Muine Bheag Arts Radio

Wavelengths is a conversation series focused on artists and the ideas and processes that shape their work.This episode coincides with A kì í mọ nà ogbà ju olộgbà lọ; ení múni wá là ntè lé - an exhibition by Josie KO, curated by Muine Bheag Arts. The exhibition runs until 26th July in Lismore Castle Arts.~Josie KO is a Glasgow based artist who graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2021. Since then she has been a committee member at Transmission Gallery, worked full time at Glasgow School of Art’s Student’s Association, and has exhibited in Dundee, London and Switzerland.

Return of the Bog Body is a radio play by St. Brigid’s N.S. It tells the story of a group of excited scouts arriving at Mount Leinster for the biggest orienteering competition of the year. Meanwhile, a confused bog body escapes from the museum and is searching for someone he lost a thousand years ago…Muine Bheag Arts led a series of workshops to develop the radio play as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2026. Return of the Bog Body is written, acted and recorded by the 6th class students from St. Brigid’s N.S.Credits: Fuad Alyousef, Evan Cai, Ben Cole, Calum Cummins, Hugo Cunningham, Robin Dowling, Bobby Doyle, Ben Foster, Ravishka Gunasinghe, Jack Healy, Harry Hughes, Aaden Holton, Adam Kelly,  Eoin Kelly, Simon Macejko, Ryan McAssey, Cathal McCullagh, Braxton Osborne, Kuba Piotrowski, Liam Plant, Patrick Purcell, Isaac Sheahan, Jakub Ulanowski, Jakub Wojcik, Joyce Zidi-Esengo

The Shed is a compilation of audio works selected through an open call which invited submissions inspired by our makeshift recording studio in a disused shed. Responding to the ideas of amateurism, experimentation, leisure and escape, the episode brings together essays, interviews and poetry by Sarah Lincoln + Andy Walsh, Sian Conway, Luke Casserly and Julie Morrissy. The narrative works are interwoven with music and soundscapes by Office for Joint Administrative Intelligence, Ella Bertilsson & Cian Walker, and Ciarán Mac Eochaidh.

In this episode, we join artist Liliane Puthod and writer Ingrid Lyons during a pit stop in Muine Bheag as part of tour de force in summer 2025.At the wheel of Liliane’s late father’s Renault 4, tour de force travelled around Ireland engaging with artists, musicians, mechanics, farmers, archaeologists, craftspeople, academics and aficionados over a series of collaborative pit stopsMuine Bheag Arts was delighted to welcome Liliane and Ingrid to the town, along with historian, writer and contemporary art theorist, Barry Kehoe, who presented a talk at the Community Centre. During their visit they met with local car enthusiasts and learned about their relationships to their car.

Shifting Ether is an audio essay written by Edy Fung with sound produced by Dan Callanan. The episode explores different historical moments of ether and the materiality of radio.Edy Fung is an artist, curator and musician whose practice inquires into the material conditions and technological paradigms of contemporary society, including the philosophy of information, history of science and machine intelligence. She creates sound and intermedia art projects that incorporate text, installation, transmission/radio, video, digital artefacts, electroacoustics and performance.Dan Callanan is a Cork artist based in Dublin. He is the founder of the DOE (Department of Energy), a DIY imprint exploring our relationship with the land through ambient-adjacent music, field recordings, text, video and photography.

Live @ COMMUNE 2025 brings you a selection of highlights from the Muine Bheag Arts summer programme.COMMUNE took place from 15th - 25th August in and around the Muine Bheag Community Centre and unfolded as a collection of live events, workshops and public interventions with contributions from artists, collectives and community groups.In this episode we’ll hear from some of these contributors including members of BEAM Services who formed the music group The Glimmers, graduates-in-residence Ciara Davitt, Nina Fitzgerald Graham & Mica Moroney and a conversation between Niamh Seana Meehan and Lucie McLaughlin on the launch of new publication, Beacon. We’ll also join artist Lily O’Shea and her sister and collaborator Ali O’Shea, Cian Lawler who led a cyanotype workshop and hear a snippet from Marian Balfe’s Card Club.

The Curse of Count Vlas is a radio play by St. Brigid’s N.S. It tells the story of four 6th class friends who embark on a spooky adventure to rescue their town from a greedy property developer, Count Vlas, who has put a strange curse on Grandad Noel’s farm.Muine Bheag Arts led a series of workshops to develop the radio play as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2025. The Curse of Count Vlas is written, acted and recorded by the 6th class students from St. Brigid’s N.S.Credits:Yahia Ahmed, Keelan Brennan, Harry Butcher, Caden O’Brien, Hugh O’Brien, Roy Cai, Jayden Clarke, Tyler Crawford, Aidan Downing, Joshua Dermody, Owen Doyle, Tyler English, Jake Gardiner, Conor Grant, Darragh Hughes, Nathan Kavanagh, Dylan Kelly, Sebastian Kral, Craig Lawlor, Kyle Lillis, Caleb Modesto, Reece Power, Kane Stringer, David VlasFacilitation and audio production by Jack CorbettThis project is kindly supported by Cruinniú na nÓg, Carlow Arts Office and Creative Ireland Carlow.

