouds
0:39:42 > 0:39:43and the rain.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46That is Croagh Patrick.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Croagh Patrick was the sacred mountain for pagan Ireland
0:39:52 > 0:39:54but Christians took it as their own sacred site.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57It was something that early Christians did very well, actually.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58If they turned up somewhere
0:39:58 > 0:40:01and found that the heathens had views they wouldn't let go of,
0:40:01 > 0:40:06they would co-opt or assimilate those pagan views into early Christianity.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11That's one of the principle reasons Christianity spread so quickly
0:40:11 > 0:40:15and took such a firm hold in Ireland following St Patrick's mission.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22This is the steep and tricky bit.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34It took me more than two hours to reach the peak of the mountain.
0:40:38 > 0:40:39The top!
0:40:40 > 0:40:41Look at the view!
0:40:44 > 0:40:47It's not for the view
0:40:47 > 0:40:49and it's not for faith in my case,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52though it is for a lot of people here.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55But it's for the fun, the excitement.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58The feeling of accomplishment you get from climbing a mountain
0:40:58 > 0:41:00is unbelievable.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06This used to be the most Catholic country in the world.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10In the early 1980s, almost 90% of Irish Catholics went to weekly mass.
0:41:10 > 0:41:1325 years later, it was less than 20%.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Our Father who art in Heaven...
0:41:15 > 0:41:18But many people's individual religious faith
0:41:18 > 0:41:19clearly remains strong.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25An estimated 10,000 people made the difficult climb
0:41:25 > 0:41:26in spite of the awful weather.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41I left Croagh Patrick in County Mayo and headed north,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43leaving the Republic behind
0:41:43 > 0:41:45and crossing the border into Northern Ireland.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Although you'd be hard pushed to notice.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Bloody hell.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55There's a road sign in miles per hour, that means we must've...
0:41:55 > 0:41:58We must've just crossed the border.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59That's bizarre.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03There's absolutely nothing saying, "Welcome to the UK.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06"Welcome to Northern Ireland."
0:42:06 > 0:42:08How strange.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12By the early 17th century, Protestant England held sway
0:42:12 > 0:42:14over most of Catholic Ireland.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16But the north, the province of Ulster,
0:42:16 > 0:42:18proved difficult to control.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20During the reign of King James I,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22a process began, partly to pacify the Irish,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25known as the Plantation of Ulster.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Vast tracks of land were given to Protestant settlers from England
0:42:28 > 0:42:29and mainly Scotland.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32It was one of the most ambitious colonisation schemes
0:42:32 > 0:42:34in modern Europe.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36So I'm going to learn a bit about the history here
0:42:36 > 0:42:39because we're coming to Crom Castle.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45The castle is massive!
0:42:48 > 0:42:53Crom Castle sits on a vast estate gifted by the crown 400 years ago
0:42:53 > 0:42:54to a family who still live here.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02- Lord Erne?- Yes.- Hello, Lord Erne. Simon Reeve.- You're very welcome.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04- Come along in.- Thank you.- Come on.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07My goodness. Now, that's an entrance.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09These steps are fairly steep
0:43:09 > 0:43:12but so far nobody's ever actually fallen down them.
0:43:12 > 0:43:13SIMON LAUGHS
0:43:13 > 0:43:14It's a miracle.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21SIMON GASPS
0:43:21 > 0:43:22It's breathtaking.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26Our family first arrived from Scotland.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30And the first Creighton, our family name being Creighton,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33arrived, married Bishop Spotiswood's daughter
0:43:33 > 0:43:37and that's a picture up there of Bishop Spotiswood.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42And the first Creighton was granted rather huge lands
0:43:42 > 0:43:44out to Mayo and up to Donegal.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47What are huge lands, do you know the size?
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Erm, I do but I couldn't tell you exactly. But they were...
0:43:50 > 0:43:53They boasted they could go from here to Dublin
0:43:53 > 0:43:57- without going off their own land, via Mayo.- My goodness.
0:43:57 > 0:43:58So, it was huge.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01And the west wing belongs to my son John
0:44:01 > 0:44:06and so we live in a semidetached castle.
