0:00:18 > 0:00:22Welcome to the Old Head of Kinsale, here on the south coast of Ireland,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and a relaxing start to a great journey, and some remarkable stories.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59They come from all over to play here. Tiger Woods,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02me, of course, and someone else
0:01:02 > 0:01:05who's had a unique and spectacular view of this course.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11Have you ever imagined what it would be like to see the world as something small,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15like a golf ball, so you could almost reach out and touch it?
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Well, American NASA astronaut Dan Tani has done,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21and he comes here to play golf.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27I could do with Dan's help playing the 12th hole,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30because not only did he marry one of the staff, he's photographed
0:01:30 > 0:01:34the entire course from space. And he's on the line now,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38from NASA HQ in Houston, Texas.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42The Old Head is so easy to see, because the Old Head is
0:01:42 > 0:01:47such a distinctive shape on the coast of Ireland. You're moving at 17,000 miles an hour.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49I have a piece of video to show you what it looks like,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52and then once you find the Old Head, you put the big telephoto lens
0:01:52 > 0:01:57on the camera and snap as many pictures as possible.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I can only imagine what it's like standing there on the 12th tee,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03and I really envy that you get a chance to be there.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05'Well, I mean, I envy you.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:08To change the subject, what advice would you give
0:02:08 > 0:02:14to a complete novice confronted by the apocalyptic horror that is the 12th tee?
0:02:14 > 0:02:20The advice on the tee is to stay right, more right than you think, there's an aiming stone there,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23and you're so tempted to bite off a bit of the dogleg and go left,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27- but there's 200-300 feet of cliffs...- Painfully aware of them. - I'm sure there are a couple...
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Yeah! ..of million golf balls down there, people who thought
0:02:29 > 0:02:32they could bite off more than they can chew. I love that hole -
0:02:32 > 0:02:35if I can play a hole over and over, that would certainly be one of them.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Dan, thanks very much for talking to me, it's been a real treat.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- Enjoy your stay there, bye now. - Thank you, bye-bye.
0:02:45 > 0:02:52From the Old Head of Kinsale, we travel past Kinsale itself and on to the great port of Cork.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07As Cork Harbour comes into view, one thing strikes you immediately.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09It's huge!
0:03:09 > 0:03:15It's also one of the finest natural harbours in the world.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18For centuries, it's been a haven for shipping.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Even today, with its deepwater channels and proximity to
0:03:22 > 0:03:27the main shipping lanes, ships come here from all over the world.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29At the harbour's heart lies Cobh.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Over the years, Cobh has played host to many fine ships.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Just recently, the QE2 was moored here on her last voyage,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44before being converted into a hotel in Dubai.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Hardly surprising, the public were out in force with their cameras
0:03:49 > 0:03:52to capture this historic moment for themselves.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01There's barely a news programme these days without so-called amateur footage of something or other,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04but it's not an invention of the modern media age.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09There's nothing new about amateur coverage of historical events.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Many years ago, on the quayside at Cobh,
0:04:14 > 0:04:20a unique set of photographs was taken. The date, 11th April 1912.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Outside the White Star Line's ticket office, an excited crowd gathered,
0:04:24 > 0:04:31waiting to board the White Star's latest and greatest liner on her maiden voyage.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36That liner was about to become the most famous ship in history, bar none... The Titanic.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41She'd already set sail
0:04:41 > 0:04:44from Southampton, crossed the Channel to Cherbourg,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and now, her very last port of call before crossing the Atlantic
0:04:48 > 0:04:52to New York was Cork. On board the Titanic,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56waiting to disembark as she moored out in Cork harbour,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01was a young local man, a keen photographer and theology student, Frank Browne.
0:05:01 > 0:05:08His uncle and guardian had forked out for Frank to travel on the Titanic 1st class from Southampton to Cork,
0:05:08 > 0:05:09but no further.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13123 people joined the Titanic at Cobh.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19From that now neglected and decaying wooden jetty right over there, they got aboard two tenders
0:05:19 > 0:05:23that ferried them out to the liner herself further out in the harbour.
