Hello! Some news.. It’s coming up on 4 years now since I first developed Long COVID (ME/CFS & POTS subtype) and I wanted to share a bit about how I’m doing with it so I’ve decided to start talking into a microphone about the impact that this condition has been having on various aspects of my life and sharing it here on my website and on YouTube. My reasoning behind undertaking this venture is: 1) I would really love to help people learn about and glimpse the lived reality of dealing with these kinds of chronic conditions which so often hit people out of the blue; 2) to give voice to my experience; and 3) it’s the best way I’ve thought of so far to try and help myself to connect and stay in touch with the people in my life who I’ve been really struggling to keep in contact with on account of the demands of managing the energy impairments of the illness. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like me to cover as part of this series! Thank you, and all the best for now, Ailie...
read moreWritten 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 in these refugees, till I learned I might be one of them. After that I listened a bit more closely. It was 1795, and time, apparently, for the resurrection of that old chestnut: ‘To Hell or to Connacht’. I ndeireadh an gheimhridh, chuadar siar ó dheas It’s hard to imagine them now, arriving on the same mountain that the legendary Tuatha De Danann are said to have arrived thousands of years prior… and with almost as much mystery. Many of them were weavers and spinners, they say – part of a then thriving cottage linen industry. And there’s no doubt but that they brought with them skills, and stories. Spinning yarn and spinning yarns.. But much of this is lost to history now, undocumented, and you’re left kind of filling in the spaces a bit. I do take some solace though, from the fact that 200 years later, in a...
read moreHi 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 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 from the altar – who were having none of it! . It was the beginning of the end. The dust, the dirt, the wet, the fumes, the smoke. . People are now talking about grid reinforcement and interconnection, and the flickering shadows cast by the blades of turbines when the sun is low in the sky. Progress. A new leaf. Turning and turning, around and around, and around. ______________________ Song Credits: Music by Ailie Blunnie, 2021 Arranged by Ailie Blunnie & Daragh Dukes Produced by Daragh...
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...
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