sitting from left, Sam Bayley, Padruig O’Sullivan, Trisha Beecher, Jess Burkitt, May Sheehan, Kieran Somers, Seán Forde, Denis Lovett and his son Oscar Lovett.
Picture::Valerie O’Sullivan
The celestial surrounds of Killarney’s Muckross Abbey, along with the sixth century monasteries of Innisfallen Island and Skellig Michael, will provide the perfect amphitheatre for this year’s broadcast of the Dawn Chorus which will be presented by the conservation rangers of Killarney National Park on Saturday, May 6.
The live-stream will begin at 5.00am on Killarney National Park’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/
The cloisters of Muckross Abbey – from where it will be live-streamed – with its centerpiece 500-year-old yew tree, will come alive with bird song 30 minutes either side of the sunrise on the day.
The territorial call will begin with a song of a robin, followed by the soft tones of the blackbird, then song thrushes, wood pigeons, wrens, warblers, sparrow, and finches.
Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan
This year’s Dawn Chorus is led by regional manager with the NPWS southern division Eamonn Meskell, regional manager of Killarney National Park, Danny O’Keeffe and conservation rangers, Mary Sheehan, Padruig O’Sullivan, Sam Bayley, Jess Burkitt, Seán Forde and Tricia Beecher.
The live-stream event will include bird expert Sam Bayley, identifying the bird song on Skellig Michael with the popular puffin, kittiwakes, gannets and razorbills.
Seán Forde and Jess Burkitt will identify bird song on Innisfallen Island and live music will be performed by local musicians Derry and Rosie Healy and renowned accordion player Bryan O’Leary.
Gleneagle INEC Arena audio technicians Kieran Somers and Denis Lovett will have installed microphones and audio equipment in various locations ready for the live- stream at 5.00am.
District Conservation Officer, Mary Sheehan, said it’s a great opportunity to showcase their work and choosing the ecclesiastical sites of Innisfallen Island, Muckross Abbey and the UNESCO Heritage site of Skellig Michael to record and live-stream the bird song was a privilege.
“It serves as a reminder of how the monks lived their lives in silence and in song, devoted to God and to nature. We encourage people to pop in their earphones and listen to the bird song while walking Darkness into Light that Saturday morning,” Mary said.
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