A special Christmas edition of the Saturday supplement on Radio Kerry will take listeners on a unique journey through Killarney National Park’s Black Valley with local guide Genie Tangney.

The story, broadcast from 9.00 am to 11.00 am on Saturday, December 27, features Genie Tangney leading broadcaster Frank Lewis through his special places in his native Black Valley.

Mr. Tangney, a keen observer of nature, shared striking encounters with wildlife, including the sound of “two red stags bellowed all night” and an occasion where “14 white-tailed eagles perched here in our home farmyard in Gearhameen”.

The programme delves into the area’s tough past, with Dux O’Donoghue of Gap of Dunloe Traditional Boat Tours recalling the precarious life of a fisherman. He noted that in the 1970s, catching “two salmon a week you were better off than a man working in Liebher, the best job in Killarney at the time,” but added that fishermen “could go six weeks without catching a salmon”.

The history of the area is further evidenced by the story of ‘Saltauns,’ who trapped otters for skins, earning £14 for each.
The broadcast also touches on the history of the native Red Deer herd. Former regional manager of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Paddy O’Sullivan, recalled a never-implemented plan to continue shooting 400 deer a year over ten or eleven years to manage the population.

The history of travel is also explored, highlighting the jaunting car, pony, and boat Killarney day trip which has been operating for 278 years. At Lord Brandon’s Cottage quay, Mr. Tangney and Mr. O’Donoghue recounted the 70-year-old local story of an O’Donoghue firing a large plinth of rock over Purple mountain to the Gap of Dunloe.

Conservation Ranger Mary Sheehan pointed out local wildlife, including the Ring Ouzel, a rare summer visitor, and the sight of a pair of Whooper Swans flying the length of Cloghernoosh Lake. Mr. Tangney also pointed out the river gravel beds where Atlantic Salmon shape a depression for their eggs.

The programme also features local social history, including the building of Our Lady of the Valley church in the 1950s, with the parish priest Fr Sayers helping on the roof.

Listeners can join Frank Lewis and his guests on Radio Kerry on Saturday, December 27th, live on 97fm or worldwide on

www.radiokerry.ie. The programme will also be available on the website the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

Organisers of the annual Winter Solstice Charity Walk on the Paps of Anú are considering replacing the traditional event with a new fixture in February, following years of poor weather causing disruption.

The annual walk was postponed for the last wo years due to extremely hazardous weather conditions.
As a result, organisers are now looking at establishing a potential alternative event to take place over the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend in February for future years. The move would mark a shift away from the traditional December Winter Solstice date.