Another top award for natural history series with strong Mayo links
RTÉ's Ireland's Wild Islands has been named Best Series at the 2025 International Wildlife Film Festival in the USA, one of the world’s top awards in natural history filmmaking.
Previous winner at the Royal Television Society Awards, Ireland’s Wild Islands beat huge international competition to claim this coveted prize.
A Mayo-based production company, Crossing the Line, is behind the series which showcased, among others, the stunning wild beauty of the Inishkeas, Achill Island and Clare Island.
The jury said: “This series transported us to windswept and wild islands, where ancient monasteries cling to cliffs and wild seas harbour secrets both mythical and ecological. What stood out to us the most was the enchanting blend of history, folklore, and rare wildlife behaviour - a hallmark of the genre, but here delivered with an especially distinctive voice.”
Ireland's Wild Islands, which was supported by Coimisiún na Meán through the sound and vision fund, has already garnered international recognition at three of the world's leading wildlife film festivals - Wildscreen in the UK, Jackson Wild in the US and Green Screen in Germany - and in Ireland where it won Best Specialist Factual Series at the 2024 RTS Ireland Awards.
Director John Murray said: "We’re so honoured to win this award up against the very best wildlife films from around the world and it's especially gratifying with such a personal Irish project. Our islands are very special places and vital sanctuaries for some of our most precious and wonderful wildlife."
RTÉ head of specialist factual, Colm O’Callaghan said: "RTÉ has a long and proud track record in the field of natural history film-making. We're fortunate to work regularly with a number of exceptional, regionally-located production companies who, consistently compete at - and with - the very highest of international standards.
“Crossing The Line Films, based in Westport, are one of those companies. Ireland's Wild Islands is a terrific achievement, a generational series. And this award is testament to that."
The International Wildlife Film Festival is held annually in Montana, USA, and is one of the world’s’ largest and most prestigious festivals for wildlife filmmakers celebrating excellence in natural history storytelling.
The RTÉ series was hosted by presenter and naturalist Eoin Warner and follows him on an extraordinary voyage of discovery in a Galway hooker through Ireland’s western isles. Aired over three parts on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, for Eoin it was a deeply personal journey undertaken in memory of his late father, who first introduced him to the wonders of the sea before he died in the Whiddy Island tragedy.