Irish Waterways

"Old hippies never die, they just get mortgages," says poet and naturalist Dick Warner, who's got better things to do than sit around studying amortization tables--like traveling Ireland's waterways. Having originally aired on The Learning Channel, the series is made up of six episodes (two on each tape). First on a canoe, then on a refurbished Dutch barge, Warner wends his watery way through inland Ireland, stopping off for visits at the ruins of Clonmacnoise, the ancient town of Athlone, Norman castles, and ending at the northern terminus of the River Shannon. Along the way, interviewees talk about subjects as diverse as Irish rock n'roll and the lifespan of frogs (up to 8 years for an Irish frog--considerably less, I suspect, if he lives near Ulster or Belfast). Like Irish coffee, Irish Waterways is something you have to warm to: at first, Warner's sonorous overlaid narration and stern-looking face are offputting. Yet, as the series moves along, we find ourselves more and more drawn into Warner's world, and our heads too become "full of matters maritime," as the exquisite soundtrack, sparkling cinematography, verdant vistas, and light rolling fog across placid water beckon us...um...to sail along the...uh...anyway that's the kind of effect Irish Waterways has. Recommended. [Note: the series is called Waterways on the actual videocassettes.] (R. Pitman)