A new two part documentary series for RTÉ lyric FM presented by Jonathan Grimes of the Contemporary Music Centre, explores how Irish composers are responding to the climate and biodiversity crisis through their work. Episodes air at 6pm on 17 March and 24 March 2024 broadcast on the Lyric Feature, RTÉ lyric fm https://www.rte.ie/radio/lyricfm/the-lyric-feature/

This clip features the voices of of Karen Power, Sebastian Adams, Ian Wilson, Judith Ring and Jennifer Walshe. The music used is ‘Swept through the Floods’ (2023) by Judith Ring, performed by Larissa O’Grady (violin).

A Contemporary Music Centre production for RTÉ lyric fm co-funded by Coimisiún na Meán, Sound & Vision Scheme and RTÉ Independent Radio Productions. Presented by Jonathan Grimes, Contemporary Music Centre. Produced by Helen Shaw, Athena Media and Jonathan Grimes. RTÉ lyric fm Series Producer: Eoin O Kelly. Production Coordinator: Lily Collins. Additional recording and editing: Keith Fennell.

Visit cmc.ie/weonlywanttheearth

We Only Want The Earth - Audio Preview

Tóchar Community Stories is a collaborative storytelling project with and about communities living close to the wetlands, bogs and fens of Ireland's Midlands. In Mountbellew the Men's Shed are exploring audio stories with the project curator Helen Shaw and the group's PRO Gerry Rushe began by sharing the poem 'Changing Times'by Patsy Cunningham ( 'The Vicar') about the changing days of cutting turf and the old days and ways of 'slaying' turf.  Patsy died in 2018.
The Men's Shed meet twice a week in the Teleworks Centre close to ‘Galway’s Living Bog’, aka Carrownagappul Bog SAC, just outside Mountbellew, one of the biggest and most accessible raised bogs in Ireland.
Check out Tóchar on https://www.tocharwetlands.ie and the Galway Living Bog - Carrownagappul here : https://galwayslivingbog.com/index.php/take-the-tour/

Gerry Rushe Reads 'Changing Times' by Patsy Cunningham

Rachel Ryan is one of the 10 years old in 4th Class Tyrrellspass Westmeath who took part in our bog art and nature project for Tóchar Community Stories. The children got to spend time with local volunteer ecologist and passionate bog expert Eugene Dunbar and Eugene spent time in class before they did their bog walk sharing the wildlife and story of the bog and how sphagnum moss is as he says 'the business'. The children then got to do a bog walk on Cloncrow Bog with Eugene and artist Annie Holland and later Annie mentored them on their art drawings of the bog nature and wildlife with children picking plants, birds, insects or animals from the bog - their artwork then became a printed panel at the entrance to the bog so everyone can see their work and experience the stories they've created. In this short audio clip Rachel tells us why she picked the Butterwort and how she is sending the postcard version of her art to the champion athlete and Olympian Rashidat Adeleke. 
to find out more about the project visit Tóchar on https://www.tocharwetlands.ie

Rachel's Butterwort and Rhasidat Adeleke

Before the Summer break the 4th Class children of St Anne's NS Tyrrellspass Westmeath got to take part in a bog nature and creative art project under Tóchar Stories - led by local ecologist and volunteer community leader Eugene Dunbar with artistic mentorship by artist Annie Holland.  In this short package you hear Eugene begin the project in the classroom showing the children the history, ecology and biodiversity of the bog before they went on a guided bog walk to find and identify species like sundew ( always a favourite with children because this tiny plant eats insects) and the vital sphagnum moss. After the children worked with artist Annie Holland on creating drawing and then moving in water colours, when these were finished they were assembled into the entrance panel that was installed on the Cloncrow Bog. Tóchar Stories then printed postcard versions of the 24 art works so the children could send postcards out to the world - sharing the image and story of their bog - and Annie showed them how to make fun badges of their art so they could literally wear their art. Tóchar Stories is a public engagement and storytelling project under Tóchar Wetlands Restoration in the Midlands - a three year project co funded by the EU and Irish Government and operating under National Parks & Wildlife Services (NPWS). You can find out more on www.tocharwetlands.ie

Tyrrellspass children get to tell their own bog stories

Shane Hynan is a visual artist from Cadbury, Co Kildare. He draws inspiration from the changing landscape of the Midland bogs and is involved as a volunteer in his own local bog, Knockirr Bog. Shane is an artist collaborator with Tóchar Stories, working with communities in the region, and he took part in the Tóchar Stories Bogland - Between the sights of the sun public event in the National Library, Seamus Heaney 'Listen Now Again' exhibition venue, on July 26th to mark International Bog Day. The event drew on Seamus Heaney's bog related work and in particular his early poem 'Bogland' to facilitate a conversation about our changing relationship with the bogs as we  move from using them to extract fuel in turf to realising bog nature restoration where bogs become a vital carbon store to assist climate action and protect biodiversity.  In this short clip Shane responds to our question 'what does the bog mean to you?' and shares his own childhood memories growing up and learning to cut and foot turf at Knockirr which is a community owned bog since 1906.

