They say blame it on the weatherman!
Hey friends. You know something?! It’s not everyday Ireland’s favourite weatherman walks through the door! (Although I wish it was!) It was a very exciting start to the day recently as Deric Hartigan and his colleague, cameraman Mark Armstrong set up their filming equipment ready to put our aquarium on the map. Oh, and did I mention…live on tv?! All the fish must have sensed the excitement in the air and they were certainly very lively for the cameras! Splash the turbet, a visitor favourite, one of our largest flat-fish, was busy, well…splashing around the open-top tank. Buddy, the cat-shark was doing her morning yoga, whereby she bends her neck upwards, (upward-facing shark as some of you like to call it!) and having a good old swim around with Splash, investigating the tv crew.
It was an action-packed couple of hours as the two lads, were back and forth speaking to their team through their earphones. Hartigan was impressed with Elaine’s natural speaking abilities and Terence was calm and collected while he spoke positively about the team, aquarium and visitor centre. It was surprising to see just what goes on behind the scenes of a television broadcast.
Afterwards, it was time for a well-earned break and the guys sat and had a coffee with us. They praised Terence’s wife’s homemade brown bread. Even joining in with singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Elaine! (So, if you are reading this now guys, you will have to come back every year now for birthdays!) Hartigan, as warm and friendly off-camera as he is on, has a real affinity with the island ever since taking part in the local half-marathon in recent times! He planned to visit the main attractions here and talk to the islanders about the impact of Martin McDonagh’s Oscar nominated ‘Banshee’s of Inisherin’ movie, filmed in Achill. His colleague Mark was also interesting to talk to and the two make a great duo!
Following on from the Ireland am interview, we have loved welcoming lots of new visitors through our doors! It has given us a great boost and Elaine and Terence are enjoying their new-found fame! So, Deric if you ever need someone to fill in for you on your show, you know who to call!
Splash and Buddy also seem interested in more interviews!
You can watch the interview in full on virginmedia player.