Mahon's Way series visits Lifford

VIEWERS are in for a real treat this weekend when Mahon’s Way makes its way to Lifford.

The episode airs on UTV this Sunday, September 14 at 5.55pm, with presenter Joe Mahon uncovering the rich history, lively characters and cultural heritage of the area.

Now in its brand-new series of ten episodes, which launched earlier this month, Mahon’s Way continues to delight audiences as Joe travels the length and breadth of Ulster exploring the rich veins of heritage, history and culture which make the province unique.

Joe's ongoing journey, celebrating both the iconic and the unfamiliar aspects of its landscapes, towns and villages, remains enduringly popular with audiences.

As ever, Joe promises to leave no stone unturned in his quest for the quirky, the unusual and the “lesser spotted” stories that have become the hallmark of Mahon’s Way.

This coming Sunday, he travels to Lifford in County Donegal.

Joe gets a new take on the origins of the Legend of Stumpy's Brae, the famous gothic poem by Cecil Frances Alexander, he investigates the story of the 'Three Enemies' at the confluence of the Mourne and the Finn which go on to form the River Foyle, and he 'does time' in Lifford Gaol, in the bowels of Lifford Old Courthouse.

"I thought I knew Lifford pretty well, having driven through and past it hundreds of times, but spending time talking to people who live and work there, and to historians who have studied its fascinating history over the millennia, was quite a revelation," he says.

Reflecting on this new season, Joe adds: "People sometimes suggest that I must have been everywhere by now, “says Joe, “but I can honestly state, hand on heart, that I’ve set foot in many places in this series that I’ve never been in before.

"I may have driven past them, on the road to somewhere else, but I’ve never spent time in the dungeons of Lifford Gaol or confronted the Drumlin Giants of Rossmore Forest Park in Co Monaghan, amongst other experiences.

"These have all been new adventures for me and I look forward to sharing them with our viewers.”

Another hallmark of the style of Mahon’s Way is the relaxed and informal tone of Mahon’s interaction with the many contributors his production team manage to recruit for the series.

That natural feel, the humorous tone and the abundance of “craic”, may often tend to disguise the fact that these are programmes of real substance.

Tune in on Sunday as the epiosde promoses to reveal a new side to the county town of Donegal.