Social Practice

Through the Dinnseanchas residency, Síomha explored the relationship between place, memory, language and landscape in Dromid, on the Uíbh Ráthach peninsula in South Kerry, as part of a wider project centred on community knowledge and connection to place.

Working alongside visual artist Jennifer Ahern and community representative Mike Sé, the residency was rooted in spending time with local farmers and residents, particularly upland sheep farmers, and listening to their knowledge of the land and the changing nature of rural life. Through walks across the landscape, conversations around kitchen tables, learning local place names and sharing in the everyday work of the farming year, including sheep shearing and turf cutting, the project explored the deep connections between cultural heritage, language and ecological knowledge.

Síomha recorded an oral history interview with Mike Sé, documenting memories of life in the Inny Valley before modernisation. The interview was published in Holy Show magazine as part of the project’s wider documentation. She also engaged with the Binneas archive through conversations with Peter Mullarkey, exploring the songs and traditional tunes of the area and their connections to place.

The residency culminated in Portal to Uíbh Ráthach, held at Hometree’s Ardnaculla Summer School, a gathering of music, stories and visual storytelling rooted in the songs, voices and histories of the valley.

In 2025, Dinnseanchas was one of four projects selected for IMMA’s Earth Rising festival, sharing the learning, stories and creative responses developed through the residencies.

Dinnseanchas Evaluation Report

TOCHAIL was an arts-based research residency exploring community-led responses to the rural housing crisis in Gaeltacht Uíbh Ráthach, South Kerry.

Through bilingual participatory workshops, creative exercises and community conversations, Síomha explored questions around housing, belonging, language and the future of rural communities. The residency created space for local people to imagine alternative possibilities and consider housing not only as infrastructure but also as a foundation for culture, connection, and community resilience.

Using methods including word association, collage, guided reflection, clay sculpture and creative writing, the workshops encouraged participants to move beyond existing challenges and collectively envision new approaches to housing and climate action.

The residency contributed to TASC’s People’s Transition in the Uíbh Ráthach Gaeltacht report, which explored community-led pathways towards a just transition, including the role of housing, language and local development in sustaining rural communities.

Tá pobal Gaeltachta i gCiarraí Theas, atá buailte ag dídhaonrú mór, ar mhisean ceann de na tithe tábhairne is tuaithe in Éirinn a shábháil ó dhúnadh. Insíonn an scannán seo scéal an chéad teach tábhairne agus siopa faoi úinéireacht an phobail in Éirinn.

A Gaeltacht community in South Kerry, which has been severely affected by depopulation, is on a mission to save one of the most remote rural pubs in Ireland from closing. This film tells the story of Ireland's first community-owned pub and shop.

Ag teacht 2026

Coming 2026