Mayo company produces pioneering new children's series for RTÉjr
Mayo television company GMarsh TV have produced a pioneering new children’s series for RTÉjr.
Blending live-action puppetry and archive footage, 'Seamus Goes Wild' is an engaging new children’s series bringing little ones on a fascinating journey into the world of Irish natural history.
Starring the acclaimed Sligo actor Niamh McGrath as Farmer Lily, and featuring the talents of puppeteer Ray Cuddihy, Seamus Goes Wild follows the adventures of Seamus the farm dog as he explores the rivers, coasts, fields and forests of County Mayo.
Taking full advantage of the stunning Mayo landscape, the series was filmed on location around Glenmore, Ross Beach Killala and the Owenmore River.
GMarsh TV worked primarily with local crew including the award-winning Ballina scriptwriter Paula Rouse and Director of Photography Trevor Laffey.
Voiceovers for the series were recorded by local children in Centre Stage Vocal Academy in Ballina.
Series producer Gillian Marsh said: "As a local company, we always try to film here in Mayo and we are so lucky to have these stunning locations on our doorstep.
"Mayo has so much to offer from breathtaking landscape to experienced crew and first-rate production facilities.
Seamus Goes Wild starts Monday, May 12, at 8:25 a.m., repeating 6:40 p.m. on RTÉjr.
Meet Seamus!
An inquisive and lovable little farm dog who lives with Farmer Lily and all the animals on Glenmore Farm.
A cheeky and curious pup, Seamus loves nothing more than sneaking away from his farm work to find exciting adventures in the wild.
He travels through woods, meadows, coasts and rivers, meeting all sorts of interesting creatures, from pine martens, foxes and minibeasts to kingfishers, squirrels, woodpeckers and deer.
On each adventure, Seamus discovers fascinating facts about the natural world around him like butterflies taste food with their feet, kingfishers eat eighteen fish a day and grey seals can’t actually swim when they’re born!
Seamus is always full of questions and eager to dive head first into new adventures with boundless enthusiasm.
On his travels, he peeps into the world of minibeasts, meets a pair of excitable pygmy goats, plays hide and seek with some fox cubs and discovers that a caterpillar is really a baby buttererfly in disguise.
He makes friends with otters in the estuary and plays statues with a rather haughty heron. He learns that terrapins do NOT belong in an Irish river and hoverflies may look like bees but they don’t sing.
Through Seamus, our young audience will gain a greater understanding of the nature that lies under their nose, whether it’s seeing the wonder in a tiny bee or recognizing the tweets of newly hatched baby birds.
(The series was filmed on location in Mayo and post was handled by Egg Post Production, Dublin.)