Donegal to feature on new documentary following the highs and lows of life at sea

Donegal will feature prominently in a new documentary series following the highs and lows of life at sea through the eyes of professional fishermen working from ports around our coast.

Local fishermen Ciarán Doherty and Ryan Murphy are both flying the flag for the North West throughout the four-part series called Tarrac na Farraige.

Ciarán is from Burtonpoint and based in Killybegs, while  Ryan is originally from Castletownbere, Co Cork, and has been fishing in Killybegs for years.

Ciarán is the Operations Manager and Skipper with the Áine Fishing Company, a company started by his father in 1970 when he was just 19 that now employs a team of 16. 

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Ciarán first went to sea at the age of four and has been fishing since. Ciarán is also chairperson of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation and has been a vocal critic of the government's lack of action on fishing quotas. 

Together, their testimonies paint a picture of a traditional Irish industry at a key turning point. Can Irish fishing survive and thrive – or are we witnessing its slow demise?

For the past year, fishermen up and down the coast of Ireland have allowed the crew of Red Shoe Productions to film them as they go about their daily lives. Representing a huge range of fishing communities across Ireland, from Malin Head to Mizen Head, via Killybegs and Castletownbere, are: the O’Flaherty family, the Murphy family, MacDara Breathnach, Enda Dirrane, John O’Donnell, Fionn Ó Corraoin and many more. 

The fishing community may be scattered around Ireland’s 3000km of coastline, but this landmark new series captures the community spirit and love of the sea that unites them all.

This is the first time many of these hard-working fishermen have allowed themselves to be filmed. In a time of great uncertainty, the series aims to humanise the headlines and bring the stories of one of Ireland’s hardest-working communities to the nation’s screens.

It’s not just perilous working conditions and stormy seas they face; rising costs and falling profits are deterring younger people from joining the industry. 

With many of our most experienced professional fishermen now on the cusp of retirement and fewer and fewer young people learning from them, the future of the industry here is uncertain. It’s a tough job too: Director of Photography Séamus Hayes filmed with our fishermen in all weathers and seasons. They spoke candidly to him about the rewards and joys of the job, as well as its professional and personal costs.

Maggie Breathnach, a native of An Rinn, beside the fishing port of Ceann Heilbhic, produced and directed the series. 

Having grown up by the sea, she aimed to honour the fishermen and fishing communities she grew up with, and to capture the last real hunter-gatherers of a generation. Local cinematographer Seamus Hayes was integral to the series – he himself having worked at sea until he was 18 or 19 – as he braved the waters for this series on board the many boats, including the Foyle Fisher, Little Jack, Jenny M, Cruach na Cara, and the Menhaden.

Tarrac na Farraige is a Red Shoe Production for RTÉ and will screen on Thursdays at 7pm on RTÉ One, beginning May 8.