The glories and tragedies of Mallow over many centuries, to the backdrop of the dawn chorus, recorded recently in the hours around first light in Mallow Castle/Town Park, will be broadcast on Radio Kerry from 9am to 11am this Saturday. The programme can be heard live from 96fm to 98fm and live worldwide on www.radiokerry.ie, and it will also be available on podcast from next Tuesday on ‘podcasts/Saturday Supplement/April 25’.
Saturday’s broadcast will feature many stories from Mallow’s rich history, told by local historian Kevin Myers, Teagasc forestry adviser John Casey, Blackwater fisherman Kevin Healy, and Cllr. Ronan Sheehan. The interviewer is Frank Lewis of Radio Kerry.
The history of Mallow Castle goes back to 1185 when King John of England ordered the construction of a castle overlooking the River Blackwater, and its beautiful white deer are descendents of an original pair of deer who were gifted by Queen Elizabeth 1 to her god-daughter, Elizabeth Norreys of Mallow Castle. Visitors to the grounds of the castle can see the remains of the first two castles, plus the ‘new castle’, as it is known locally, which was bought in recent years by Cork Co. Council and is in the process of being returned to its former glory.
The grounds of Mallow Castle have been greatly enhanced in the recent past, and among the initiatives was the planting of 24,000 trees along the lovely river walk.
Stories told on Radio Kerry on Saturday are very varied, including tales of terrible flooding in the decades up to the flood relief scheme, Colonel Jephson’s mysterious financial saviour, the visit of Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill, Mexican pilot Captain Ruben Ocana who made an emergency landing in Mallow Racecourse on April 1983, the three-day delay in reporting the devastating 45,000 fish kill after a toxic spill last August, and the story of Lovers’ Leap, all told against the backdrop of the dawn chorus. There’s even a rendition of the song ‘The Rakes of Mallow!’
This broadcast by Radio Kerry is a must for all lovers of the town and its history.