My very special guest today is Triona O’Mahoney from Munster Vales, which is the tourist brand of the five mountain ranges between the Comeragh, Knockmealdown, Galtee, Ballyhoura and Nagles mountain ranges. These five mountain ranges incorporate nine heritage sites and 1,100km of over 90 marked walking trails and provide a mix of outdoor recreational activities including walking, cycling and angling amongst historic inland, coastal and rural towns and villages. Triona O’Mahony is the tourism marketing officer of the Munster Vales which was set up through the hard work of local community group ..read more

My guest is the acclaimed bestselling author John Connell, who has written a trilogy of autobiographical books which have been described as love letters to his home county of Longford. John has just released The Stream of Everything which is about a canoe trip down the Camlin river in Longford with a friend. This stunning book is a meditation on the simple beauty of nature and a celebration of the slow pace of rural living especially in counties like Longford. John published the bestseller The Cow Book in 2018 which is a memoir of his return to his family's farm in Longford after many years ..read more

I have a Center of Portugal Destination Special for final episode of Season 3 of Travel Tales with Fergal. I visited the centre of Portugal in September and what really shone through for me was the natural friendliness of the inhabitants of this stunning mountainous region between Lisbon and Porto. The landscape of the centre of Portugal continuously changes from the endless Atlantic surf beaches on the coast all the way up to the Serra da Estrela mountain range. The area contains over 40 mountain villages all with their own unique personalities, 4 natural parks and 5 UNESCO World Heritage s ..read more

I have a great guest today for people who are interested in adventurous travel off the beaten track. My guest is Thom Breathnach who is the travel editor of the Irish Examiner. So it was fascinating to see what 5 places would Thom pick from his travels all around the world. Thom shares great tales to American, Iran, South Africa and Switzerland and many more places in between. Thom is very much into conservation and loves travelling into the wilds of nature. He wanted his first trip post pandemic to be a special one so I loved hearing about his recent trip to Churchill, Manitoba in Canada whi ..read more

I have a very special guest today - the brilliant Irish American comedian Des Bishop who shares with us the five places that have most influenced him on his travels. Des Bishop’s latest stand up show is called Mia Mamma and it is a comic and dramatic exploration of his mother Eileen’s passing in 2019. The show explores sadness and grief through humour and is full of love, affection and hope. The show is also an elegy to the Irish mammy – that most celebrated and most important member of every family. Des is touring all over Ireland over the next few months including Clonmel on the 10th of Ma ..read more

I spent 20 wonderful days on the Annapurna Circuit through trekking from village to village through mist-covered valleys, remote villages and sacred monasteries in the Nepalese Himalayas in 2000. That experience has given me a deep appreciation of Nepal, the Sherpas and the climbers who attempt the greatest mountain of them all - Everest. Since then, I have always been fascinated with stories of Everest’s often deadly history. So I was riveted last May when following the literal ups and downs of my podcast guest today as he attempted to climb Everest during the peak of the pandemic.  Da ..read more

I have a very special episode today celebrating the life of the world renowned travel and food writer and broadcaster Anthony Bourdain with interviews with Patrick Radden Keefe from the New Yorker who wrote the definitive profile of him, Laurie Woolever who was his assistant for many years and who has just released a brilliant an oral biography on Tony and Paddy Daly who was his producer for many shows in Ireland. Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential and the host-writer of the seminal food and travel series Parts Unknown, introduced us to entire cultures, places and ..read more

I walked the Camino for this special 3 part Camino podcast series this year where I interviewed many interesting people including fellow walkers, pilgrims, guides and historians. The Camino is over 800kms from the Spanish border in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia and it typically takes a walker between 30 to 35 to complete. In part 2 today I talk to Catharine Murphy who has walked the Camino many times and she gives us a great guide to the many ways to do the Camino. We then hear from my guides Fran and Ursula and then we finish off with an insightful interview with the Ame ..read more

My guest today is Patrick Monahan who one of my favourite UK comedians. Patrick was the first person I actually interviewed for this podcast and I have been saving this episode for the right time and January, when you need a pick me up, is the perfect time. Patrick is half Irish/half Iranian and that mix has produced a big bundle of energy and positivity so I think you will enjoy this episode as Patrick has performed all over the world and is full of fun travel stories.  I have some great episodes coming up over the next few weeks including a Portugal destination special and next Tuesda ..read more

I walked on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain this year for this Camino Special Podcast series. Along the way I interviewed many interesting people including fellow walkers, pilgrims, guides and historians. The Camino is over 800kms from the Spanish border in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia and it typically takes a walker between 30 to 35 to complete.The Camino is a truly magical pilgrimage and I hope these 3 episodes convey in some small way why the Camino is so special to me and to so many people around the world. Today you are going to hear from some of th ..read more