What's the difference between swallows, swifts and martins?

HAVING tried for years to work out exactly the differences between three quite similar migrant birds, I enlisted the help of BirdWatch Ireland, of late, writes Donal Hickey

Every day during the summer, swallows, swifts and martins fly around the place, gobbling up midges and flies.

Which is which? Let’s make it as simple as possible. The swallow’s main identifying mark is its long, forked tail. It makes a twittering sound — flying low when rain is on the way and high up when the weather is good. It nests in sheds and barns.