The Magpie’s Nest

About the Project

 
Project Details The Magpie’s Nest is a project undertaken by artist Michael Fortune with six older people from County Wexford, commissioned by the 2009 Bealtaine Festival in conjunction with The National Library of Ireland. The seed for the project was sown in January 2009 when Michael was approached by Bealtaine’s Artistic Director, Dominic Campbell, to consider working on a collaborative project which would be based in The National Library in Kildare Street, Dublin. Following a series of meetings and conversations between all parties, it was decided that the project would take the form of an exhibition which would be derived from the library archives. Alongside this, the research process leading to the selection of material for the exhibition would be documented though video, photography and the written word. These elements would be collated , edited and made available to view online.   In February Michael made contact with a selection of people he knew in Rosslare Harbour. The group were all members of a local community film group, entitled ‘Documenting Rosslare’, which he had helped establish as part of the public art project he conducted there in 2007. The six people, Mick Clancy, Fintan Murphy, Terry Fortune, Oliver Doyle, Mike Kavanagh and Phyllis Lawlor all live in the barony associated with the arrival of the first magpies into Ireland. Beginning in March, the group began their weekly, six-hour round trip to the library. Working alongside the library’s Education and Outreach Department, the groups were assisted throughout the project by staff members Sarah O’Connor and Bríd O’Sullivan. During the group visits to the library, Sarah and Bríd organised visits to the various departments within the library, as well as giving tutelage in the use of the library’s online archive and other online resources. The project enabled this particular group of individuals the opportunity to work alongside the artist and immerse themselves in the wide and wonderful collections contained within the National Library of Ireland. Through research and exploration, they have individually and collaboratively re-examined official histories and personal associations connected with certain objects and documents within the archive.   As a result of their experience, the group has curated an exhibition of items which are connected to them in a way previously un-imaginable. The first project, undertaken by Fintan Murphy and Phyllis Lawlor, focuses on the arrival of magpies into Ireland through County Wexford in the 1680’s and the impact they have had on folk belief throughout the island of Ireland ever since. The second project, by Mick Clancy and Terry Fortune explores the background to fragments of pottery which for over a hundred years have continued to wash up on a local beach called Moran’s Bay. While, the final project, undertaken by Oliver Doyle and Mike Kavanagh re-visits the famous Coolgreany Eviction photographs taken in 1887 from the perspective of one of their descendants. The selected material from the archives will be presented in three exhibition cases at the National Library of Ireland during the month of May. The Magpie’s Nest project will be launched in The National Library on the 19th of May at 1pm. The event is free and all are invited to attend.  _____________________________________________________________________ Michael Fortune Michael Fortune is a Wexford based artist who generates material out of the relationships he develops with the people and circumstances he encounters. His engagement with his collaborators has resulted in the creation of a body of work that reveals the overlooked, the commonplace, and the creative inventiveness inherent in the human condition. He presents work in a variety of contexts, ranging from video installations in galleries through to single screen presentations as well as off-site locations such as radio, television and newspapers. _______________________________________________________________________________ Fintan Murphy Fintan Murphy is from Mayglass, Co Wexford. He took early retirement from the Public Service in 2005 after nearly forty years working with the Department of Social Welfare and the South Eastern Health Board. Since he retired he has acted in and directed plays, obtained a Diploma in Gaeilge from NUI Galway, and a certificate in Storytelling Practice from the University of South Wales. He completed a Folklore Collection Project with Michael in 2005, and in 2006 he published his first book of poetry entitled ‘Slender Toward the Sky’. _____________________________________________________________________ Oliver Doyle Oliver Doyle is from Rosslare Strand. He is a keen amateur photographer which a huge interest in local heritage and history. Over the past thirty years he has amassed a vast collection of photographs from throughout South County Wexford which range in theme from local events to people and places. One of his photographic collections from Rosslare Harbour was the subject of a video work which he and Michael collaboratively produced in 2008. He is a member of Wexford Camera Club, Rosslare Historical Society and The Documenting Rosslare Group. _____________________________________________________________________ Mick Clancy Mick Clancy has lived all of his life in Rosslare Harbour, Co. Wexford. He attended Kilrane National School and the Christian Brothers Secondary School in Wexford Town. Following this he worked with Teagasc in their Agricultural College in nearby Johnstown Castle. Now retired, he is involved with many activities in the Harbour. He is a member of Rosslare Harbour Railway Social Club, Rosslare Golf Club, Wexford Naturalist Field Club, Bird Watch Ireland and The Documenting Rosslare Group. In his spare time he enjoys growing his owns vegetable and gardening. _____________________________________________________________________ Phyllis Lawlor Phyllis Lawlor is a retired Public Health Nurse. She was born and reared in Thurles, Co. Tipperary but has spent most of her adult life in County Wexford. Her work brought her into contact with a wide range of people, all with their own unique personal stories. Since retirement, she has participated in a number of storytelling and research courses as well as being involved in the organisation of many local and countywide community-based activities. She has great interest in local history, culture and folklore. _____________________________________________________________________ Mike Kavanagh Mike Kavanagh was born in Laytown, Co. Meath. His family moved to Dublin where he went to school. On leaving school he worked as a heating engineer until the early eighties. This work took him throughout Ireland, however, he decided to change career in a bid to fulfill his real ambition, photography. Since then he has worked as a freelance photographer in Ireland and Europe. In 1994 he came to live in Rosslare Harbour and since then has been involved with many community-based projects in the area. _____________________________________________________________________ Terry Fortune Terry Fortune was born in Rosslare Harbour and has lived there for most of his life. Terry worked as a national schoolteacher in various neighbouring villages for most of his adult life. He retired some years ago after spending his final teaching years in the national school of the nearby village Broadway. He has great interest in local history and heritage, in particular that from the Forth and Bargy areas of County Wexford. In his spare time he enjoys golf, walking, reading, gardening and travelling as much as possible. _____________________________________________________________________ [back to top of page]shapeimage_1_link_0