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Cycles

Cycles explores language, history, landscape and cycling

Cycles is an arts participation project created by Carlow Arts Festival that has been taking place across Hacketstown, Rathvilly, Graiguecullen and Tullow, exploring language, history, landscape and cycling led by artists Michelle Browne and Eszter Némethi. We have been looking back 100 years to 1923 and imagining our future in 2123 through a series of workshops, talks and discussions.

As a culmination of this project, a large-scale collective cycling experience took place on the 14th of July, 2024.

The collective cycling experience was an 18km and 3km loop with an audio piece that shaped people’s experience of the cycle with some other surprises along the way. As the cyclists returned to Ducketts Grove, Carlow Community Choir sang a special song created by Carlow musicians Ye Vagabonds (Brían & Diarmuid Mac Gloinn) for this project inspired by the texts created during the workshops.

Cycles Video

Spokes, as part of Cycles, was a series of discussions and workshops about our sense of place within County Carlow that took place during our festival in 2023. Spokes hosted conversations on language, cycling, ecology and more.

Cycles Screening & Performance

On the 27th of November 2024, we held a special screening of two video works and a performance by Carlow Community Choir.

Renowned filmmaker, Ros Kavanagh, working closely with Michelle Browne, created a beautiful film work that captures the experience of the collective cycle on the 14th of July, 2024 that began and ended at Ducketts Grove. This mesmerising film included the special audio experience that was developed from texts written by the community groups during the series of Cycles workshops.

Patrick Bramley of ULAB Studio followed the Cycles project from its beginnings to the final collective cycling event in July 2024. He created a short documentary revealing the behind-the-scenes process of developing this project.

After the screening, Carlow Community Choir and the audience, led by Mary Amond O’Brien, sang Follow the Crows - a song written especially for this project.

Images by Brian Cregan, Patrick Bramley, Allen Kiely & Michael O'Rourke

Participants
Geraldine Bowes
Nicola Brennan
Loretta Bentick
Mary Doyle
Ciaran Duffy
Úna Tierney
Brigid Tierney
Pauline Dowling
Amanda Coleman
Nuala Brennan
James Aygmi
Packson Dube
Vuyo (Keith) Longwe
Nathan Ndlovu
Solomon Enwereoby
Kealeboga Besi
Patson Jiyana
Noel Coogan
Jackie Stafford
Jane O’Rourke
Fr John McEvoy
Anna Mae Timmins Byrne
Margaret Kirwan
Mary Doyle
Áine McCarthy

Artists

Michelle Browne
Eszter Némethi

Audio
Text written by: Eszter Némethi and Michelle Browne with the poem ‘Irish Sycamore’ by Jane O’Rourke and texts by Anna Mae Timmins Byrne, Orlaith Treacy, Fr. John McEvoy, Vuyo (Keith) Longwe, Nathan Ndlovu, Pauline Dowling

Voice performers: Shannon O’Doherty, Anna Mae Timmins Byrne, Jane O’Rourke, Vuyo (Keith) Longwe, Nathan Ndlovu, Shannon Basso Gaule, Fr. John McEvoy

Performers
Augustine Osagie
Rabietu Ulinfoh Benedict
Emmanuel Ewhrudjakpor
Karina Steider
Mary Simbule
Morenikeji Gbadebo
Ridwan Okunade
Sulaimon Olowookere
Sunday Araloyin
Virginia Sibanda
Yekateryna Podobna
Josephine Oguntowo
Asmou Olowookere
Shannon O'Doherty

Music
Brían & Diarmuid Mac Gloinn (Ye Vagabonds)
Carlow Community Choir
Mary Amond O'Brien

Sound

Seán MacErlaine
Ollie Hennessy
Kirk Baumann

Designer
Paul Bokslag

Photographer

Brian Cregan

Videographer

Patrick Bramley/ ULAB Studio
Ros Kavanagh

Costume Making
Aoife Lyons

Production Team

Sinéad Cormack
Eoin Hally
Peter Jordan
Bryan O'Connell
Paul White

Volunteer Managers
Tara Landers
Janice de Bróithe

Marketing

Neans McSweeney

CAF Team

Produced by Creative Producer: Orlaith Treacy
Artistic Director: Benjamin Perchet
Executive Director: Andy Currums
Programme Manager & Executive Assistant: Ferga Moran
Associate Producer & Festival Administrator: Shannon Basso Gaule

Cycles Event Organisers

Deborah Foley, Carlow Sports Partnership
Jennifer Dempsey, Carlow Sports Partnership
Adam Byrne, Carlow Road Cycling Club
John O’Shea, Carlow Road Cycling Club
Essmay Murphy, Garda Síochána
Paul Keane, Garda Síochána

Thank you to Barry Knowles in Carlow County Council, Caitriona Corr in Kilkenny County Council, Carlow Regional Youth Services, Carlow Volunteer Centre, Roisín Hickey from On Your Rothar, Refill.ie, Teach Bhríde and the Tullow Parish Centre in Tullow, The Core Centre and Biodiversity Garden in Hacketstown, Lawlor’s Bar in Rathvilly, The Lazy River Café in Graiguecullen and Ducketts Grove, Graiguecullen Killeshin Parish Centre, Touch Point Media, BEAT, The Nationalist, KCLR and David Stalling.

Cycles is part of ART:2023, a Decade of Centenaries programme, presented by The Arts Council | An Chomhairle Ealaíon in association with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. This project has been supported by Carlow Sports Partnership, Sport Ireland via the Dormant Accounts Fund, Creative Ireland Carlow, Carlow Arts Office, Carlow County Development Partnership and Healthy Ireland.

This project was developed in partnership with County Carlow Sports Partnership, Carlow County Library, Carlow County Museum, Carlow Road Cycling Club, Carlow County Council and Carlow An Garda Síochána.

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