Fergal Keane visits the Coastguard station in Valentia Island in County Kerry. Valentia is one of the main marine search and rescue centres in the county and plays a major role in rescue efforts right along the south west coast.We also hear from Owen Brislin about how the station operated.

Seascapes this week comes from the Ireland on the Water Expo. We hear from Olympic gold medal rower, Fintan McCarthy, ambassador for the event. We hear from Bloom Field House Boats. Madeline Kelly tells us about women in angling. We hear about the solar powered boat Grid Buster, Atlantic Costal Cruises and CH Marine on paddle boards.

Lorna Siggins reports from the recent Skipper Expo in Limerick and also meets the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. Fergal Keane hears about a new pier in Howth which has just been opened for large trawlers. Chief Engineer at the Department of Agriculture and Marine, Noel Clancy, speaks about the new pier.

Author Jon Gower chats about his new book, The Turning Tide, A Biography of the Irish Sea. It is a facinating mix of travelogue, nature and history of the stretch of water which separates us from Wales. Also, Joanna McNicholas reports on the worrying increase in the numbers of Loggerhead Turtles which are being washed up on the Irish Coast.

Senator Sean Kyne speaks about the ongoing crisis in Inland Fisheries Ireland, where the Minister for Environment this week removed the last remaining board members, on a no fault basis. We also hear about the annual Seafarers Conference and the Skipper Expo.

We hear how the number of Navy ships available for active service has dropped dramatically. Norman Freeman remembers how he was recruited from maritime college in Dublin to join the Marconi company as a radio officer. And Andrew Crowley of Sherry Fitzgerald auctioneers in Westport, tells us about the lighthouse on Clare Island is for sale.

We the fishing port of Casatletownbere in West Cork to hear about the de-commissioning scheme for fishing trawlers. We also pay tribute to Captain Brendan Forde who died recently, aged 90. And we hear about the adventurers of Conor O'Brien, who became the first man to sail the Irish Tricolour around the world.

Fergal Keane visits a troop of Sea Scouts on Bull Island in Dublin. Also, Norwegian adventurer, Astrid Furholt was the first woman to ski to the South Pole and she spoke to Lorna Siggins.

Seascapes, the RTÉ maritime programme with Fergal Keane. Seascapes brings you around our coasts and onto traditional and modern boats and yachts for a taste of the great outdoors.

Fergal meets windsurfer Oisin Van Gelderen, who holds the Irish speed record for windsurfing. Norman Freeman has the story of how a Frenchman conducted an experiment to drift across the Atlantic on a dinghy and survived by living off the sea. And a new Study into Ireland's Ocean Economy has found that the sector shrunk during Covid.

We hear from the programme maker of the TV series, The Great Lighthouses of Ireland, David Hare. We also hear from the Chief Executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, Patrick Murphy, about a decommissioning scheme which will see one third of all Irish trawlers over 15 metres in length scrapped.

Joanna McNicholas reports form the Erris Peninsula on recent dolphin strandings. Norman Freeman recalls meeting a ships captain who fell on to difficult times after his ship was wrecked. And we talk to outgoing Chief Executive of the Irish Sailing Association, Harry Hermon.

We hear from photographer Denis Horgan about his new book, 'Ireland's Guiding Lights'. We also visit Assistant Professor of Marine Biology Nick Payne in Trinity College to hear about his work and research.

We hear how pods of Orcas, or Killer Whales, have been attacking yachts off the coast of Portugal. We also attend the Navigating to 2050 conference hosted by the Commissioners of Irish Lights this week. Ann Plelschke of Ocean Infinity Uk tells us about the development of unmanned autonomous ships

Seascapes tonight visits the Galway Docklands festival which took place last weekend.

Seascapes tonight hears from Norway about polar explorer, Roald Amundsen and the 22nd annual Shackleton Autumn School in Athy. Waterford Harbour Master, Captain Darren Doyle, tells of the rescue of a 140 metre container ship in the Irish Sea this week. And Inland Fisheries are encouraging women to get involved in angling.

Tonight Seascapes comes from Aberdeen, where Irish Fishing representatives were inspecting offshore, floating wind farms this week. There were mixed opinions in the group about how the fishing industry and wind farms can co-exist.

