Ireland’s Oceans

Jan22
by on January 22, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Posted In: blog

irelandsoceansSQ

This week I’ve been finishing up production on a new 2 part marine science documentary series called ‘Ireland’s Oceans’ These programmes are funded under the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound and Vision scheme, which was established to provide funding in support of high quality programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience, and programmes to improve adult literacy.

The series is essentially a spin off of the Scibernia podcast I worked on, which was an Irish science podcast that we ran for over a year. I worked on Ireland’s Oceans with  Scibernia contributors Lenny Antonelli and Triona O’Connell. (Triona’s Science is Delicious blog is well worth a read)

You can listen to part 1 of Ireland Ocean’s online now and you can hear part 2 next week after it’s broadcast on the 28th of Jan on Near FM 90.3 at 16.30.

Ireland has over 1400 km of coastline and 220 million acres of seabed, some of it as deep as 5km. Our seas have weathered our coastlines and shaped our climate. In the distant past the freezing of these oceans created the icecaps that sculpted our land. And when the ice melted, rising seas turned our fragment of north Atlantic rock into an island. Our oceans brought the first settlers to Ireland but later carried millions away.

Despite living on this small island out on the Atlantic we don’t really think of ourselves as an oceanic country and most of us have little connection with the sea. But today Ireland is leading the way in the study of the sea, and our scientists are starting to understand how our oceans work in ever more complex and exciting ways.

Join Lenny Antonelli in this 2 part programme as he follows our marine scientists onto beaches and boats and into the lab to learn about the science of Ireland’s oceans.

Below you will find more information on the research and organisations features in this programme.

Episode One

Dolphin surveying
Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training: http://www.smartseaschool.com/
Irish Whale & Dolphin Group: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php
RV Celtic Mist: http://www.rvcelticmist.ie
Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation: http://www.shannondolphins.ie

Fish vocalisation
This research is funded by the Irish Research Council: http://www.research.ie

GMIT Marine and Freshwater Research Centre: https://www.gmit.ie/marine-and-freshwater-research-centre-mfrc

Malahide marina field laboratory
UCD Marine Biodiversity Ecology & Evolution Group: http://www.ucd.ie/marbee/
Malahide field laboratory: http://www.ucd.ie/marbee/malahide.html

Microplastics
Micrplastics in the Sea: http://smartseaschool.blogspot.ie/2013/02/microplastics-in-sea-amy-lusher.html

└ Tags: , , ,

A Painful Case

Jan19
by on January 19, 2014 at 10:03 am
Posted In: audio drama

Another dramatic adaptation of a James Joyce short story. ‘A Painful Case’ from his book ‘The Dubliners’  was produced as part of the Reading Together series on Near FM.

Mr. Duffy, a middle-aged bank cashier, deliberately lives in an isolated suburb of Dublin. He is characterized as very meticulous and ordered and has little social contact. At a concert one night, Duffy makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Emily Sinico, a married mother. They start up a relationship that is innocent enough to be condoned by Mrs. Sinico’s husband, who believes the two’s discussions revolve mostly around his daughter and the possibility of a relationship between her and Duffy. The two draw closer together, and one night Mrs. Sinico impulsively takes his hand and presses it to her cheek, but Duffy is not pleased at the development and ends their meetings. Four years later, he reads that Mrs. Sinico has been struck by a train and killed. The newspaper article, the title of which provides the title of the story, contains an account by her husband, who states that she began drinking two years ago. The details of the accident suggest that she may have committed suicide. He reacts at first with revulsion, concluding that some inherent weakness led to her drinking and the accident, but he slowly comes to believe that it was his rejection that condemned her to solitude and death. He reflects on his own loneliness: “No one wanted him; he was outcast from life’s feast.” The story ends with Duffy listening to the silence of the surrounding night atop a hill overlooking Dublin where he and Sinico used to sit down and talk, where he realizes just how lonely he really is.

└ Tags: , , , ,

Ivy Day in the Committee Room

Jan18
by on January 18, 2014 at 10:41 am
Posted In: audio drama

This a dramatic adaptation of James Joyce’s short story ‘Ivy Day in the Committee Room’ from his book ‘The Dubliners’ it was produced as part of the Reading Together series on Near FM.

