26 September 2024
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
The Gleann a’ Phúca Creative Climate Action project will culminate in Cork’s Glen River Park on Saturday September 28th with a full day of events showcasing the outcomes from a 12-month programme of artists’ public engagement projects responding to the ecological, cultural, industrial and historical heritage of the northside city park.
The day includes a picnic, dance performance, film and animation screenings and the launch of the FuaimMná audio trail celebrating the women of the Glen River Park.
Water Divining was one of the many activities during the year
The Gleann ‘a Phúca project which has received funding from Cork City Council, the Local Authority Water programme, Local Creative Youth Partnership and a Spark Award from the Creative Climate Action Fund, was instigated and led by Cork based artist, Julie Forrester, who lives on the edge of the park and came under its spell during the Covid19 pandemic.
‘Gleann a’ Phúca’ – an evocative term which refers to the fact the area was once known as ‘Glen of the Spooks’ – stemmed from Julie’s pandemic ‘Glen diaries’ and evolved into a multi-disciplinary research project involving the team of artists who each created proposals seeking to explore and respond to the park in terms of place, biodiversity cultural and historical heritage throughout the year. The project also aimed to celebrate, protect and improve the water quality of the Glen River as it runs its course across the north side of the city. In this phase of the project, three of the original six propositions have been realised. A short film, River, was also commissioned by Gleann a’ Phúca.
Saturday’s showcase commences at 1.30pm with a discursive picnic, which invites picnickers to reflect on our connection with water and the Glen River. The picnic is a culminating event for Ordinary Gifts, a community engagement project hosted by artist, Elinor Rivers, who has delivered multiple projects in the park throughout the year. Later that evening Ms Rivers will give a presentation and performance based on her project which enabled and encouraged participants to increase their sensitivity, perception, knowledge and understanding of the life of the Glen River through sensory, creative and science based activities over the course of the year.
The day will also see the official launch of the FuaimMná SoundWomen trail which takes place in the park at 5.00pm. Created by native Cork writer and producer, Ann Dalton, FuaimMná raises the voices and stories of the women of the park, both past and present. The QR coded bronze plaque audio trail leads participants on a journey through the park from the 1800s to the present day. The accessible audio includes poetry, writing and recordings based on the stories of a range of women connected to the park including Anne (nee) Madden, wife of Professor Aloys Fleischman; Laura McCarthy (nee Eaton) known as ‘Nana Mac’ who ran a sweet shop on the Old Glen Lane in the late 1800s; and Mary Kenny and Anne Barry, who both acted courageously on the night of the Dillon’s Cross Ambush in 1920. The trail also includes recordings informed by conversations with present day women and girls from the local community.
A dance performance titled Through the Valley She Runs by UCC Creative dance artist in residence in The Glen, Helga Deasy, will take place in the park at 6.15pm. Gleann a’ Phúca teamed up with UCC Creative to commission the work in partnership with Dance Cork Firkin Crane, and supported by UCC Environmental Research Institute. Through the Valley She Runs explores the relationship between imagination and riverscape, drawing attention to the Glen River as a source of life, healing and regeneration and will be performed in collaboration with dance artist Sara Hernandez and musician Susan McManamon. The work is also informed by insights on river ecology and the impact of pollution on aquatic environments through a collaboration with aquatic ecologist Dr Neil Coughlan, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC.
The evening’s events, taking place in the Glen Resource Centre from 7pm – 9pm, will see the premiere screening of a Spoon and Bloom animation, produced by visual artist, Annie Mar, and animator, Aaron Ross, with contributions from participants who attended drawing and mapping workshops in the park throughout the year. Elinor Rivers will also deliver her Ordinary Gifts presentation in the centre’s Wellbeing Room.
The event will conclude with a screening of Glen River, a short film by Dervla Baker, with an original soundscape of field recordings by Neil Quigley. Drawing inspiration from the history of the Glen River Valley, the film traces the journey of the Glen River through the park, exploring its interactions with various environments, such as stone-clad channels, marshy floodplains, and concrete weirs. The film serves as a sensory anthropology of the river, utilising contemporary visual technologies, underwater cameras, drone footage, and high-quality cinematography to immerse the audience in the river’s narrative.
Gleann a’ Phúca creative lead, Julie Forrester said,
“Our Grand Finale and culminating event celebrates the completion of this phase of Gleann a’ Phúca. It has been a roller coaster year during which we reached out and sought engagement with the community to share our appreciation of the Glen River Park. In a project that began in lockdown with the deep sense of gratitude and care for our extraordinary world, the Glen park, and the river that has shaped it has offered up the context for some extraordinary connections. We have attempted to tap into these connections through exploratory walks and creative interactions. We have explored the environment with ecologist Éanna ní Lamhna, botanist, Jo Goodyear, and herbalist Eoin Marshall. We have walked in the rain with folklorist Jenny Butler hearing about the pucaí and the mythic roots of our being here. We have journeyed across time with historian, writer, and Glen native, Gerard O’Brien. We have tuned in to the dawn chorus with Birdwatch Ireland (Cork) and found it so special in the Glen Valley. We have explored the river with ecologists and scientists, Catherine Sealle and Trisha O’Brien, from the local Authority Water Programme, and we have found in our kick samples the tiniest creatures that inform us about the health of our water.
“This close engagement with the river and the pressing need to care for its waters and environs led us to the founding of the Cork Rivers Group. We have collaborated on maps and storytelling with people, young and old and, with the help of our four legged friends, we have tuned in with a dog’s nose view of the park. The projects in Gleann a Phúca have offered up some creative space for engaging with climate change in a positive way. We have found that becoming curious about water can assist our understanding of our place in the ecosystem. We have heard extraordinary tales of connection with the natural world, from the mythic past to the present. Now we would like to share with you our findings from this time. Please come and join us for a day of sharing creative outcomes from the project. Gleann a’ Phúca project productions, findings and outcomes will be available to view on our website after the event.”
This final phase of Gleann a’ Phúca has been supported by a Creative Climate Action Spark Award. Further programming has been enabled by grants from the Local Authority Water Programme in partnership with the Glen Sports and Resource Centre and Gleann a’Phuca.
The Glean a’ Phúca programme was developed with a research grant from Cork City Council and the FuaimMná Poetry Trail has been realised with the assistance of a Cork City Council Project Award. Julie Forrester’s research has been funded by Arts Council Bursary and Agility Awards.