Lorna Siggins meets transatlantic rower Damian Browne on the Galway docks as he finishes his epic journey. Norman Freeman tells us why cats are considered lucky on board ships and we hear from Bangor University academic and nautical architect, Innes McCartney, on his study of the shipwrecks of the Irish Sea.

We hear from Irish solo sailor Pat Lawless. Pat leaves Les Sables-d'Olonne in France on Sunday on a journey which could take him up to nine months. We also hear from Gregor McGuckin, who was the Irish entry in the 2018 Golden Globe and from the Race Director, Don McIntyre.

Tonight, we are on board Ireland's new sail training ship, the Grace O'Malley. We hear from former TD, Catherine Noon, of the Atlantic Trust. International sailor Tom Dolan speaks from France as he is about to set out on his fifth Figaro race. And Norman Freeman recalls how he got involved in generating fake news on board a ship.

Seascapes tonight is at the Superyacht Cup in Palma, Majorca. We hear about these huge multimillion euro yachts and the people who sail them. Among contributors to tonight's programme are young Irish sailor Oisin McClelland and international umpire Bill O'Hara.

This week we have tales of survival and endurance, the medevac of an Irish rower from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and advice on how to sail the Round Ireland Yacht Race.

Seascapes tonight visits Cahersiveeen in County Kerry for the coastal regatta, which kicked off the rowing season in Kerry for this year. We also hear from Lorna Siggins about her new book, Search and Rescue, true stories of Irish Air-Sea rescues and the loss of R116.

Seascapes comes from the Fastnet Maritime and Folk Festival, better known as the Sea Shanty Festival.

Seascaoes comes from Wicklow, where the competitors in the Round Ireland Yacht Race are gathering ahead of setting out on the 700 mile trip.

On this weeks show we're in Clifton to welcome the new RNLI lifeboat and we hear from the Coast Guard Service on their safety campaigns, recruiting and their response to recent claims at a recent Oireachtas committee hearing.

Seascapes tonight speaks to James Morrissey about his book A History of the Fastnet Lighthouse. Norman Freeman recounts how the sea plays an important role in most of the works of the great playwright, Eugene O'Neill and Fergal Keane visits Cobh in Cork Harbour.

Seascapes this week visits Howth, where Lorna Siggins learns about the Howth School of Fish from Sean Doran. Norman Freeman has the story of the liner the Principessa Mafalda, which sank off the coast of Brazil. And we have an interview with Senator Gerard Craughwell about the Oireachtas Transport hearings into the Irish Coastguard Service.

We look at the story an IRA unit in Cork that attempted to hijack a Royal Navy ship. Recently, the Irish Coastguard Volunteers Representative Group spoke at the Oireachtas Committee on Transport & Communications hearing. And we take a look at TV series, the Great Lighthouses of Ireland.

Seascapes this week visits the K Club in County Kildare, where the hotel hosted a group of transition year students from CBS James St, are taking part in a fishing project organised as part of their Gaisce programme in the school. And in the latest of our series on Irish lighthouses, Noel Sweeney visits Mine Head lighthouse in County Waterford.

Seascapes visits the National Maritime Museum to hear about a new exhibition commemorating one of Ireland's most renowned sea captains, Captain Robert Halpin.

We visit Strangford in County Down and the Viking Festival which was recently held there. We also hear how celestial navigation can still be used at sea and how it can be relatively easy to learn, and we hear about lobster pots and how they are constructed and used.

Seascapes tonight comes from the Irish Sailing Awards, held in Dun Laoghaire last weekend. We hear from Olympic medallist Annalise Murphy, on her life after sailing, Sailor of the Year, Finn Lynch and from the winner of the Irish Sailing Leadership Award, Mary Duffy, amongst others.

Seascapes tonight visits the Skipper Expo, the country's biggest ever show for the commercial fishing sector.

Fergal is joined by the owner of Coast Line Shipping Joe Howes and Irish woman Stephanie Hyde-McIntyre who has made a career in the shipping business.

Seascapes tonight reports on the recent Offshore Renewable Energy conference held in the National Maritime College.