0:44:06 > 0:44:07SIMON LAUGHS
0:44:07 > 0:44:11- But anyway, let's go on to the library.- Sure, that'll be lovely.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Oh, this is gorgeous.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19And for such a large room it does feel very comfortable actually.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23- Cosy.- It is cosy and I think books are rather wonderful.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27My mother's father,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29his sister married Ned Lutyens,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32the architect who built Delhi and all that.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35And when he stayed here, he used to get upset
0:44:35 > 0:44:37because the line of the chimney piece
0:44:37 > 0:44:39didn't go down the centre of the alcove.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41But I'm not sure it bothers me two hoots.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44- He would get upset by that, would he?- He did.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48'The present day castle is Victorian
0:44:48 > 0:44:51'but the ruins of the original plantation castle
0:44:51 > 0:44:53'date back to the early 1600s.'
0:44:55 > 0:44:57It feels very well fortified.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59It feels like a castle built for conflict. Is that fair?
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Well, I think it was definitely a fortified castle
0:45:02 > 0:45:07but how much of it is original and how much of it is Victorianised?
0:45:09 > 0:45:12The settlers built plantation castles to defend themselves
0:45:12 > 0:45:15against rebellion by the Catholic population.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20Not surprisingly, the locals objected to the colonisation of their land.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24Crom Castle survived two Catholic sieges.
0:45:24 > 0:45:30How respectful do you as a family need to be of history?
0:45:30 > 0:45:33You still presumably have a sense of responsibility
0:45:33 > 0:45:39- towards not upsetting people from any side?- Yes.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Because I think there's a great feeling today
0:45:41 > 0:45:44of reconciliation, whatever troubles they've had.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48- And I honestly don't particularly want to stir it all up.- No.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51It's simple as that.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Lord Erne didn't want to dwell on the controversial history
0:45:54 > 0:45:57that the estate is a part of.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00But the seeds of division sowed by the Plantation of Ulster
0:46:00 > 0:46:02eventually led to
0:46:02 > 0:46:04the violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland
0:46:04 > 0:46:06that became known as the Troubles.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12It is incredible, the story of this place and the estate goes
0:46:12 > 0:46:17right back to one of the most difficult periods of Irish history.
0:46:17 > 0:46:24A time of plantation and occupation and division and suffering.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26And where I'm heading to next
0:46:26 > 0:46:30feels the consequences of those events to this very day.
0:46:33 > 0:46:3770 miles north of Crom is Derry, or Londonderry,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39a city of less than 100,000.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Originally a plantation city, the famous walls were built
0:46:43 > 0:46:47to protect the English and Scottish Protestant settlers.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51But eventually the Catholic population
0:46:51 > 0:46:53outstripped the Protestants
0:46:53 > 0:46:55and Derry become synonymous
0:46:55 > 0:46:57with some of the worst of the Troubles.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03It's astonishing to think there was virtual civil war
0:47:03 > 0:47:05on the streets here within living memory.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Now, nearly 20 years on from the Good Friday peace agreement,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12the city's been transformed.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16A new Peace Bridge has been built across the River Foyle
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and in 2013, Derry was made UK City of Culture.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27A quiet Sunday morning and the only people who are out are cyclists
0:47:27 > 0:47:30and joggers, the occasional car.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38- Looks sleepy and perfectly normal, of course. Morning.- Morning.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45But you think what's happened here in the last couple of decades.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51It is unbe-bloody-lievable what they've achieved.
0:47:53 > 0:48:00To go from full-on armed conflict to relative normality and peace.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04It's a magnificent thing,
0:48:04 > 0:48:08it's a shining example to the rest of the world.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10And this is the People's Gallery.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18The People's Gallery is a series of huge murals
0:48:18 > 0:48:21painted in a Catholic area of Derry known as the Bogside.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26This was the epicentre of the Troubles here.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30This is where the Bloody Sunday massacre happened, scores died here.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Today, the murals have become a tourist attraction
0:48:36 > 0:48:40and they're still regularly restored by the original artists.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45I met up with one of them, Tom Kelly.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50It's such a powerful image.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54This is for the anniversary of the Battle of the Bogside
0:48:54 > 0:48:57which was a three day battle
0:48:57 > 0:49:00that pretty much brought us to the brink of civil war here,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02you know?
0:49:02 > 0:49:06It's actually a 12-year-old kid wearing a Second World War gas mask.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09And he has a petrol bomb or a Molotov cocktail,
0:49:09 > 0:49:11whatever you want to call it.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14But the police force at this time were well-trained,
0:49:14 > 0:49:18supported by the British government.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22The people were on the streets looking for very basic human rights
0:49:22 > 0:49:25and civil rights. It was civil rights marches that we had
0:49:25 > 0:49:28right at the beginning of this conflict.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Your right to a home for your family,
0:49:31 > 0:49:32a right to a job.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38The murals commemorate Catholic victims of the Troubles
0:49:38 > 0:49:42but of course Protestants and many others also lost their lives here
0:49:42 > 0:49:46in a conflict characterised by violence and suffering on all sides.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Coming here as an outsider for me,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53I've never been anywhere in the world where...
