Secrets Of The Irish Landscape

Derek Mooney follows in the footsteps of one of Ireland's greatest unsung scientists, Robert Lloyd Praeger, to uncover the true extent of the Republic's remarkable landscape. In 1895, the explorer charted the distribution of all plants across the country, compiling a one-man census of the entire Irish flora. With the help of Praeger's 1937 book, The Way That I Went, Mooney embarks on an epic journey around the country and further into Europe, looking back 20,000 years to unravel the true enigma surrounding the area's unique and stunning eco-systems.

Derek Mooney discovers how Ireland's first farmers changed the face of the region's landscape around 6,000 years ago, and details the scientific research which demonstrates how the area's population was almost wiped out by dramatic weather events several hundred years later.

Derek Mooney discovers how the modern Irish landscape came to be, as waves of invaders and new ideas were imported into the country.