So, what’s on your bucket list?

CAMMY HARLEY hears that birdwatching, growing aubergines, rewilding our landscapes and even tagging a great white shark are just some of the activities that West Cork people dream about

BOBBY Murray is a Blarney grandfather who took off recently on his bicycle on an 18-month trip to Northern China to raise funds for charity.

His story has prompted many people to start thinking about ways of ticking more unusual items off their ‘bucket list’ and what ‘big ticket’ dreams they would like to bring to fruition.

Bobby Murray from Blarney is off cycling to China.

Eoghan Daltun is the award-winning author of the bestseller An Irish Atlantic Rainforest, which takes readers on his journey of becoming an advocate for rewilding and its importance.

Eoghan lives on the Beara peninsula and is also a farmer. His second book The Magic of an Irish Rainforest: A Visual Journey will be available in September and is already on many people’s reading wishlists and pre-order lists.

‘The reawakening we’re witnessing in Irish people’s relationship with the natural world continues to really take off, as it has in other countries like Scotland,’ said Eoghan. ‘Our national parks, such as Killarney, become places where wild nature is genuinely protected and thrives, rather than the wrecked ecological deserts they currently are.’

Eoghan hopes that we can establish real marine protected areas, with no extractive or damaging activities whatsoever. ‘Marine ecosystems need this so desperately, and it would hugely benefit the fishing community also, by providing places for fish to safely replenish,’ he said.

Eoghan also wants the last remnants of temperate rainforest to be properly protected from overgrazing and invasive plant species, and allowed to naturally expand in area. ‘I would like rewilding to permeate Irish minds and landscapes, reversing the collapse of nature and making all our lives so much richer.’

Marie Mulholland is the chief executive officer of West Cork Beacon in Bantry and has been a life-long campaigner and women’s rights activist.

Marie Mulholland would love a polytunnel where she can sit, sipping wine.

‘I am on the countdown to retirement in early 2026, so this is a timely reflection on what comes after the end of full-time work and kicking the proverbial bucket, which is hopefully still some time away!’ she said.

‘I’m very fortunate in that having a home in West Cork, which gives me joy and a life partner to enjoy it with, means my bucket is almost full anyway!

‘It wasn’t always so. Coming from Belfast and surviving 30 years of conflict, just getting through the day sane and safe, was a significant life goal.’

Marie has seen a fair bit of the world. ‘I have worked in some other conflict zones, such as Nicaragua, northern Cyprus and Palestine, so my bucket list contains a desire to spend time in more bucolic destinations like Tuscany or anywhere in France – basically anywhere that food and wine feature strongly.

‘The theme of victuals tends to be the leitmotif of my bucket list,’ she said.

‘I’d like a polytunnel to grow aubergines and where I can sit of an evening, sipping wine. Each spring I’d like to spend time on Cape Clear to watch for birds arriving to regale us with their presence all summer.

‘And in between my polytunnel ruminations, birdwatching and baked aubergines, I would plot the end of racism and misogyny.’

Alannah Hopkin is successful writer based in Kinsale. She is this year’s Frank O’Connor International Fellow and will be teaching the masters in creative writing at UCC.

Alannah Hopkin would love to visit New England in the fall.

‘I started working on my bucket list without knowing it in 2015,’ she said. ‘It was mid-February and I wanted to go somewhere new, but not too far away. I noticed there were flights from Cork to Liverpool, so I went there. Among the highlights were the Beatles Trail on a Magical Mystery Tour – the best bus trip ever – and a visit in the rain to Port Sunlight and its art gallery.’

She says that next on the list is a transatlantic trip to see the fall colours in New England and the whaling ports, as featured in Moby Dick.

‘Then I’d fly to Austin, Texas and take a road trip with a musician friend to Luckenbach, Lubbock, Marfa and beyond, sampling Texas swing and other musical connections.

‘I’d end the transatlantic trip by flying down to Mérida and Mexico’s Caribbean coast, with its coral sand and Mayan ruins. The people are warm and welcoming and the sea is lukewarm.’

David Edwards is the owner of the Silver Dawn, a licensed bluefin tuna tagging programme boat that operates out of Courtmacsherry.

David Edwards would like to tag a great white shark in Irish waters.

Silver Dawn is involved with marine research programmes with UCC and Trinity as well as international universities and other global marine organisations, making him the go-to guy in West Cork for any marine research and conservation projects.

Given David’s research work, it is no wonder that the first item on his wishlist is to record and tag a great white shark in Irish waters.

He would also like to fly in a two-seater Spitfire and spend a couple of months in New Zealand.

As an avid rugby fan, another item on David’s bucket list would be to see Wales – or Ireland – win the Rugby World Cup.

Most importantly, David says, ‘I would love to see the Irish government respect the sea and those who work on it. The commercial fisherman here get very little support compared to land-based communities.

‘Many species are also allowed to be fished to oblivion. Seeing a government take a genuine interest in the marine environment would be an amazing bucket list tick.’