Joe Mahon heads to Donegal to explore the Deele Valley area, as he returns to UTV on Sunday night for the third episode of the current series of ‘Mahon’s Way’.
Joe finds himself wading through the River Deele in pursuit of a host of “mini-beasts” that live under the stones in the bed of the river, with help from Caitriona Downey of the Loughs Agency.
After drying off, Joe meets local man Kerry Doherty, a local historian, tenor drummer with the Kildoag Pipe Band and a driver on the Diffin Lake Railway at Oakfield Park outside of Raphoe.
Caitriona Downey of the Loughs Agency and Joe Mahon in the River Deele
Kerry traces the brief history of the Strabane- Letterkenny line which was crucially important for the development of the hugeConvoy Woollen Mill during the first half of the 20th century.
He also tells Joe the story of how Saint Patrick fell into the River Deele, and fell out with a couple of men from Ballindrait.
Kerry Doherty and Joe Mahon in Deele Valley
Finally, on a hill overlooking the Deele Valley, Joe tries his hand, at a bit of “the hamely tongue”, as Dr Frank Ferguson introduces him to the notion that Donegal should be regarded as the cradle of Ulster-Scots poetry.
‘Mahon’s Way’ is produced by Westway Film Productions for UTV, supported by Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund and is sponsored by Warmflow Engineering.
Frank Ferguson and Joe Mahon in Deele Valley
You can watch the episode on Sunday the 7th of August at 7pm on UTV and catch up on www.itv.com/utvprogrammes
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