Artist working in Spatial Audio and Performance - based between Brighton, Dublin & Berlin
www.artofnoises.com

Joseph Young

*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*

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

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

starling

goldfinch

hoopoe

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

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

An aeolian harp of sorts, activated by the wind

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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.

Field recording, Lancaster Gate (April 2021)

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)

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)

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

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

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...

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

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

**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

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)

A historic water-powered clock designed by Normand, 13th Earl of Meath on his return from the First World War

**The Keeper of the Archive** muses on the weight of history

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

Dr Joseph Young creates hauntological soundwalks and installations using binaural and immersive geo-located audio.

The Ancestors

47 ECHOES

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The Echoes

1. Welcome to The Pleasure Grounds

2. Grafted

3. Herbal remedies

4. A catalogue of trees

5. Garden accounts

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