Posted by admin on Dec 30, 2024
Written for The County Measure on RTE Radio 1, this piece documents the story of the forced migration of thousands of Catholics from Ulster to Leitrim (and further afield) in 1795/96, following a period of intense sectarian violence culminating in the ‘Battle of the Diamond’ in Armagh in September 1795. These people were referred to by locals as the ‘Ultachs’ or ‘na hUltaigh’, meaning ‘the people from Ulster’. Listen: 🎧 ‘The Arrival of Na hUltaigh to Leitrim (1795/96)’ I chose to write this piece because of a personal connection I have with this historical event: we think that my own ancestors on my mam’s side arrived in Leitrim as part of this mass displacement of the Ulster people. The biggest challenge for me while writing and recording this piece was doing so while navigating the limitations of the illness I acquired back in 2021 (Long Covid/Covid-induced ME/CFS & dysautonomia). Everything was recorded remotely using whatever equipment I could put my hands on in the house and completed mostly while in a reclined position/lying down and in short windows of time where energy was available. Not gonna lie, the process frustrated the living bejaysus out of me and I am indebted to both my sister who helped me through, and my pal Daragh who performed audio miracles on the sound files I sent him. Also very grateful to Vincent Woods & RTE Radio 1 for this lovely opportunity to write a new piece for their Leitrim episode (listen to the whole programme here: The County Measure N0. 32 – Leitrim). Hope you like it! Ailie x PS you can listen to me talking about my experiences with Long Covid here: ‘On Living with Long Covid’ (Sept 2023). I’m due to give an update – I’ll hopefully do that soon!) ____________________________________________________ ‘The Arrival of Na hUltaigh to Leitrim (1795/96)’ I ndeireadh an tsamhraidh, tháinig saghas síochána By the late summer, a sullen peace had come over the place, But grievances persisted, And not too far away, the northern refugees would begin their journey south and west. They came in their droves. Neighbours driving neighbours from their homes. 4, 5, maybe 10,000 of them.. It was a mass exodus. Leitrim was a gateway to the west, and many of them settled on the mountainside here. And to tell you the truth, though I knew about them, I’d only really taken a passing interest...
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Posted by admin on Sep 16, 2023
Hi there, Been a while :-) I’ve been living with Long Covid since March 2021. I have to say it’s been a bit of a rough ol’ ride. I’ve decided to speak a bit about what it has meant for me. You are very welcome to listen x ⚠️ Contains strong language ⛔ Probably not suitable for little ears (NB I accidentally cut off the first half of the first word, which, for those of you who were wondering, was “hello”) Recommended Reading & Listening: Long Covid Resources 👀 What is Long Covid? (by Long Covid Physio Video Series) 🎧 The Long Covid Sessions Podcast, with Noreen Jameel & Emily Kate Stephens 📚 The Long Covid Handbook, by Gez Medinger & Prof. Danny Altmann 🎧 The Long Covid Podcast, with Jackie Baxter 🎧 Living with Long Covid Podcast, with Julie Taylor ME/CFS 🔗 What is ME/CFS? ✍️ History of ME?CFS: “It’s the greatest medical scandal of the 21st century” by George Monbiot 👀 Brief history of ME/CFS in video, by Broken Battery 👀 “UNREST”, a beautiful documentary about ME/CFS by Jennifer Brea 🔗 ME Association, UK DYSAUTONOMIA & POTS 👀 What is POTS? How POTS discolouration can present on different skin colours ✍️ Ed Yong (2023). Fatigue Can Shatter a Person, The Atlantic. (Free version here!) ✍️ Davis, H.E., McCorkell, L., Vogel, J.M. et al. Long Covid: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 133–146 (2023). ✍️ Al-Aly, Z. & Topol, E., Solving the Puzzle of Long Covid. Science 383, 830–832 (2024) ✍️ Al-Aly, Z., Davis, H., McCorkell, L. et al. Long COVID science, research and policy. Nat Med (2024) , ...
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Posted by admin on Sep 16, 2023
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Posted by admin on Oct 13, 2021
‘Into the War, Into the Water’ Written as part of the ‘To The Mountain’ commissions for the Iron Mountain Literature Festival 2021: ‘Into the War, Into the Water’ was written by Ailie Blunnie and produced by Daragh Dukes, with video by Edwina Guckian & Dreoilín Productions ________________________________________________________________________ The text of this piece is based on interviews from two RTE Radio One documentaries about coal mining in Ireland: ‘From the Miners to Prosperity’ (1972) and ‘The Long Strike’ (2009). The song is inspired by the Sliabh an Iarainn, Lough Allen, and Arigna areas of Co. Leitrim & Roscommon. Huge thanks to Daragh Dukes for his beautiful production work, to Edwina Guckian for creating the wonderful video, filmed in the Derreenavoggy coal mines in Arigna. With special thanks to Vincent Woods, the Iron Mountain Literature Festival, The Arigna Mining Experience & Leitrim Arts. Watch all seven ‘To The Mountain’ commissioned pieces here – by Róisín Kelly, Séamus O’Rourke, Alice Lyons, Stephen Murphy, Michael Harding and Pat McCabe ____________________________________________ ‘Into the War, Into the Water’ It was the beginning of the end, We knew that in 15 or 20 years’ time, we’d have nothing left. . There were billions of gallons of water, Dripping overhead, flowing underneath, If you stopped for any little second, All you’d hear is water. . It was the beginning of the end. . People would wonder was there a strange sense of security down there? “Hidden away from the world, Hidden away even.. from light.” . And the priest from Alaska, or wherever he was from, He said he’d never seen anything like it. The dust, the dirt, the wet, the fumes, the smoke.. It was war.. but you wouldn’t pass much heed on it. . It was the beginning of the end. . In the late of night, if there was silence, You’d hear the mountain coming down, The cracks from the rocks, the timbers breaking, bits falling from the ceiling, the chips from the joints, and actually.. It was very frightening. . In the daytime, the same thing was probably happening, but because of the noise, you wouldn’t hear it, You wouldn’t pass much regards on it. . And things got better, a bit. Conditions improved. And there was no reason we shouldn’t thrive for the next 15 or 20 years, given a fair chance. . Although then there was the other priest.. preaching at the women...
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Posted by admin on Aug 12, 2020
By way of a quick update, I’m working collaboratively on a soundtrack for a children’s show at the moment. I’ll link the music as soon as it’s done so you can have a listen, and I’ll share details of the performances so you can go and see it for yourself. I really like doing this kind of work because it feels less about what I’ll snappily term ‘dredging up the swampy tortures of the soul and serving them medium-rare to people who never ordered them’ (i.e. singer-songwriting) and more about, for example, finding sounds to accompany baby birds as they valiantly learn to fly. (Boing. Wheeee. That sort of thing). It’s lovely – I’ll give all the details once it’s complete, as well as sharing the tracks. I hope you are well x Sneak preview: Music composed by Ailie Blunnie & produced by Daragh...
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