Two pilgrimages in one.

In August 2007, after many months of anticipation, I went to collect a newly hammered Hang from the Panart workshop in Bern. There I also met a rapper called Nacho from Spain, and we jammed together.

On the way to Bern I stopped off in London to visit my brother, and we went together to enjoy the acoustics inside Greenwich Foot Tunnel.

This had been a dream of mine ever since hearing about the tunnel from our grandpa, who used to describe 'throwing his voice' in it as he cycled through on his way to work as a piano tuner.

At this time I was enjoying experimenting with my first portable recorder - a Zoom H4. I'm uploading it in 2021 as a souvenir of that time.

Greenwich to the Hangbauhaus (2007)

To mark Go Wild in Galway and National Biodiversity Week in 2018, I went to meet Ruth Hanniffy of the Vincent Wildlife Trust to talk about the colonies of lesser horseshoe bats living in and around Moore Hall, Co. Mayo.

Live at 2

Aristobats: the Lesser Horseshoe Bats of Moore Hall (2018)

On Saturday 24th November 2018, the Dalton Inn in Claremorris played host to a much-anticipated darts tournament. In a big coup for the town and the regional darts community, the local organisers managed to bring over 3-times world ladies darts champion Anastasia Dobromyslova, for the exhibition match.

Ahead of her appearance, I went to talk to the Russian about her recent win in the PDC qualifier in Germany, what it was like starting out playing darts in Russia, what she might be doing if not playing darts, and about the psychological game.

Pictured is co-organiser and local darts player Marina Ruane (left) with Anastasia Dobromyslova (right).

Darts Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova (2018)

On Friday 3rd May 2019, an exhibition opened in the Town Hall studio, showcasing art created by students of Mount St Michael Secondary School as part of a programme of workshops on sexual health, relationships and consent.

The programme was funded by the Community Foundation for Ireland via its Women's Fund. It was coordinated by Nuala Gilligan of the Family Resource Centre, and facilitated by Grace McGee of Tacú in Ballinrobe with help from Chloe Horan McDonagh, a 3rd Year social care student.

Community artist Lanna Heyrman worked with the students to create a visual representation of what they had learned, and what they wanted to communicate about it. The exhibition was officially opened by health advocate (and former Dragon's Den contestant) Olive O'Connor.

I talked to those involved, including the students, on their experience of the project, and the art that emerged from it.

Sexual Health & Consent Exhibition (2019)

In September 2019, First Lady Sabina Higgins joined crafters, artists & musicians in Headford, Co. Galway, to celebrate a handmade memorial made by hundreds of crafters  - in memory of Irish women transported to Australia.

This piece ranked 19th in Mixcloud's global interview chart :-) and features performances from Headford Music Works and the Corrib Singers, with music written by Mairéad Berrill of Headford Music Works, and by Brendan Graham.

https://rosesfromtheheart.tumblr.com/
http://headfordlaceproject.ie/
www.headfordmusicworks.com

Claremorris Community Radio

Lace Notes (2019)

Friday 20th September 2019: a global strike aimed at bringing about international political change to combat the climate crisis.

I went to Eyre Square, the focus for the strikes in Galway, and returned with powerful statements from pupils, teachers, parents and grandparents, including from Claddagh National School and Educate Together National School.

Voices from the Climate Strike, Galway (2019)

For this documentary I followed entrants going into the 2019 Claremorris Agricultural Show, and spoke to past and present entrants, volunteers and committee members about their involvement, their memories, and what the show means to them.

This programme features specially composed music from Priscilla Connolly (soundcloud.com/priscilla-connolly), with additional music by Michael Fox (http://www.michaelfoxmusic.com/).

It won a Gold in the 'Commissioned Programmes' category at the 2020 Craol Achievement Awards.

The Show: Claremorris Agricultural Show, Then And Now

"Exceptionally powerful community storytelling" – 2021 Craol Achievement Awards judges.

Transcript PDF: https://www.edcoulson.com/s/TheHeadfordLaceStorytranscript.pdf

This documentary reveals how a group of women in County Galway stumbled across a mostly forgotten history of lacemaking in their town, and how a tiny fragment of lace became the starting point for countless cultural and regenerative events and projects – and created a sisterhood along the way.

We hear the voices of many of the women involved in researching and promoting the story of the local lace industry, as well as artists and textile experts. There are also moving personal accounts of the support and friendship provided by the lace group itself.

The programme features music created in Headford, inspired by the lace story – from Mairead Berrill, Headford Music Works, Drumadore, and 2018 RTÉ Folk Awards nominees The Whileaways. Huge thanks to them all – links below!

It also includes a portion of 'Caritas Dei' from the album 'Chants of the Holy Spirit' by the Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola, used by kind permission. Thanks also to Aengus McMahon for providing additional audio.

The Headford Lace Story was produced for Claremorris Community Radio with support from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's Sound & Vision scheme, and was first aired on Claremorris Community Radio on 20th June 2021.

It won the Standout award in the Commissioned Programmes category at the 2021 Craol Achievement Awards, after also winning a Gold award in that category. The judges described it as "exceptionally powerful community storytelling – through the many voices captured, the delicacy of the heartfelt storytelling, and exceptional production quality. A great achievement for the whole team."

Headford Lace Project: www.headfordlaceproject.ie
Headford Music Works: www.facebook.com/musicworksheadford
Drumadore: www.drumadore.com
The Whileaways: www.thewhileawaysmusic.com
Gloriae Dei Cantores: www.gdcchoir.org

Artwork by Ella Hassett, Headford Lace Project.

The Headford Lace Story

Golden Brown

Can the community gardeners and apple-growers of Headford tell us how to bring our neglected orchard back to life? We met apple-lovers, apple-pressers, apple-song-singers and apple fairies at Moveable Feast on 9 September 2018, to find out.

The Magic Apple

I produced these profiles of local sports groups and activity clubs for Claremorris Community Radio in early 2019. The aim was to hear lots of local voices alongside the sounds of their activities, and not to hear the interviewer.

Sports & Activity Group Profiles: Claremorris Equestrian Centre

Sports & Activity Group Profiles: East Mayo Ramblers

**For copyright reasons, not everything can be posted here. Please visit www.edcoulson.com to see all work.**

I’m a producer and trainer in community media, radio, podcasting, and geo-located audio.

Ed Coulson

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