Rising in the boglands above Rockchapel in North Cork, the River Feale flows west through West Limerick and North Kerry before reaching the Atlantic. Renowned for its salmon and sea trout fisheries, it moves through a landscape of heather bogs, green valleys and rolling hills.
In the opening episode of this five-part series, our journey begins at the source, where local man Finbarr Murphy points to where the Feale first appears:
"It's actually coming out under the ground… it disappears for a couple of feet and it appears again."
Martin Stack and Johnny Stack at the source of the Feale
The surrounding bogs and upland forestry act as natural sponges, and as Fisheries Inspector Catherine Hayes explains, “These bogs and upland forestry habitats act as natural sponges… regulating flow and shaping the river from the very source”.
Downstream, the river deepens in history. At Poll an Tir it plunges through rock into a deep pool, near where local historian Raymond O'Sullivan recalls the river reputedly takes its name:
"The river that claimed her life still bears her name… she was Fiel."
As it flows into Rockchapel, the Feale passes through a community it helped build - from penal-era mass rocks to the thriving village that grew around them.
The river also powered industry and served as a vital crossing point between communities.
Along its banks in Sliabh Luachra, a remarkable musical tradition thrives.
As musician Michael Allen puts it, "the number of very, very talented musicians in the parish is unbelievable — you'd find it hard to equal it anywhere."
By the time the Feale reaches the Kerry border, swelled by tributaries like the Breanagh, it has grown from a quiet hidden source into a river of landscape, legend and living culture.
And this is only the start of the journey.
(Contributors in Episode 1 include Johnny Stack, Finbar Murphy, Catherine Hayes, Raymond O’Sullivan, Michael Allen, Seamus Curtin, Denis O’Callaghan, William “Bill” Murphy and Larry Begley)
