A NEW series filmed over 20 years tracks the lives of dolphins in Irish waters.
Set for release this weekend, RTÉ’s Dolphins: Wonders of the Ocean has been filmed by underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan.
His work on the documentary began two decades ago, when he had an encounter with one lone, lost dolphin in Co. Clare.
O’Sullivan had returned to the west coast of Ireland to follow his dream of becoming an underwater cameraman.
Underwater cameraman Ken O’SullivanWhile there he came across a solitary bottle-nosed dolphin called Dusty, which would become his subject.
“Where Dingle had Fungi, now Clare had Dusty,” he says.
“She would ultimately be a part of my journey to explore and film Ireland’s under-sea world and to learn about the amazing dolphin species in Irish waters,” he added.
“I discovered our beautiful undersea world in Ireland and when I found this place, it became a life-changing moment.
“I felt compelled to document this place, and after a couple of years, I found the perfect subject.
“There’s so much life here in these seas and if you are patient, and work hard, you can find magic.”
As the years went on, O’Sullivan’s journey led to him freediving and filming enormous pods off Ireland’s coast in the open North Atlantic Ocean, all of which he captured on camera.
His footage shows fascinating scenes where dolphins hunt in huge pods in the waters around Ireland, with their behaviours filmed on camera for the first time.
As the series goes on, O’Sullivan and his crew witness how human activity is now threatening these animals in Irish Atlantic waters.
“Sound pollution and overfishing are among a number of conservation threats faced by dolphins,” a spokesperson for the show explained.
“Of greater concern is the welfare of the species,” they add.
“Ken discovers multiple existential challenges facing dolphins in the northeast Atlantic, not least an increase in the number of dead dolphins each year in Irish waters.”
Dolpins: Wonders of the Ocean begins on Sunday, August 31 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 6.30pm.