Bogland :  Shane Hynan, visual artist

Eileen Fahey is Chair of Kilteevan Tidy Town, Roscommon and in this Heritage week presentation shares why she became an advocate for bog conservation and made protecting the local bog, Cloonlarge Bog, a mission of the Tidy Towns group.  Photo credit Shane Hynan
Find out more of tochar wetlands restoration on https://www.tocharwetlands.ie
Tóchar Wetlands Restoration is a 3 year wetlands restoration in the Midlands co funded by Irish Government and EU under Just Transition Programme in Ireland. It is managed by NPWS through Dept of Housing Local Government and Heritage.

Eileen Fahey - Kilteevan  Tidy Town on  protecting the local  bog

Anne Coffey has been working in Coffey's Drapery Store all her life and she took over the running of the business from her late father. He set it up in 1947 when the Bord na Móna peat harvesting industry was taking off and like many retailers and businesses in the town the shop thrived as Kilcormac thrived. Today Bord na Móna has stopped harvesting the bogs as a fossil fuel and has switched to both bog restoration and renewable energy but the suddenness of that transition has been hard for places like Kilcormac. On September 25th Tóchar Stories co-hosted a community storytelling event with Kilcormac Development Association called 'Sharing our Past, Imagining our Future' and we talked to some of the locals there - including Anne- about their sense of place and belonging.

Anne Coffey, Coffey's Drapery Store, Kilcormac, Co Offaly

Tina Claffey is a nature photographer from Birr, Co Offaly well known for her beautiful macro photography work in the boglands of Ireland where she draws our attention to the flora and fauna that lies, often hidden, beneath our feet. IN September Tóchar Stories co hosted a community storytelling event in Kilcormac close to Birr and invited Tina to share her own story, her relationship to the bogs, and her creative and artistic work.

Tina Claffey, nature photographer on her bog work

Chapter 3 of the audiobook of 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' by James Joyce.

The audiobook was produced as part of a digital multimedia edition of James Joyce’s first novel, created by a team from University College Dublin as part of the Decade of Centenaries (2012-2022), which celebrates Irish history and cultural heritage.

Explore the digital edition at http://www.joyceportrait100.com/

The creators of the audiobook for this edition of 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' have considerable expertise in bringing Joyce’s voice to life. UCD’s Professor Gerardine Meaney and Athena Media previously collaborated with Barry McGovern, the well-known Irish actor, on the podcast series and an iPhone app based on Joyce’s short story The Dead. In 2016, Sam McGovern joined this team to create a full-length audio version of Joyce’s first novel.

Rather than featuring a single voice, this reading of the novel creates a dialogue between Joyce’s mature voice and that of his younger, remembered self.  As the project team note:

“We wanted to have a young voice for Stephen himself – after all this is Joyce’s own coming of age novel with a strong trace of his own life and experience in it”.

This was achieved through the dialogue of Barry McGovern’s mature voice and the youthful voice of  Sam McGovern, who played Stephen Dedalus in the 2015 Dublin stage adaptation of the novel and is a former UCD Ad Astra scholar.

The interplay of these two voices in this reading of the 1916 text represents a unique contemporary interpretation of Joyce’s coming-of-age novel, whose themes remain as raw and as relevant today as they did upon their original publication.

Download the complete audiobook: http://realsmartmedia.ie/podcasts/portrait/96/A_Portrait_of_the_Artist_as_a_Young_Man_Joyce_Complete.mp3

© University College Dublin

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

A Portrait Of The Artist as a Young Man - Chapter 3

LEGALLY GAY

25 years after Ireland decriminalised homosexuality Panti Bliss celebrates in a show called Legally Gay and explores how Ireland stepped out of the closet. Guests include singer/songwriter Jack O’Rourke, gay rights archivist Tonie Walsh, HIV advocate Robbie Lawlor, grassroots activist Izzy Kamikaze and spoken word performer Vickey Curtis.  Jack O’Rourke performs his songs ‘Shining For You’  and his new single ‘Myth, along with a powerful cover of John Grant’s song ‘Glacier’. Vickey Curtis performs a piece she did during the Marriage Equality Referendum ‘Two Fat Ducks’.

http://pantisocracy.ie/season-3-2018-episode-6/

Pantisocracy S3 E6 "Legally Gay" Broadcast Mix

Pantisocracy "A Cabaret of Conversations with host Panti Bliss" 

Pantisocracy - The Panti Personals is a child of #Pantisocracy - intimate one to one conversations between Panti Bliss and her guest, with unique performances. 
An independent podcast production by Athena Media - the producer is Helen Shaw and the digital editor is John Howard. 
All rights rest with the content creators.

Anne Coffey, Coffey's Drapery Store, Kilcormac, Co Offaly

Athena Media

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