In a committee room, Mat O’Connor, a canvasser for Richard Tierney, a candidate in an upcoming municipal election, discusses child-rearing with Old Jack, who tries to keep a fire going. Joe Hynes, another canvasser, arrives and needles O’Connor on whether he’s been paid for his work yet. He proceeds to defend rival candidate Colgan’s working class background and maintains that Tierney, although a Nationalist, will likely present a welcome address at the upcoming visit of King Edward VII. When Hynes points out that it is Ivy Day, a commemoration of Charles Stewart Parnell, a nostalgic silence fills the room. Another canvasser, John Henchy, enters and derides Tierney for not having paid him yet. When Hynes leaves, Henchy voices a suspicion that the man is a spy for Colgan. Henchy badmouths another canvasser, Crofton, just before Crofton himself enters with Lyons. Crofton had worked for the Conservative candidate until the party withdrew and gave their support to Tierney.

The talk of politics drifts to Charles Stewart Parnell, who has his defenders and detractors in the room. Hynes returns and is encouraged to read his sentimental poem dedicated to Parnell. The poem is highly critical of those who betrayed him, including the Roman Catholic Church, and places Parnell among the ancient heroes of Ireland. All applaud the performance and seem to forget their differences for the moment.

└ Tags: , , , ,

Arcade and Retro ‘Let’s Plays’

Jan17
by on January 17, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Posted In: blog

I’ve recently tried my hand at producing some retro video game ‘Let’s Plays’ as an extension of my arcadeandretro.com podcasts. With the help of Brian who is well known for his videos for the Irish fighting game community we recorded some footage from several games over an afternoon during the holiday period.

118124214212

Let’s Plays are recordings of someone playing a video game and offering a subjective commentary on their experience. They’re  oddly compelling to watch. This is probably down to the fact that video games made up a major part of my youth (and are still a big part of my life) but very little content was on television, which is still a big problem to this day. But thanks to video streaming on the internet people are able to access a huge amount of content for a subject matter that is vastly popular that we’re largely deprived of with traditional broadcasters.

In a later post I’ll do up a list of some of the YouTube producers who produce content that I particularly enjoy, but for now feel free to have a look at my own ‘Let’s Play’ of Ninja Kids, an excellent side scrolling beat-em-up from Taito that was released in 1989. It’s a little rough and tumble as we were trying to get a few technical problems ironed out. But I have some ideas for future ones that I think should prove fun and we can only improve!

└ Tags: , ,

Drama on the Northside

Jan16
by on January 16, 2014 at 6:56 pm
Posted In: audio drama

vFtbjh8

The latest radio drama series I worked on is now available online. This is the project that I detailed the production of in this post

Drama on the Northside

A new 3 part drama anthology series by local writers and performed by local drama groups.

‘Playing for Time’ by Henry Hudson
Set in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe in early 1945. Levi Esser is a middle-aged Jewish violinist. He plays in the camp orchestra and so avoids the gas chambers. Generations of Esser’s used the violin that Esser plays. He planned to hand it on to his only son, Rene but Rene was killed in the war. Esser wants a young inmate, Shimon, to take his place in the orchestra so the instrument will continue to be played thereby preserving the memory and traditions of the Jews and of the Esser’s in particular.

‘The St. James Rejoice Boarding House’ by Jack Byrne
A half hour radio drama adaptation of James Joyce’s ‘The Boarding House’ from Dubliners, this years Dublin City Libraries ‘One City, One Book’ choice. The storyline is original and deals with the tribulations of a male boarder in the titled boarding house. The house is run by an old haridan and her flighty daughter who eventually beguiles the boarder into bed and an unwanted pregnancy.

‘Gangsters, Donkeys & Spiritual Juice’ by Denis Byrne
The play is set in Dublin in the 1980s. In a Dublin Northside estate riddled with crime and political corruption a kid named Micko sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. Crowds gather and an idolised local politician with criminal connections tries to take advantage of the situation.

 

└ Tags: , ,