0:05:23 > 0:05:29Only seven people disembarked, and a bitterly disappointed Frank Browne was one of them.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32On the way to Cork, he'd been befriended by a wealthy American couple
0:05:32 > 0:05:36who'd offered to pay the remainder of his passage to New York.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42He'd sent a telegraph to his Jesuit superior at the college asking for permission.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47The reply he got was terse and unequivocal: "Get off that ship."
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Signed, "Principal."
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Of course, with hindsight, Frank Browne was one of the luckiest people alive.
0:05:57 > 0:06:03Ordered off a ship that was about to sail from Cork to an icy Atlantic grave.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10The images Frank Browne recorded on his camera as he watched the Titanic leave
0:06:10 > 0:06:14instantly made the front page of newspapers worldwide.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Today, they remain a priceless record,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19not just of the most famous ship in history,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22but also an evocation of the joy,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24the sadness, and excitement
0:06:24 > 0:06:29of Titanic's passengers as they embarked on their tragic journey.
0:06:39 > 0:06:46Cork Harbour may have seen tragedy, but it's also witnessed a lot of Irish fun. For starters,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50it's home to the Royal Cork Yacht Club, founded in 1720.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54That makes it the oldest yacht club on the planet.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57It's moved HQ several times over the centuries,
0:06:57 > 0:07:02before anchoring in Cross Haven, on the western side of the harbour.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Now, old, it might be, stuffy, it isn't,
0:07:04 > 0:07:11and people flock here to be part of the biennial regatta known the world over as Cork Week.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21My name is Eddie English. I run a sailing school in Cobh, on the other side of the harbour.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I've been involved with Cork Week since its inception.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I'm fortunate enough to have done regattas all over the world,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30and to me, this is the best one.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35My family are from Cobh and my grandfather and father grew up
0:07:35 > 0:07:39with the water literally lapping onto the front door,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and since I was very small, I went sailing.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45Since the early '90s,
0:07:45 > 0:07:50I've sailed with Oyster Catcher, and it's very much a social thing
0:07:50 > 0:07:53as much as a sailing thing with our crew.
0:07:53 > 0:07:59There's four brothers in the family, and there are three of us full-time involved in sailing as a career,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and our children have continued on that tradition.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07My own kids are very small, but they're involved in sailing, so they'll be watching today.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14You can go to a football match and there could be 20,000 people watching that game,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18but there's less than 30 people out on the pitch. With Cork Week,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22you might have 20,000 people involved, but there's going to be 8,000 people
0:08:22 > 0:08:24participating and racing,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and everyone stays involved right the way through the week.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32As the great yachts cross the finishing line,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37they also pass the very first home of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, on Haulbowline Island.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43For centuries, Haulbowline was a strategically vital base for the British Royal Navy,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47then in 1938, it became - and remains to this day -
0:08:47 > 0:08:51the command centre for the Irish Naval Service.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54And I've been invited to join them on an exercise
0:08:54 > 0:08:58on the flagship patrol vessel the LE Eithne.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01WHISTLING
0:09:03 > 0:09:09First off, I have a bit of a confession to make to Captain Hugh Tully.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I must admit, I didn't realise that Ireland had a navy.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Well, you wouldn't be the first person to say that.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19We're a relatively young navy, and I suppose we're sort of
0:09:19 > 0:09:20out of sight, out of mind.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25A lot of our time is spent way offshore, so it's difficult to have a profile.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28What is the remit of the Irish Naval Service?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Our main job is maritime surveillance, so that can be
0:09:30 > 0:09:34fishing protection, search and rescue, drug interdiction.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39With eight patrol vessels and one of the largest maritime zones in Europe to patrol,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41the Irish Navy is a serious proposition.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47Sir, if I can interrupt you there one moment, we've just received an intelligence report.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50A Maritime Surveillance aircraft has come across a commercial tug,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53with the description of an Irish vessel in the Oyster Bank.
