Cork coast featured in dolphin documentary

The Cork coast is featured in a new two-part documentary about dolphins by Irish underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan.

Filmed over two decades, Dolphins, Wonders of the Ocean offers a fascinating insight in to Ireland’s relationship with the highly intelligent marine mammals.

Shot in various locations around the Irish coast, including Clare and Kerry, some of the footage was also shot off the West Cork coast, while the documentary crew was based in Courtmacsherry.

Speaking to The Echo, Ennis native Mr O’Sullivan said the project is very much a labour of love. “For me, it is a dream job going out filming dolphins. There’s so much life here in these seas and, if you are patient, and work hard, you can find magic,” he said.

“This was originally meant to be a single documentary, but there was so much material, so many threads to cover in the story, that we felt compelled to make a second episode."

Mr O’Sullivan recalled his first encounter with a dolphin in 2005, when he was becoming an underwater cameraman.

“I encountered the solitary, lost dolphin off the Clare coast. It was an incredible experience to see an animal like this, just off the shore in your home place. She became my subject for some time; then, over the years, my understanding of dolphins changed dramatically and our own human relationship with them,” he said.

“People are surprised at the abundance and variety of species of dolphins in our waters. There are eight species and thousands of animals, but, remember, our temperate seas are some of the most fertile on the planet.”

As the documentary develops, Mr O’Sullivan and his crew witness how human activity is threatening these animals in Irish Atlantic waters. Sound pollution and overfishing are among a number of conservation threats faced by dolphins.

“Dolphins display some of the most amazing behaviour of any animals,” Mr O’Sullivan said. “They are incredibly well adapted to the place where they live, using acoustics as their primary sense. But they live in the natural world, which can be a brutal place and violence is a core part of their lives.”

“Having said that, anyone who has ever seen dolphins in the wild is almost certainly struck by the beauty of their form and the grace of the movement.”

• ‘Dolphins, Wonders of the Ocean’ will be broadcast on Sunday, August 31, and Sunday, September 7, at 6.30pm on RTÉ One.