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) , ...
read more‘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...
read moreBy 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...
read moreHere’s a taster of the music for ‘Medea’, the latest Irish-language production by Splódar Theatre Company (who are based in North Leitrim). I was delighted to write new music for this & had the pleasure of working with Daragh Dukes again (production). You can have a listen here: MEDEA: Promo #1 // Promo #2 MEDEA: Opening MEDEA: Dance It’s in its last week on stage this week, but hopefully it will get another run down the line. Enjoy, Ailie...
read moreI had the opportunity to play as part of Culture Ireland’s Templebar Tradfest showcase at the beginning of this year, and an interview and some songs were recorded and included this week on the weekly Tradfest Podcast, presented by Ruth Smith and Kieran Hanrahan, and produced by Born Optimistic. I have to say a very kind thank you to the crew for including me in this podcast and being so warm and sympathetic to me and the songs and music. It’s a rare and lovely opportunity to get to participate and chat to these folks and I really appreciate the platform it offers too. I talked about life in Carrick on Shannon, some formative musical encounters and some future plans and directions. Also features great music by the Lost Brothers and the Silken Same. Hope you enjoy listening! Episode 20 – https://tradfest.ie/podcasts/...
read moreHere’s a couple of snaps from SIVE’s magical EP Launch last week in Anseo! Was delighted to be playing support. Photos by RF Amod. Buy/Listen to SIVE’s brand new EP here! Website: http://www.sivemusic.com/music Spotify: http://tiny.cc/lww86y YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sivemusic Photos also include: Mark Dudley (guitar), Patrick Hopkins (drums) & Graham Heaney (bass) RF Amod,...
read moreI have officially released the Rocky Road to Dublin to the radio stations :-) Feel free to request it, and if you are a radio station, feel free to contact me if you haven’t received a copy yet. Stream/download/buy: Rocky Road to Dublin “..breathing brave new life into this classic ballad” Ruth Smith | RTE Radio One Simply Folk | RTE Culture Record Label: Happy Out Records Release Date: 10th March 2019 _______________________________________________________________________ ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ is a traditional Irish folksong. The lyrics are attributed to 19th-century Galway poet, D.K. Gavan. Ailie Blunnie: Vocals, Piano, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar Arranged by Ailie Blunnie and Daragh Dukes Produced and recorded by Daragh Dukes Mastered by Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering, Limerick Video was filmed on May 24th 2018 on the way to Leitrim to vote to repeal the 8th amendment of the Constitution of Ireland: Rocky Road to...
read moreWe spent International Women’s Day @ The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim – 8th March 2019 ACT 1: Victoria Geelan, Joleen McLaughlin, Rowan Armstrong ACT 2: Ailie Blunnie, Roisin Blunnie Photos by Fergal...
read moreHey! Here’s the full version of the Rocky Road to Dublin that I shared in the last post. The video was filmed on the way home to Leitrim the night before the Referendum in May (to repeal the 8th amendment of the Constitution of Ireland). Happy New Year! ..and thank you for all your support and help in 2018 ☆ Ailie x Song Credits: ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ is a traditional Irish folksong. The lyrics are attributed to 19th-century Galway poet, D.K. Gavan. Ailie Blunnie: Vocals, Piano, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar Piece also features metronome Arranged by Ailie Blunnie and Daragh Dukes Produced and recorded by Daragh Dukes Mastered by Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering,...
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