0:09:53 > 0:10:00'And as 2nd in command, Lieutenant Olan O'Keefe outlines the position of a suspect vessel, something clicks.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04'When the Naval Service invited me on an exercise, they didn't mean
0:10:04 > 0:10:08'twice round the harbour and back to the Officers' Mess for a swift half.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'Their training looks deadly serious.'
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- If you'd like to join me there. - Excellent. OK.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14'As we go down to the Operations Room,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18'Olan explains we're about to conduct what they call
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'a compliant boarding of the suspect tug, and I'm to be part of that boarding team.'
0:10:22 > 0:10:25I've a target bearing 040 degrees.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Target bearing is 040 degrees.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30From here, we have to positively track the Oyster Bank.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35Once he's tracked on our radar, we'll have our weapon sensors directed on the vessel also.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41From there, the gunnery officer will recommend to the Captain that the vessel is in our sensors.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43So, what capability have you got sat here?
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Well, I'm Gunnery Officer on board, so I'm in charge of all the weapons.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51This screen is giving me what the digital camera is actually seeing.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55I've daylight TV and infrared systems.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58And at this point, you're capable of doing anything you want
0:10:58 > 0:11:01to that vessel, should the situation arise?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Yes, should it arise and once we have everything confirmed,
0:11:04 > 0:11:05the Captain can give the order,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and then we can control the main weapons from here.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Command WD,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17target confirmed, target, merchant vessel, Oyster Bank.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Neil, we'll join the Captain and the bridge team, as we close this vessel.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- So, we can make our way straight to the bridge now.- Right.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- Starboard 20.- Starboard 20.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Request close for visual confirmation, over.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'Roger, we're closing down their position now.'
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Action stations. Action stations, action stations.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45HE BLOWS WHISTLE
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Action stations, action stations.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Neil, we've just gone to our highest state of readiness there now,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54so the naval boarding team are going to muster in the hangar, don their kit and their weapons.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59The Boarding Officer is going to contact the Oyster Bank and ask a series of questions.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- If you'd like to join me now, we'll go down to the hangar.- OK.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07OK, Neil, we have your kit here.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10What is the IMO number of your vessel?
0:12:10 > 0:12:15'Roger, my IMO is 172.'
0:12:15 > 0:12:17- OK, just...- It's a snug fit.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19What is your next port of call?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22'My next port of call is Cork.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:30Sir, I intend to board your vessel with a Naval boarding team, and my team will be armed.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33We will board on the port side,
0:12:33 > 0:12:34just far of this, here.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Weapons, the H&K, 9mm pistol.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43Code words for today, situation turning hostile is Catfish, and team withdrawing is Rebound.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- And what should I do? - Just stick with me.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02When you see men in balaclavas coming, they must know it's not going to be a good day though!
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Did you tell the crew to be visible for your approach?
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Yeah, yeah, I tell them on the radio.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- Right. You want them to see you when you arrive?- Exactly, yeah.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Come forward.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I would like you to get down on both knees.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36- I'm with you. - Put your hands in the air,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39put your hands in the air! Bridge clear!
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Can I just get your log book, please?
0:13:41 > 0:13:46It's amazing to me that this kind of work is going on day and night,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50year round, to try and make sure that the coast is as safe as possible.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Now, this was just an exercise, there's no bullets in their guns,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58but there's something about seeing armed men, something about seeing guns being pointed at people.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03It's intimidating, and it's frightening, but I suppose it should be.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Just days after I joined the boarding crew, a news report confirms
0:14:08 > 0:14:11the importance of the exercise.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17'The haul of cocaine discovered on board a yacht off the Cork coast was put on display today.'
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Much of it was almost certainly destined for the UK and mainland Europe.
