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In this penultimate episode of my series of interviews on silence, I speak to Trevor Agus of SARC. Belfast’s Sonic Arts Research Centre is a world class facility for the study of sound. I’d met some SARC staff at the Happy Days Beckett Festival in Eniskillen, including the composer and sound designer David Bird. So … Continue reading Trevor Agus at SARC – Culture File →

Silence, it can be an elusive experience in a modern world dominated by cities, and illuminated by technology. Silence is not only a product of our environment, but also of our perceptual system. In this second in a series for Culture File, I speak to Professor Fiona Newell of Trinity College Dublin, about sound and … Continue reading Fiona Newell on Sound & Silence – Culture File →

My latest report for Culture File is a discussion with Irish author Kevin Barry, about the role of silence in his work. Kevin joined Sara Maitland (author of ‘A Book of Silence‘) on a panel about silence at the recent Happy Days Beckett festival. He was a joy to talk with, and this discussion became … Continue reading Kevin Barry on Silence – Culture File →

Perhaps the most famous line in Portrait of the Artist goes like this: ‘Ireland is the old sow that eats her own farrow’. Some things never change. The ‘peace dividend’ of Brian Lenihan’s attack on the Irish economy, was a fall in rents. Dublin got something it had never had before, cheap unused buildings. This … Continue reading Community Arts in Dublin – Culture File →

My latest report for RTE Lyric FM’s Culture File, took me ‘upstairs’ to the week long ‘Happy Days‘ Samuel Beckett festival in Enniskillen. The festival organisers and tourism board of Northern Ireland were wildly hospitable (many thanks especially to Cathy Kapande, Kirstin Smith, Allie Crehan, and Sean Doran). Little did they know I’m but a … Continue reading ‘A Writer in Beckettland’ – Culture File →

So last night I was lucky enough to see the incredibly talented radio producer Roman Mars perform a live episode of his show 99% Invisible, at the ever creepy Freemasons Hall in Molesworth St. The event was a part of the inaugural Sounds Alive festival, which brought together a bunch of radio folks like legendary … Continue reading Mad Scientists of Music wins Sounds Alive Prize! →

Image: Popical Island, literally ripped from the pages of Hot Press I’ve long been enamoured of the sheer fun of Popical Island‘s albums and gigs. The label come collective feature numerous highly regarded Irish bands like Groom, Tieranniesaur, Squarehead, Big Monster Love and No Monster Club. This indy rock (I’d go as far as to … Continue reading ‘Popical Island’ – Culture File →

I can’t quite believe it, they let me do it again! Recently the producers of Lyric FM’s daily culture programme ‘Culture File‘ took an interest in my documentary series Mad Scientists of Music, asking me to adapt a report on brilliant Northern Irish chiptune musician Chipzel for their show. Last week they commissioned me to … Continue reading ‘The Mentalist’ – Culture File →

Chuffed to be able to present my first piece for RTE Lyric FM’s ‘Culture File‘ programme. It’s a short on Chipzel, the Chiptune artist profiled in Episode 2 of Mad Scientists of Music. The piece features much of the same material from that report, but presented in a more straightforward way, which was an interesting … Continue reading Chipzel – Culture File Report →

Footnotes was a one off student media award shortlisted show that ran on Trinity FM in the late 2000s. Footnotes – Americana (63 Megs)

Thrust Us was a sex and relationship advice show that ran on Trinity FM in the late 2000s. Thrust Us – Episode One (Best Of) (42 megs)

News Stories of the Year - Wikileaks, Acts of God TV of the Year - Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead, Spartacus Blood and Sand, Movies of the year - A Profit, The Social Network, Network (1976), Scott Pilgrim Games of the Year - Minecraft, Sleep is Death, Pixeljunk Eden (2008) * Dylan Cuthbert Person of the year - Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Justin Hall, Plato, Why the Lucky Stiff Personal Highlights of the year - Andrews trip to America, Johns trip to Italy, Marshmallow Ladyboy Jesus, Cheaper Than Therapy

A mini-documentary about my first trip to America in 2006. Download: East Coast / West Coast While I was at the anti DRM demonstration at Apples 5th avenue store, I also interviewed a member of New Yorker’s for Fair Use, Jay Sulzberger. The interview was too long to include in the program, but if you’re interested … Continue reading East Coast, West Coast →