Happy New Year from Rostrevor! May the wind at your back this year be as strong as it was up at the cairn earlier today!

If you just missed it go to @rteone.rte.ie +1 or the #RTEPlayer and watch this charming documentary on this gentle man of music: Tommy Sands: Clann an Cheoil. Honoured to have spent many happy hours in his company in Rostrevor and elsewhere

Spotted in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor earlier today. A wee reminder that if you’re feeling low or under the weather right now, you’re not alone ☺️🤧

“Mountains return to us the priceless capacity for wonder which can so insensibly be leached away by modern existence, and they urge us to apply that wonder to our own everyday lives.” - Robert Macfarlane

You never know who you’ll meet in Rostrevor rainforest 🌿🎅🏻

Congratulations to Rostrevor Light Orchestra on a superb performance yesterday afternoon, great programme and arrangements with music to light up the spirits and the Star of the Sea on a wintry evening….thank you all for a concert to remember!

“Let there be no mistake, we will not stop until Re-Gen's licence in Warrenpoint is revoked. Residents deserve respect, accountability, and the right to live in their own homes without being subjected to this year after year.” Excellent post from independent councillor Mark Gibbons 👏 👏

The extinction paradox in two graphs: More laws, fewer animals Left: the rise of endangered-species legislation since 1970 📈 Right: the collapse of wild vertebrate populations since 1970 📉 Source: extinctionparadox.org

Slieve Doan - Dún Maol Chobha

Let there be light…a wave of thanks from under the oaks of Rostrevor to all who find ways to brighten the darkness of winter!

In my morning walk about town I see many instances of speeding, & of more dangerous driving - like looking at phones This is often as children are heading to school To explain away speeding behaviours, as in this article, exemplifies the deep selfishness of many www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Please take extreme caution on, or if possible avoid, the Warrenpoint-Rostrevor road this afternoon!

“Perhaps the most interesting supernatural phenomenon relating to the Carlingford Lough Disaster is that of the appearance of the Lord Blayney, "the ghost ship of Carlingford Lough.” Interesting piece on Carlingford Lough’s worst maritime disaster in 1916. www.bbc.co.uk/northernirel...

A solitary figure on the high ground above Hilltown and the beautiful guiding words of Manchán Magan with thoughts on the timeless ways of listening and loving.

“Every week, 10 people are killed or seriously injured in towns, cities, and on rural roads across the country while walking, cycling, or scooting. If this was happening in any other field of activity, it would be a national scandal.” www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

“Just as biological species have evolved to thrive in specific local environments, human knowledge systems are adapted to the particularities of place. When these systems are disrupted, the consequences can ripple far beyond their point of origin.” www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...

A quick word on Re-Gen’s recent social media activity 📢 A few years ago, Donald Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon was reported to have described his media strategy as an effort to “flood the zone with shit” as a way to deceive, distract, and disorient the public from the real agenda at play. 1/3

“‘Development’ is not necessarily good; it depends on who you are - it depends on how the structures in society expose you to its hazards or open you to its fruits…” - Bill Adams

Time for Re-Gen Waste Ltd to stop peddling myths, start answering questions and get themselves to the ‘Point to meet the residents who have dubbed them the “Neighbours from Hell.” Thanks to The Newry Reporter for keeping a finger on the pulse of this story since August 2023 until today.

Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."

"And then as if from out of nowhere,⁣ A voice came back from long ago, ⁣ These quiet places if you find them, ⁣ Are the spaces where you grow."⁣ - Colum Sands

“If technology and the needs of the economy are our starting point, then we have what we are faced with today: a model of development dangerously distanced from the needs of particular peoples and places and rigidly imposed from the top down.” - Helena Norberg-Hodge 📸: “Development” in Warrenpoint

Do you have stories to share about life in the Mournes? ⬇️

Please take a moment to sign this petition and help save a truly wonderful place - Killowen Primary School 💙💛 savekillowenschool.co.uk?fbclid=IwdGR...

“The land our ancestors fought to reclaim is once again under threat, not from a foreign empire, but from the economic forces that treat it as a commodity rather than a shared inheritance still alive beneath our feet.” - @aislinnn.bsky.social aislinna.substack.com/p/the-land-c...

“I see the world as broken but beautiful, believing that it is our urgent and moral duty to repair it where we can and not to cause further harm, or worse, wilfully usher in its destruction.” www.theredhandfiles.com/where-do-you...

A new paper using recent data on predation rates and cat abundance estimates that 60 million birds are killed by cats each year - that’s 114 birds killed every minute! Although this is lower than previous estimates, it’s still a shockingly high number. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...

We’ve stood with the community in Warrenpoint for years, demanding action on air pollution and public health. 
Now, as the pressure mounts, some are trying to deflect blame from those responsible by pointing to “illegal immigration” instead of the polluters and those in power.