Jim Scofield recently completed a solo trans Atlantic race on his home-built 19-foot yacht. Jim took part in a race with five other boats. Also, Dr Karen Weekes has just completed a seventy day row across the Atlantic.

Joanna McNicholas is on Cross Beach in Belmullet, County Mayo, with beachcomber Fergus Sweeney. And five super trawlers have arrived in Irish waters to fish for Blue Whiting. The controversial ships can take thousands of tonnes of fish and stay at sea for weeks. You can track their progress at: www.marinetaffic.com www.vesselfinder.com

We hear about the working conditions of some non-EU fishers in the Irish Fishing Industry. We hear of workers' very long working weeks, little time off, minimum wage or less and living on board their trawlers. And we hear from Rossaveal Harbour, which is finally going to get an upgrade to a deep-water port after a 20 year wait.

We get to the bottom of the mystery about all those shotgun cartridges washing up on Irish beaches. And Cork TD Christopher O'Sullivan tells us about a €35 million EU fund being made available to local authorities to upgrade small harbours and concerns about the Russian Navy exercise next week. Norman Freeman, recalls the days of coal-fired ships.

Joanna McNicholas is on Carrowmore Beach in Co Mayo to see some of the fascinating pieces of flotsam washed up on our coasts and talks to Mairead Staunton, winner of the individual Ocean Hero of the Year award last month. And Ian McDonnell of the Forsa Trade Union explains the background to an industrial dispute in the SFPA.

We visit the historic Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse in Co Cork. And we hear from artist Eve Parnell about a unique project to mark the 75th anniversary of the Irish Naval Service. Eve went on board the LE James Joyce to oversee the actor Niamh Cusack performing a poem about the Navy.

We hear the latest on the bid by Cork to host the 2024 America's Cup. Eoin English of the Irish Examiner says that the America's Cup could still be held in Cork. Norman Dunlop recalls the brutal, inhumane history of the whaling industry. Matt Molloy, flautist with the Chieftains meets Lorna Siggins and tells of his love of the sea and sailing.

Tonight we are on the banks of the River Inny in Co. Westmeath. Fergal Keane goes winter fishing for pike with renowned angling guide Mick Flanagan. Mick can be contacted on http://www.midlandangling.com/ or on facebook. We also visit the Eel Smokehouse on the banks of the river and hear from John Rogan who ran the business.

We meet Kevin Kenny from the Ernest Shackleton Museum at the Athy Heritage Centre, Kildare to hear about Shackleton's life. We also hear a piece of music commissioned by the Museum called Shackleton's Endurance. Composed by Brian Hughes it includes readings from Shackleton's diaries, & it's available from the museum. https://shackletonmuseum.com/

We visit Dublin Port and hear about ambitious expansion plans from the port Chief Executive Eamonn O'Reilly. Details of the plan can be found at: https://www.dublinport.ie/masterplan/3fm/ We are also in Seapoint, to hear of concerns about the water quality in Dublin Bay with Gerry Jones of SOS Dublin Bay. https://sosdublinbay.ie/

We stop off at Fenit Lighthouse in Co Kerry, operating since 1854. Noel Sweeney met tour operator Mary O'Brien Browne and got a history lesson from John McGibney. Also on the show, an Irish team, Row Hard Or Go Home will take part in the Row the Atlantic 2022 event.

We visit a couple in Leitrim who have opted for life on board, on our inland waterways. Tom Lewis is a renowned singer of sea shanties and a folk singer who is well known in folk circles. Tonight, he and Lynn show us around their new boat on the Boyle River and speak about their lives. You can find more about Tom here: www.TomLewis.net

Sir Ranulph Fiennes speaks to Lorna Siggins about Shackleton's legacy and his own upcoming adventures. https://shackletonmuseum. Lighthouse Storybook is a new children's book, by very young writers, about the great lighthouses of Ireland. 12-year-old Holly Lawlor reads her story, The Night The Light Went Out. https://childreninhospital.ie

We are back at the Southhampton Boat Show. It's the nearest boat show we have to Ireland at the moment and we hear from many of the exhibitors: https://epropulsion.uk/ https://www.dadsboats.com/ https://www.honnormarine.co.uk/ https://setagyachts.com/ https://www.supermarine.co.uk/