0:14:21 > 0:14:29In a hazardous night-time operation, the Irish Naval Service seized over £600 million pounds' worth of cocaine
0:14:29 > 0:14:33in a raid on a yacht, the biggest drugs haul in Irish history.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Heading east from Cork, we're brought to a sudden halt
0:14:48 > 0:14:50by a massive 100ft
0:14:50 > 0:14:54exclamation mark on the coast at Ardmore.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59One of Ireland's famous and mysterious round towers.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04There's about 60 of these round towers scattered
0:15:04 > 0:15:06through the Irish landscape, and over the years,
0:15:06 > 0:15:11they've bred all manner of weird and wonderful theories
0:15:11 > 0:15:14as to exactly what they're for.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20The most popular explanation is that the round towers were bolt-holes
0:15:20 > 0:15:23for priests in times of invasion.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29But there have been other less plausible theories, everything from druidic observatories to,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33more recently, the idea that they concentrate
0:15:33 > 0:15:37paramagnetic energy from the stars to help the crops.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42The truth is probably a little more prosaic than that,
0:15:42 > 0:15:48and there's a big clue in that the little church just down the hill doesn't have a tower of its own.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53That's its bell tower, just like an Italian campanile, and they were
0:15:53 > 0:15:58built from the 9th-12th centuries to call the faithful to prayer.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01But there's supposed to be something even more mysterious
0:16:01 > 0:16:06than the round tower here at Ardmore that's really sparked my curiosity,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11something that dates back centuries before either the tower or the church were built.
0:16:11 > 0:16:17What I want to see is a stone, and on it, an ancient Irish way of writing called Ogham.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22Orla Murphy, from Cork University, is an expert in this ancient script.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24This is the Ogham stone then.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- So, that's writing. - This is the earliest Irish writing.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34- Is it runes?- No, it's like the Runic, in that it's incised
0:16:34 > 0:16:39in lines, but it's completely different, and the different shapes
0:16:39 > 0:16:41obviously mean different things.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44So here, on this section,
0:16:44 > 0:16:50you have the name, L, and the three scores,
0:16:50 > 0:16:57U-G-U-D-E-C-C-A-S,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00so it's Lugudeccas all the way up,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05then unfortunately, it got chopped at some point when it was being used for building.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08What's the date of this? When did people actually start writing Ogham?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11It dates from about the 5th century,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15maybe the 4th, but probably the 5th century, so it's very early.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Why do you think people started writing on stone at this time?
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Probably because they met with Christianity,
0:17:20 > 0:17:26and with Christianity came writing, and perhaps they'd used stones as memoria before,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30but now they were able to translate that,
0:17:30 > 0:17:36using this technology of writing, of matching sounds to visual symbols.
0:17:36 > 0:17:43And they've come up with something unique, and something that's Irish, and this is it. It's Ogham.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Orla, it's remarkable that you can read this. Can you write it as well?
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Yes, we can. We can write it as well.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- Shall we go and try?- Yes.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Shall we just have a go in the sand then?
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Yes. So, what's happening is, we're going to write it either side of a stave,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04just like as if we were going to write on the edge of a stone.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06- On an upright stone? - On an upright stone.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11Or, it's sometimes on the flat, but just on an edge is important.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13OK, so,
0:18:13 > 0:18:14here we go.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20So, reading from the bottom up, we're going to have a notch for your A...
0:18:22 > 0:18:24..two lines for your L...
0:18:27 > 0:18:33..one, two, three, four for your I.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Five, actually, for your I.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42One, two, three, four for your C...
0:18:43 > 0:18:49..and one, two, three, four for your E.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51E. I wouldn't want to write
0:18:51 > 0:18:53a particularly long word in that, I have to say.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56No, you could be there for a long time, you could.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58I'm going to have a go myself.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03- So, first of all, the line, which is the edge of the stone then.- Yes.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- A...- Yep.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09'So, vowels are notches on the edge of the stone or stave.'
0:19:09 > 0:19:13..I. 'And consonants are lines on the sides. I get it!'
0:19:13 > 0:19:18..C...E.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- Perfect.- My name in Ogham.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28Monumental masonry, graffiti, the idea of logging on to the landscape
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and leaving your name for posterity seems ageless.
0:19:31 > 0:19:38But it all started here in Ireland, more than 1,600 years ago, with Ogham.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:19:42 > 0:19:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk