BBC Radio 3 comes to Carlingford Lough next month

BBC Radio 3’s Breakfast programme is coming to Carlingford Lough next week as Petroc Trelawny presents a week of live broadcasts, taking listeners on a lough-to-lough journey across Northern Ireland. 

This year, Petroc explores five Northern Irish loughs and their surrounding areas, with live broadcasts from Carlingford Lough, Strangford Lough, Lough Neagh, Lough Erne, and Lough Foyle, travelling from the Irish Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the way, listeners will hear about the building of the RMS Titanic, the peculiar life cycle of eels regularly returning to Lough Neagh, and the literary links related to the town of Enniskillen, by Lough Erne, amongst  other stories. 

Live music by local musicians, and contributions from poets, naturalists and historians will help bring the journey to life, with a focus on the natural beauty and unique landscapes of the loughs.

BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Presenter Petroc Trelawny says: 

“Our Breakfast road trips have taken us to some of the most beautiful parts of these Islands and I am thrilled we will now reach  Northern Ireland.  I have had so many happy times visiting Ulster over the years and am thrilled to be able to share the magical vistas,  natural history, rich stories and glorious music of the place with a wider audience.”

Celebrating a week of live programmes from Northern Ireland, BBC Radio 3’s drive time programme, In Tune will broadcast from the Great Hall at Ulster University in Derry on Friday 22 September. Presenting a programme with audience in attendance, Sean Rafferty will introduce performances by some of Northern Ireland’s finest musicians, including pianist Ruth McGinley and soprano Mary McCabe, amongst others. 

Every afternoon, meanwhile, Radio 3 will showcase a range of performances by the Ulster Orchestra, with chamber music from the NI Opera Festival of Voice 2023 at Glenarm featuring on Lunchtime Concert.

BBC Radio 3 Controller Sam Jackson says:

“Our week of live broadcasts from Northern Ireland demonstrates the unique ability of public service radio to celebrate the character and history of this very special part of the UK. We hope listeners in Ulster and across the whole country will join us as we discover more about the loughs, the culture and the music of the area.”

All the programmes as part of BBC Radio 3 Breakfast from Northern Ireland, as well as In Tune from Ulster University and the Afternoon Concert and Lunchtime Concert series, will be available to listen to on BBC Sounds.  

Previous BBC Radio 3 Breakfast road trips have seen the programme travel coast-to-coast across the Scottish Highlands, follow the Rivers Ure and Ouse to the Humber in Yorkshire, and journey along the River Severn from Wales into England and back. Breakfast has also come live from forests in Co. Down, Hampshire and Snowdonia.