0:49:53 > 0:49:56intense situations like this
0:49:56 > 0:50:00- are so vividly portrayed on an individual level.- Yeah.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02I mean, it feels to me like the community here,
0:50:02 > 0:50:06you really do remember every single name,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10every single soul that was lost and suffered.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14And that in and of itself is a pretty extraordinary thing.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18When you're experiencing discrimination and injustice
0:50:18 > 0:50:21and brutality on a day to day basis,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23then you don't forget.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26I mean, they can talk all they want about reconciliation
0:50:26 > 0:50:29and peace bridges and how things are wonderful but, you know,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32the real root is still there.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36What we tried to do as the Bogside artists is to paint it
0:50:36 > 0:50:39so that we can look at it
0:50:39 > 0:50:40and not sweep it under the carpet
0:50:40 > 0:50:43as the tourist board and the authorities would like to do.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47And that's all that the Bogside artists have created -
0:50:47 > 0:50:50we've created a human document that tells a story.
0:50:54 > 0:50:55It's one side of the story.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58But it's not surprising that Tom and many other locals
0:50:58 > 0:51:01don't want to forget what happened here.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03A huge number of people in Northern Ireland
0:51:03 > 0:51:07are now working to heal the wounds of history.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09In Derry or Londonderry, campaigners believe
0:51:09 > 0:51:12the arts can bring Catholics and Protestants together
0:51:12 > 0:51:15and help the whole community to move on from the past.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19In the early 1990s, Derry had no public theatre.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21But with a grant of just £300,
0:51:21 > 0:51:23one woman took it upon herself to start one
0:51:23 > 0:51:27in order to try and build bridges between different communities.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34- Pauline.- Hiya.- Sorry to interrupt.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Pauline Ross is the inspiring founder of the Derry Playhouse.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41- Sorry, what's going on here? - This is a youth theatre
0:51:41 > 0:51:46from our only integrated secondary college in the whole north-west.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49Steve is the theatre director and their teacher
0:51:49 > 0:51:51and these are all young students, crazy about theatre.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56- And we have one integrated primary school.- Meaning, in simple terms?
0:51:56 > 0:51:58- 95%...- Catholic and Protestant.
0:51:58 > 0:52:0195% of our education system is segregated
0:52:01 > 0:52:03and I think it is something...
0:52:03 > 0:52:0696% of our social housing is segregated.
0:52:06 > 0:52:07- Segregated.- What does that make for?
0:52:07 > 0:52:12- Well, it means ghettoised, basically, doesn't it?- Yes.- Goodness.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16- Would you like to make some of them? - Well, I would, really, yes.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21Can I ask, when you hear, you know, older folk of my age and up,
0:52:21 > 0:52:25talking about the past and the Troubles,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29does it sound to you like it's from your...
0:52:29 > 0:52:32from your world or does it sound as though they're talking about,
0:52:32 > 0:52:36like almost from another planet, but certainly another country?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39We have, like, the odd bomb scare or someone gets shot
0:52:39 > 0:52:41or someone had a bomb left under their car.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44Like, just this week or last week,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48somebody had a... A police officer had a bomb under their car.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51That's not so far from here.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52So, you have lots of that.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55But I think our generation,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57we hear about it but we just want to move forward.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01We just want to live in the present and look towards the future.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06I collaborate with a school that is an all girl's school.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10We would be walking the walls and then she would tell me,
0:53:10 > 0:53:13"Oh, I can't go there, I can't go there with my uniform on."
0:53:13 > 0:53:18Because that would be a predominantly Protestant area
0:53:18 > 0:53:22and her uniform signifies her as a Catholic.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25First question you always get asked is, "Where do you live?"
0:53:25 > 0:53:28- And that defines you? - Yes, it's automatically assumed.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32"Oh, you live there and you're in this religion." It's just not right.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36It doesn't sound like it happens in north-west Europe
0:53:36 > 0:53:40in the 21st-century, but it's very much still the reality, isn't it?
0:53:40 > 0:53:44But we sustained here a 35 year conflict and from 1998...
