The Ancestors

47 ECHOES

artofnoises.com

artofnoises.com

Dr Joseph Young creates hauntological soundwalks and sculptural installations using binaural and 3D geo-located audio.

The Ancestors is a hauntological sound trail by artist Joseph Young made in response to the written archives of Killruddery House. As you wander the grounds, you may encounter historic characters and events, some strange and beautiful sounds and The Keeper of the Archive, a ghostly poet-philosopher.

Before you start:
1. Make sure your phone has a good charge
2. Connect your headphones
3. When prompted, download the walk in advance if you have access to wi-fi (the walk will also work in streaming mode) 4. The sound trail starts immediately after the ticket office - you can turn right for a short way, or left into the formal gardens
5. Follow the circles and marked areas and let yourself drift

Concept, Sound Design & Production: Dr Joseph Young

Actors: Nico Brown, Serena Brabazon, Michael Hilliard Mulcahy, Killian Kirwan

PhD Supervisor: Prof Lizbeth Goodman

'The Ancestors' was created as part of a practice-based PhD research project, 'Killruddery: Listening to the Archive' at SMARTlab UCD, funded by Irish Research Council and Killruddery Arts, Heritage & Culture.

A big thank you to the Brabazon family for inviting me into their home

Intro

00:00--:--

1. Welcome to The Pleasure Grounds

A welcoming of sorts (date unknown)

1 sound

2. Grafted

A record of grafted pears, plums and cherries (1742)

1 sound

3. Herbal remedies

Receipt for an Ague (date unknown)

1 sound

4. A catalogue of trees

An inventory of trees (1731)

1 sound

5. Garden accounts

A ledger of garden accounts (1798)

1 sound

6. Defending the Deeds

A ghostly poet-philosopher The Keeper of the Archive invites you on a journey

1 sound

7. Letter from the front

A letter to Lady Ardee from her husband during First World War (1917)

1 sound

8. Outdoor Relief

A letter to the Duke of Bedford concerning debates in the House of Lords in London on famine relief for Ireland (1847)

1 sound

9. Famine

A letter from 11th Earl of Meath regarding famine relief for tenant farmers, read by his diarist and daughter Kathleen (1847)

1 sound

10. Walk This Place

The Keeper of the Archive muses on soundwalking and 'Stone Tape Theory' in which ancient stones act as tape recorders for historic events

1 sound

11. The Great Goddess Venus

From a text by Vernon Lee 'Dionea' in Hauntings (1890)

1 sound

12. Bray Parish Cricket Club

A thank you letter from Bray Parish Cricket Club (1963)

1 sound

13. Bray Township Bill

A resolution from the Commissioners regarding the passage of a Bill on the development of Bray through the British House of Lords (1881)

1 sound

14. Battle of the Boyne

Earl and Lady Meath describing the Battle of the Boyne, including a reading of a letter by Edward, 4th Earl of Meath from the battlefront (1590)

1 sound

15. Hijack!

A photograph showing the commandeering of a car from 13th Earl of Meath by Irish Free State troops during the Civil War (1922)

1 sound

16. Water lease

The granting of an extension to water rights in Dublin (1732)

1 sound

17. Monument to 12th Earl of Meath

A hauntological field recording from the site of a monument to the 12th Earl of Meath, founder of Empire Day (1909) at Lancaster Gate in London, April 2021.

1 sound

18. A fatal shooting

9th Earl of Meath is killed in a fatal duel by Robert Gore, over Gore's attempts to lure soldiers from Lord Meath's Bray Yeomanry into his own Mount Kennedy Yeomanry (1797)

1 sound

19. Underneath this stone

Killruddery was granted to Sir William Brabazon (then Vice-Chancellor of Ireland) by King Henry VIII of England, as part of the estate of the dissolved St Thomas' Abbey in The Liberties, Dublin. A monument in the Ardee Wood commemorates the monks' former presence at Killruddery (1545)

1 sound

20. Of this thine Ancestress

A poetic diary entry from one female family member, Kathleen, to her ancestor (date unknown)

1 sound

21. Hustings

A hustings speech by William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath to the freeholders of Dublin for election to the British parliament (1830)

1 sound

22. Monsieur Bonet?

The original 17th C. garden designs were allegedly designed by a Monsieur Bonet, a Huguenot and the protégé of Le Nôtre, the designer of the gardens at Versailles. Details on his life are scant...

1 sound

23. Why should we not vote?

An illustration by Lady Kathleen of a plea for women's suffrage (exact date unknown)

1 sound

24. Cheney's letter

A letter to an ailing William, 3rd Earl of Meath who is convalescing in Nottingham (1684)

1 sound

25. Conservation

The Keeper of the Archive speaks on the complexities of the archive accompanied by the sound of waves on Bray Head beach, looking out over the Irish Sea towards England

1 sound

26. Rebuilding

An album of photographs documenting the rebuilding of Killruddery, when systemic dry rot was found after Lord Ardee's return to Ireland following The Emergency (1952-8)

1 sound

27. The Ancestors

The Keeper of the Archive muses on the weight of history

1 sound

28. Between & Among

An interactive composition: Explore the sounds as they change and combine according to your movement and walking speed

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