Gearóid Ó Muilleoir, pen name Dúlra, is a wildlife buff who was brought up on the slopes of Belfast’s Black Mountain where he spent almost every waking moment hillwalking, birdwatching and fishing.
He’s witnessed massive changes in the local environment, with fields disappearing and nature retreating. “When I was young we had corncrakes breeding in the heart of west Belfast and a barn owl used to swoop down over the street as we played in the evening," he says.
“All that’s gone - but the one thing that has given me heart is the rewilding movement. Nature just needs to be given the space to do its thing without human interference and it can return from the brink.”
Gearóid has spent a lifetime in journalism, working with all the main newspapers here and he’s now production editor of the Sunday World. Outside of the environment, his other passion is the Irish language and he’s a regular on award-winning Belfast station Raidió Failte.
IT was the biggest workout Dúlra has done in years. He thought Sunday’s trip to the lower slopes of Black Mountain with brother John would be a walk in the park, but it was anything but. Under the relentless July sun, it was more like taking part in a military training exercise.
DÚLRA squinted into the murky water of the garden pond in despair this week. There should have been at least 100 tadpoles there, but he couldn’t make out a single one.
AN enriched life – isn’t that what we all strive for? Whether it’s sitting down on the settee to watch a good film, going to a gig or for a meal, or just a walk in the park, it’s often that wee bit extra that makes the difference. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, that wee bit extra comes free-of-charge and without you even asking for it.
IT’S a miracle that this nest still exists. Maybe divine intervention even.
WHEN window cleaner Stephen ‘Steek’ Megaw hung up his chamois recently after 40-odd years, it was a sad day for the residents of upper Andersonstown.
IT’S one of the best memories of Dúlra’s whole life, and like so many of our fondest memories, it’s a simple one.
IT’S safe to say – with the evidence of this picture – that the demise of the greenfinch has been exaggerated. In fact, it looks like this beautiful bird has returned from the dead.
DÚLRA’S not sure if nature gives political endorsements, but a family of house martins have set up home at the constituency office of Sinn Fein MLA Carál Ní Chuilín.
THE kids of Year 8 in Coláiste Feirste were a joy to take around Colin Glen, and what’s more they witnessed a feat of nature that was so incredible it’s deserving of a slot on prime-time TV.
ROBINS are amazing birds – and perhaps the most amazing thing of all about them is that they are pals with people.
IT’S a beautiful nest, isn’t it? A cup of soft feathers and moss in a ball of straw – a perfect home for five precious chicks.
DÚLRA has built a forever home for the luckiest pair of birds in Belfast. Whichever bird moves into this fine abode can be sure it will belong to them and their offspring forever more.
A SINGLE bunch of bluebells grows this week amid the destruction on Black Mountain.
DÚLRA’S garden pond is alive once more – thanks to tadpoles supplied by a VIP donor.Having read last week’s tale of woe of how the frogspawn Dúlra had collected from a golf course failed to hatch, Gerry Adams came to the rescue with a jar of the remarkable creatures that he had scooped up from a puddle while out on a walk.
DÚLRA’S wee garden pond is going to be empty this year for the first time – because the frogspawn that he collected a few weeks back didn’t develop as expected.