In this episode we explore the name of our town – Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown – which has a complex and unique history.We met with local historian John Murphy, school children and members of the community to understand their perspectives on the town’s name.

Transatlantic Conversation He(art)s is an audio essay by Aoife Ní Dhuinn and Falon Weaver which documents long-distance calls, voice notes and reflections recorded remotely by the two artists. In the episode we join Aoife and Falon as they navigate their long-distance friendship and collaborative art practice and grapple with questions around adulthood, conditions for artists and post-college art practice. Since 2021, Weaver and Ní Dhuinn have shared a collaborative practice exploring their collective interest in existentialist thought, internet culture, and material exploration. Coming from respective backgrounds in painting and media, the duo use their collaborative practice as an opportunity to integrate these shared ideas through sculpture and installation. Their practice adopts a broad range of processes including concrete casting, ceramic sculpture, meme making and going for walks.

Live @ COMMUNE is a compilation of audio recordings from COMMUNE which brings you a selection of highlights from the programme. In this episode you’ll hear extracts from talks by Cóilín O’Connell and Chloe Maguire, NIVAL and Bagenalstown Community Garden and have a chance to listen back to a reading by Isadora Epstein from Pocket Money, along with live events by Amy Strzoda and Peter Glasgow. COMMUNE took place from 12th - 18th August in the Muine Bheag Community Centre and invited contributions from artists, community organisers, graduates-in-residence, gardeners, zine-makers, visitors and friends. The Community Centre acted as a shared space to host a series of live events including talks, workshops, performances and screenings. This programme is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Carlow County Council Arts Office and Creative Ireland Carlow.

feelers invites you to slow down and relax as Niamh guides you through a float meditation. Soothing sea sounds take you on a watery journey through waves and rockpools where you encounter sea creatures and plant life. feelers by Niamh Seana Meehan emerges from her practice of floating. It follows on from a collective float as part of the Grass Roots programme in 2023 in which Niamh invited members of the community to float together in the River Barrow. This episode is dedicated to Paul Meehan Niamh Seana Meehan is a visual artist based in Co. Armagh. She works across written matter, visual art and performance.Performative activities function as sites where the body gets lost, misunderstood, exhausted and anxious. The accumulation and overlapping of ideas within the practice has provoked a methodological approach of slowing down and lingering with moments of doubtfulness. Meehan has performed and exhibited both nationally and internationally. Recent projects include: core is concrete, Catalyst Arts, Belfast (2022), Common Interest Residency, UK New Artists, Leicester (2022), PS² Short Residency, Belfast (2021), COMING SOON/NETRUKUS, CCA~Derry~Londonderry DeMo reciprocal residency (2020) and HOUR, Bergen International Performance Festival (2020). Audio production by Jack Corbett

The Portal is a radio play by 6th class students from St. Brigid’s National School in Muine Bheag. It tells the story of the Murphy twins, Mince and Marmalade and their associate Benice who travel through the portal in Dublin to New York City on a mission to save Ireland from darkness. Muine Bheag Arts led a series of workshops to develop the radio play as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2024. The Portal is written, acted and recorded by the 6th class students from St. Brigid’s N.S. Credits: Filip Adamowski Piotrowski, Owen Black, Brandon Byrne, Corey Doran Cody, Mason Darcy, Dylan Egan, Ryan Hutchinson, Aaron McAssey, Azaan Faisal Javed Mobeen, Alex Fisher, Harry McCullagh, William McDonnell Moore, Barry McSteen, Kyle Middleton, Shay Minchin, T.J. Minchin, Fiacc O’Rourke, Cillian Ryan, Logan Rossiter This episode is kindly supported by Carlow Arts Office and Creative Places Bagenalstown

The Unseen Histories of Muine Bheag is a collection of stories by Rory Mullen. Listen as our narrator uncovers a series of lost tapes which each tell a tale of the town of Muine Bheag. The stories are wryly told by an unlikely cast of local characters. This episode follows on from a performance by Rory Mullen, which took place as part of the Grass Roots programme in 2021. Rory Mullen is an artist and set designer based in London. He graduated with an MFA in Fine Art from the University of Salford, Manchester in 2016. His practice explores folklore and narrative through performance, sculpture, drawing and installation. He takes an ad-hoc approach to making, adapting and transforming everyday materials to create playful assemblages and large scale sculptural works. Recent projects include: DAY OUT, 2-person exhibition at D/ARTS, London (2024), set design for Simone Rocha, Spring Summer Collection (2023) and Greetings from Ireland, collaboration with Robyn Lynch at NOW Gallery, London (2023).

Voice Tracking is an audio essay by Megan Hadfield created in response to the Grass Roots programme. Grass Roots took place in August 2023 and included a series of site-specific sculptures and events in public space. Voice Tracking was developed following conversations with the artists and encounters with the works as the programme unfolded. The text narrates the movements of four archetypes; the Keeper, the Walker, the Glazier and the Instructor as they come across the works. Megan Hadfield is a visual artist and writer based in Amsterdam. Her practice uses experimental text and installation to reflect on the role of iconography and linguistics in shaping everyday experience. Her writing and audio works can be found at Sonic Acts Biennial and Daisyworld Magazine. Hadfield’s work is currently supported by AFK and Mondriaan Fonds.