On June 16 at the IAT AGM in Reykjavik, Iceland, Flagler Films released its new IAT Ireland promotional video. Fáilte Ireland and the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council contracted the company to produce a 6-minute video in 2011, on the newly established International Appalachian Trail in the Republic of Ireland.
Flagler Films is well known for its filming of the Appalachians including its award-winning documentary about the world famous Appalachian Trail entitled ‘Appalachian Impressions’ and the production of short promotional videos on the IAT in Newfoundland & Labrador.
Mark Flagler is a veteran hiker who has thru-hiked the entire 2,172-mile Appalachian Trail and has walked and filmed thousands of miles of long distance trails in the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe. On April 29, 2011 Mark became the first recorded hiker to walk the entire IAT in Ireland.
Flagler Films’ latest video highlights the newly established IAT route in Ireland that travels 119km (73.9 miles) from the cliffs of west County Donegal to the Northern Ireland border at Kelly’s Bridge. The trail begins along the Atlantic coast at the towering cliffs of Slieve League.
It continues on to the historic town of Gleann Cholm Cille, then up the glittering coast to the abandoned settlement of Port and along the Maghera Strand to Ardara. From there the IAT follows paths with the well-known Bluestack Way along the Owenea River to the scenic market town of Glenties, up and over the rugged Bluestack Mountains and past the inspiring Lough Eske. The IAT bypasses Donegal town and continues on to its final destination of Kelly’s Bridge at the Northern Ireland border.
Discussions are currently taking place to extend the IAT into Northern Ireland and eventually have the trail travel to the east coast. Someday there will be a continuous route that crosses the entire island of Ireland from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Channel.
Flagler Films hopes to produce a 3-hour television and DVD series about the International Appalachian Trail that is now located in North America, the North Atlantic and Western Europe, and perhaps some day in Northwest Africa. There is a high level of interest from the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) to broadcast an IAT series from Flagler Films. Stay tuned…
For more information about the International Appalachian Trail in Ireland please contact www.iatireland.com.
For more information about Flagler Films please visit www.flaglerfilms.com, www.facebook.com/flaglerfilms and www.youtube.com/flaglerfilms.