Noel Sweeney visits Loop Head Lighthouse in Co. Clare and meets former lighthouse keeper, Stephen Rowan. Lorna Siggins speaks to Tobias Carter who plans to use 47-foot aluminium yacht Northabout to highlight climate change as part of the work with the charity Uno Mondo. www.unomondo.org

There are moves to bring a tall ship from Sweden to Ireland to replace the Asgard II. We hear from Cormac Gebruer and Brid Barrett on how this ship could help train future Irish mariners. Plus Conor Sweetman hears about the spectacular sport of kite surfing from kiter, Eoin Kernan.

We hear about a new film produced to highlight the unfairness of EU fishing quotas. 'Exploiting Irish Fishermen' was unveiled to TDs in Buswells Hotel in Dublin this week. Mike McCartney visits the newly reopened Meelick Weir on the River Shannon. The weir and a new walkway link Galway and Offaly and it was officially re-opened last week.

We visit the Southampton Boat Show, the nearest one to Ireland. Fergal Keane speaks to many of the exhibitors, including luxury Sunseeker Yachts, paddleboards, foils and a new Beneteau yacht. We also hear about the Court of Appeal overturning the ban on large trawlers fishing close to shore. TD Holly Cairns says new legislation is urgently needed.

RTE Olympic sailing analyst, Maurice O'Connell, gives a rundown of what the America's Cup is and what it would mean to Ireland if it were to be held here. Journalist Paul Lewis in Auckland tells us about the feelings there. Plus solo sailor Tom Dolan on his podium finish in the last leg of the Solitaire du Figaro.

We visit Blacksod Lighthouse in Co. Mayo and catch up with Peter Lawless, a sailor who is a month into what he hopes will be Ireland's first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.

A trip on Lady Min, a restored classic racing yacht restored by Simon O’Keefe. Noel Sweeney is in Union Hall as fishermen have catch weighed by the SFPA under controversial new regulations. And we hear from Michael Cullen in Tramore about the Metal Man, the iconic navigation aid in Waterford and we hear Michael’s song The Ballad of the Metal Man.

As Ireland moves into the 21st century, a group of musicians from the western islands have found a unique way to gather and preserve their islands heritage and culture, and foster friendships and reconnections between their isolated island communities. The Galway Hooker, the MacDuach is pictured at Clare Island.

We visit Vicarstown in Couty Laois and the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal. Michael Lawless hears from boat owners and from Barrowline Cruises', Orla Crean, on their concerns about the current low water levels on the canal at the moment. We also have a response from Waterways Ireland. And we are on a Galway Hooker, undertaking a cultural mission.

RTÉ's Michael Lawless travels to Vicarstown, County Laois as one boat hire company questions if it can stay open, as low water levels make it extremely difficult for boats to navigate our canals. A historian, locals and a man living full-time on the canal, share their concerns and experiences. We hear from Waterways Ireland about the issue.

An in-depth report on the sinking of the Cunard liner, the Lusitania, in May of 1915. And Lorna Siggins visits the Aran Island of Inis Oirr, to hear about their campaign for a new pier and visits the island's Arts centre to hear about an exhibition of currachs.

Noel Sweeney visits Valentia Island, where he hears about the newly refurbished lighthouse and visitor centre. And Fergal Keane tries his hand at flyfishing in Co. Waterford, on a lake run by the Waterford City and County Trout Anglers. Visiting anglers to the lake are welcome and day tickets are available. Details on www.waterfordflyfishing.ie.

We meet Peter Lawless who is about to embark on a solo, non-stop, around the world sailing bid. We hear about his preparations, about Waxwing and about his remarkable family history in long-distance solo sailing. If he succeeds, Peter will become the first Irish person to complete a solo, non-stop, circumnavigation.

We cast an eye over boats that were abandoned/seized from waterways and being auctioned by tender. Stephen Morris has been rebuilding the classic yachts, Dublin Bay 21s. The first three rebuilds are to return to Dun Laoghaire for the first time in 35 years next weekend. Plus an update on Ireland's bid for the America's Cup!

