RTE - The Liffey Series 1 (2022) Part 1 Protection and Defence
An intimate portrait of a river and the people it meets on its way to the sea. The six-part documentary series captures the lives and stories of a diverse group of people who are unified by one thing, the river Liffey. For some it's a workplace, for many it's a playground but for others it has defined and inspired their lives. There are artists and engineers, kayakers and dockers, swimmers and boat builders, the Navy and the Fire Brigade. Rising in an anonymous bog in the Wicklow Mountains, the Liffey traverses Kildare before becoming the heart and soul of Dublin. This series goes on a journey with a river brimming with history and overflowing with stories.
Ch:1 Protection and Defence
The Liffey offers safe harbour to some while others need to be rescued from its dangerous depths. We join a crew of the Irish Navy on board the L? William Butler Yeats as they return to Sir John Rogersons Quay after time away at sea. Drainage Supervisor David Green of Dublin City Council brings us underground on the Poddle to learn what the Liffey had to offer to the Vikings and how they city of Dublin began. We also see the lengths Dublin Fire Brigade go to in order to save people from the Liffey as SWIFT water instructor and fire fighter Conor Morris conducts a major rescue drill in the cold city waters of the river Liffey.
Ch2: Industry
The Liffey has been harnessed to create electricity, to drive an economy and to provide a gateway to the world. A crane operator gives us a birds eye view of Dublin Port, we learn about a forgotten community wiped out by the Poulaphouca Dam and we hear how a brilliant engineer and many brave dock workers shaped the Liffey into the river we see today.
Ch3: Sustenance
The Liffey offers food for body and soul. Anglers take us fly fishing in Clane and a man who can't live without his ice-cold dips in the rural Liffey enters the historic Liffey Swim for the first time. We also visit a Dublin Port diner to meet the man who has fed truckers for twenty years and who also does his best to offer guidance to local youngsters.
Ch4: Inspiration
Some people pass by the Liffey without giving it a second thought but for others it's a source of inspiration. A young kayaker, who has spent his life in or beside the river, is inspired to take on the Liffey's toughest test. An esteemed author who has made the river his life's work travels to its source and an artist who has made the river his art gallery takes the plunge.
Ch5: Transport
The Liffey provides access to the rest of the country through its canals and to the rest of the world as it joins the Irish Sea. We follow a man building a boat in his shed near the Liffey in Blessington and see him take the first steps on his trans-Atlantic voyage in the mouth of the river Liffey. We meet rowers in the historic St Pats' dockers rowers club and an historian tells us about some of the Liffey's most iconic and least celebrated bridges.
Ch6: Conservation
The Liffey needs a helping hand as nature falls foul of human behaviour. We go on board the Liffey Sweeper which removes rubbish from the urban river, the Kildare Bat Group keep tabs on the bat population in Newbridge and two amateur photographers see what they can snap in the Liffey's plush fields.
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