0:53:44 > 0:53:48It's not going to finish overnight, is it?
0:53:48 > 0:53:52No, I think you eloquently put it that there's a residue,
0:53:52 > 0:53:53there's a legacy.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55We don't want to get stuck in the past,
0:53:55 > 0:53:56we don't want to dwell on it,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58but we need to learn the lessons from it.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02Because these bright, young, talented people
0:54:02 > 0:54:05need a better future. A shared future.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09The ongoing segregation of schools in Northern Ireland
0:54:09 > 0:54:12was the single biggest shock to me.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15To an outsider, it is disappointing and depressing.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Pauline took me to see another project on the outskirts of the city.
0:54:21 > 0:54:22Oh, goodness, look!
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- What is going on? Hello. - Pleased to meet you.- Simon Reeve.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31- Hi, Simon, pleased to meet you. - Elaine, lovely to meet you.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34Elaine Ford coordinates the Street Talk Project
0:54:34 > 0:54:37close to the Protestant Tullyalley housing estate.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38One of its aims
0:54:38 > 0:54:42is to bring youngsters from different communities together.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45So, these kids, the majority of them here, are from Tullyalley,
0:54:45 > 0:54:46which is a Protestant community.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49There's only one or two from the Catholic community.
0:54:49 > 0:54:50There's meant to be more.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54But they have only started building a bridge together
0:54:54 > 0:54:55in the last few months.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57This time last year,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59the Catholic young people and the Protestant young people
0:54:59 > 0:55:02- wouldn't have engaged with each other.- So, really...
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Those young people would've been involved in rioting
0:55:05 > 0:55:07and fighting on what we call the interface here.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Does it feel weird to you that so little is mixed
0:55:12 > 0:55:16or is it just life? Is that just normal?
0:55:16 > 0:55:18- It doesn't feel any different. - It's the way we're brought up.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20It doesn't feel that different,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22because there's been a gap for so long.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26You haven't met people from the other community outside the project?
0:55:26 > 0:55:28No, not really, no.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33Billions of pounds have been paid to support the peace process.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37People agreed to stop fighting, but there are still real divisions.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39History runs deep here.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Real reconciliation will take generations.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Goodness me.
0:55:45 > 0:55:51I mean, it is astonishing just how much segregation there still is,
0:55:51 > 0:55:52in the North.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Pretty shocking for an outsider.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59Perhaps inevitable for a lot of the people who live here,
0:55:59 > 0:56:00but it has to change
0:56:00 > 0:56:04and this sort of project has got to be the way forward.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12I'm getting close to the end
0:56:12 > 0:56:15of this first leg of my journey around Ireland.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20But I'm now just driving up into the Inishowen peninsula
0:56:20 > 0:56:23which, by all accounts, is completely spectacular.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33It's only about 30 miles from the city of Derry to Malin Head,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36the island of Ireland's most northerly point.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I crossed the border back into the Republic to get there.
0:56:46 > 0:56:47Malin Head.
0:56:50 > 0:56:51I've heard that name mentioned
0:56:51 > 0:56:55so many times on The Shipping Forecast
0:56:55 > 0:57:01and I've always thought it must be ludicrously remote and bleak.
0:57:01 > 0:57:02And you come here,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06and you find it is stunning.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30It is so beautiful here.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33I'm just standing here smiling to myself.
0:57:33 > 0:57:34Look at it.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39I've come from the far south of this island,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42all the way here to the very far north.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46I've loved every moment and every mile of the journey so far
0:57:46 > 0:57:51and it's taught me so much about an Ireland that I really didn't know.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54I've learnt a lot about the history and the culture.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57Also the faith and the belief of people here, as well.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00I'm really looking forward to the next leg of the journey,
0:58:00 > 0:58:04which is going to take me down the stunning east coast of Ireland.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09I arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital city,
0:58:09 > 0:58:12on one of the most controversial weekends of the year.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16My God. Bottles are being chucked. Hoods are coming up.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18We need to move back out the way.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22And as I travel south through the Republic of Ireland,
0:58:22 > 0:58:25I hear a surprising theory that turns history on its head.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28You are saying that Cromwell was framed?
0:58:28 > 0:58:31I'm exactly saying that and I know who framed him.
0:58:33 > 0:58:34With the Open University,
0:58:34 > 0:58:38you can further explore Ireland's rich history and culture.
0:58:38 > 0:58:40To find out more, go to our website
0:58:40 > 0:58:43and follow the links to the Open University.