Joanna McNicholas hears how the increased frequency of the Clare Island ferry in Co. Mayo will improve life for the islanders. Alex Taylor is a young Irishman who is working in the fishing industry in New Zealand. He speaks about his life at sea. And Fergal Keane goes fishing with renowned sea angler Joe McPeake!

Kieran Cotter has been the Cox of the Baltimore lifeboat for more than 30 years and is the longest-serving lifeboat volunteer in the country. He retired earlier this year and he spoke to Fergal Keane about many of the rescues he has been on. Plus Noel Sweeney takes one of the first tour boats to visit the Skelligs in nearly two years.

The sea journey around the world taken by the Lions rugby tour in 1950 plus the new National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF), Ireland’s first national framework for managing marine activities.

We hear from Oliver Lee in New Zealand about an audacious bid by Ireland to host the Lorna Siggins is on board a new ferry service to the Aran Islands, with skipper Shane McCole. We hear about the building of a replica of the historic ship, The Saoirse, which was the first boat to carry the Tricolour around the world 100 years ago.

Sarah Courtney is a paramedic who swapped her old job at the ambulance for a role at the Irish Coast Guard. She is the only female in the role and her job sees her winching people to safety, sometimes in extreme conditions. Noel Sweeney caught up with Sarah and fellow crewman Derek Everette in Waterford to chat about life on board helicopter 117.

On the yacht Serendipity, Fergal Keane goes from Killaloe down the lower Shannon, through the biggest locks in the country, to the sea in Limerick.We journey through the Parteen Weir and the historic Ardnacrusha Dam and hear about the building of the country’s largest-ever construction project nearly 100 years ago.

We report from the protest in Cork this week, when 65 trawlers went out into the city centre to protest over restrictions in the industry. And Fergal Keane visits the Haulbowline Naval Base and meets the new Irish Navy operations commander Captain Kenneth Minihane.

Tim Ryan (Dun Laoghaire Rathdown CoCo) talks about work being carried out at Dun Laoghaire Harbour to secure its future. Owen Brannigan spent years working trawlers. He tells Conor Sweetman about the years he spent at sea. And GMIT student Cian Dalton has just won an engineering award for inventing a robot that clears rubbish from waterways.

Former Irish Navy Captain, Brian Fitzgerald, captained ships involved in fisheries protection, drugs raids and rescuing migrants. Brian's new career is with energy provider, Simply Blue Energy. Noel Sweeney reports from Kerry, where this week thousands of large spider crabs washed up. Kenin Flannery of Dingle Ocean World explains what happened.

Assistant Prof Nicholas Payne of Trinity College tells of his encounter with Basking Sharks while researching their behaviour in Irish waters. Twitter @nicklpayne Journalist John Lichfield reports from Normandy on the "fishing war" in the waters of Jersey between France and the UK. & Lorna Siggins reports on ambitious plans for Galway Port.

Katelin and Andrew O'Shea on sailing around the globe on a small yacht. Isolda lightship was sunk off the Irish coast by a German bomber in the early days of WWII. Eleesa Rushby is a researcher who is attempting to find out more about the six men who died in that sinking and about the survivors. Contact her via [email protected]

With Fergal Keane. A traditional Dublin Bay sailing boat being handbuilt in the capital; some tales from Waterford harbour; and a trip on the Liffey from the archives.

Fergal Keane meets Michael Fitzgerald, who is retiring after 40 years with the Arklow Lifeboat. And we hear from the Master of the Irish Lights ship, the Granuaile, Dermot Gray.

A dramatic airlift of seven fishermen from a trawler last weekend, and the Sligo sailing centres who managed to keep young people on the water right through the pandemic.

We hear from one of the world's authorities on Sea Shanties, Tom Lewis is a one-time submariner who lives on a boat on the Shannon Waterways. And Paul Stott, senior lecturer in ship production at Newcastle Uni explains how container ships have grown to such a vast size that one has blocked the Suez Canal and thrown world shipping into chaos.

New Zealand retains the Americas Cup; we visit one of Ireland's biggest fish processing co-ops and Fergal visits the once largest shipyard in the Republic of Ireland.