Join the fight for clean air and water, and a just and sustainable future for all life around the shores of Carlingford Lough.

I don’t think I’ve seen such a genuine outpouring of grief, love and appreciation for an Irish person since the passing of Seamus Heaney. All so deserved. A unique talent, a man who plugged into our deep connections with language and land. A profound loss. #ManchanMagan

According to the National Land Cover Map 2023, forest cover in Ireland is considerably higher than the often reported 11%. Based on a definition that includes scrub, treelines, hedgerows, and coniferous & broadleaf forest, Ireland’s forest cover is 18.29%. www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/on...

@quadratdtp.bsky.social & @climatecocentre.bsky.social PhD Student Dario Di Girolamo has been working with Ulster Uni librarians to digitise 27 PhDs detailing the ecology & biology of #LoughNeagh they are curated here & freely available: climatecocentre.org/news/lough-nea… please share!

It's shocking, but sadly not surprising, to see Ireland ranked third for nature & farmland loss per capita in Europe. @naturalistdara.bsky.social @rewildingire.bsky.social @whittledaway.bsky.social @wildlifeni.bsky.social @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social @donnarainey4.bsky.social @rspbni.bsky.social

The quiet beauty of the Mourne Mountains has inspired many songs over the years. This one, Mourne Rambler, was written by Tommy Sands 60 years ago, in 1965. youtu.be/qs_CLxKJomM?...

Make it a Sunday afternoon date with a difference! 🍂 The wonderful Mary Reynolds follows her Saturday talk at Queen’s University Belfast with a Sunday afternoon visit to An Cuan, Rostrevor on October 12th. Admission is free, but booking is essential ⬇️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-inspiri...

“With the great dehumanising of refugees in Europe and Britain that is going on, we’ve set out to humanise these people and to inhabit their world every single part of the way.” A new podcast revealing the unjust and unsettling costs of the global waste trade. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Great to share the company of so many inspirational thinkers and activists at the Thomas D'Arcy McGee Summer School over the past few days in Carlingford. Yesterday’s session shared stories and hopes around Community Action for the Rights of Nature.

Great news for Rostrevor and the future of the Mourne Mountains! The Mourne Gateway/Gondola was always a deeply unsustainable, undemocratic and unwelcome project. Those who pocketed millions pursuing it against the will of the people must now be held accountable. www.irishnews.com/news/norther...

“In the UK, we sometimes think that to connect with nature you have to go to really exotic, faraway places and spend a lot of money. But actually, it can be more effective to connect with the local marine life on your doorstep.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

In the midst of challenging those who threaten nature around us, it’s also vital to make time to celebrate the wonders of nature. Please check out our annual collaboration with the Fiddler's Green International Festival for our In Tune with Nature programme starting next Sunday in Rostrevor!

I am starting a PhD and am looking for grassland restoration/rewilding sites in Northern Ireland! Please forward this flier to anyone who might be interested in having their land surveyed for fungi!

Time for Talking Rubbish 📣 RARE’s Colum Sands has teamed up with community campaigners in this powerful new song about the long-running waste saga in Warrenpoint. The song highlights the urgent need to clear and clean the air in more ways than one. 🎶 Watch: youtu.be/xEEcturLw2Q?...

We’re delighted to announce that Richard Nairn, author of ‘Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland’, will be giving a talk on the birds of Carlingford Lough as part of our Environmental Hub at Fiddler's Green Festival this year. The Lecture Hall Rostrevor Wednesday 16th July 15:30 FREE EVENT

Utter madness that, as a 5'2" woman, a huge proportion of the cars that I walk past *in town*, squeezed into parking spaces that barely fit them, have bonnets that are almost level with my shoulder. What chance does a child have.

Respecting the environment involves respect for all life on earth - human life included. Our respect to all who protest peacefully for a return to human empathy & sanity as witnessed on The Great March for Gaza yesterday, from which we share some photos on the Newry canal towpath & Town Hall area.

Homebirds! We are delighted to bring news that photos like this one by Louis McNally have inspired our "Birds and Flight" theme for this year's Environmental Hub programme during July's 2025 Fiddler's Green International Festival in Rostrevor. More news on our guest speakers & activities soon!

"Tiocfaidh ár gondola” How much more reasoned pressure and backstory is required before Council decision-makers and their cheerleaders come up with an alternative proposal for their white elephant Mourne gondola project in Rostrevor?

“Who will champion the voices of the people, demand that projects align with community needs, and ensure that proper consultation and transparency guide the council's actions moving forward?" An excellent letter from Jim Boylan. Public confidence in Newry, Mourne & Down Council has hit rock bottom.

‘We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels’ And far better for it.