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Manchán Magan

Manchán Magan is a writer, explorer and documentary-maker. He has made dozens of documentaries on issues of world culture for TG4, RTÉ & Travel Channel. For the last few decades he has been on a quest to celebrate the richness held within the Irish language, within the stories of our old mythology – and within the land itself. 'Listen to the Land Speak' was a collaboration between Manchán, director Maurice O'Brien and Crossing the Line Productions. Filmed over two years, it was based on Manchán's book of the same name. We wanted to bring viewers to some of the places where the true soul of Ireland can be found and share some ancient ideas which can still provide essential wisdom for the times we live in today. The focus is on the connection between nature, folklore, mythology and language - and how we may learn to heal our current culture by reconnecting with our ancestors. What we did not realise at the outset of the filming was that it would also become a very personal journey for Manchán - who soon after we began was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and so the series also became about his own journey of healing. Manchán has written books on his travels in Africa, India and South America and two novels - while also writing occasionally for The Irish Times on culture & travel. He presented the RTÉ podcast The Almanac of Ireland, and was author of the award-winning, best-selling Thirty-Two Words for Field (Gill, 2000), and Listen to the Land Speak (Gill, 2022). His illustrated books include Tree Dogs, Banshees Fingers and other Irish Words for Nature. (Gill, 2021) and Wolf-men and Water Hounds (Gill, 2023). His books and lifelong passion for the Irish language helped Manchán to become one of the most respected figures in Irish cultural life. In Aug 2025, Manchán was found to have progressed to a rare and aggressive form of neuroendocrine prostate cancer. He departed, "imithe ar shlí na fírinne" on October 2nd 2025. His death prompted an outpouring of respect and grief at his loss from all across Ireland and further afield, with heartfelt tributes from both President Michael D Higgins and the band Kneecap. The director's cut feature version of the two-part 'Listen to the Land Speak' series had its premier at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2025 - where it won the award for Best Cinematography. The two-part series was broadcast on RTE at the end of July 2025.