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Inland Navigation - A Royal Canal Soundmap

by David Colohan

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1.

about

In 2010 I began to keep a field recording diary of my cycles & hikes along the Royal Canal. The canal was becoming fully navigable again after a long period of disuse, thanks to the combined efforts of volunteers from the Inland Waterways Association
& Waterways Ireland. Still, the towpath was in poor condition in many places, a far cry from how it is today. So it was a lonesome & remote place to wander. My area of exploration in those days was between the sluice house on the Lough Owel Feeder near Mullingar & Clondra, where the canal links up with the Shannon, some 64k later. This soundmap follows that journey. A drone comes & goes, reflecting peaceful hours whiled away in bogs & under bridges. I had originally planned to accompany the collage with harmonium recordings but decided against it, letting the environment sing for itself. The voice heard near the beginning was an old man who came up to me in the dawn hours around Lough Owel as I was recording. His words feel like a fitting introduction. Over time, I forgot about this project & so it gathered digital dust in the years since, but I am now happy to give it a home.

I dedicate it to a figure whose Waterways documentaries gave me so much inspiration - Irish environmentalist, writer & broadcaster Dick Warner  (19 July 1946 - 16 June 2017)

credits

released March 3, 2022

The cover photo is of Chaigneau Bridge at Ballybrannigan Harbour on the outskirts of Ballymahon, Co. Longford.

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David Colohan Ireland

'An eerie loveliness that should really be soundtracking a Werner Herzog film; indeed Popol Vuh’s work provides a useful reference point as, similar to Vuh, the music herein is almost religious in its solemnity and grace.' The Active Listener

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