Deele Valley delights revealed in third episode of UTV’s ‘Mahon’s Way’

Joe Mahon returns to UTV on Sunday night with ‘Mahon's Way’ for the third episode in the current series, where he heads to County Donegal to explore the Deele Valley area.

He finds himself wading across the River Deele in pursuit of a whole host of “mini-beasts” that live under stones in the bed of the river.

At least Caitriona Downey of the Loughs Agency hopes that is what they find because, not only are such insect larvae fascinating in their own right, and fearsome-looking in magnified close-up, they are also a very good indicator of the health of the river and of the amount of fish life it’s able to support.

And Joe nearly gets more than he bargained for while helping Caitriona out!

After drying off, Joe meets local man, Kerry Doherty, a man of many parts.

He’s a local historian, a tenor drummer with the Kildoag Pipe Band, and a driver on the little Difflin Lake Railway at Oakfield Park outside Raphoe - surely a dream job for one so passionate about the role of the railway in the Deele Valley.

Kerry traces the all-too-brief history of the Strabane-Letterkenny line which was crucially important for the development of the huge Convoy Woollen Mill during the first half of the 20th century.

On a lighter note, he tells Joe the story of how St Patrick fell into the River Deele, and fell out with a couple of men from Ballindrait!

Finally, on a hill overlooking the Deele Valley, Joe tries his hand, (or should that be his mouth) 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, and supported by Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. The series is sponsored by Warmflow Engineering. You can watch this episode on Sunday 7th August at 7pm on UTV and on catch up on www.itv.com/utvprogrammes

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.