County Meath trad musician Brenda Castles should create quite a buzz at Iúr Cinn Fleadh. She’s going to help guide Newry back to nature with a film and soundtrack about bees.
It was after noticing a ‘huge decline’ in insects in the countryside around her home at Summerhill in recent years, that Brenda wanted to do something to explore the issues bees face and how people can help.
She visited the Bee Wise apiary with videographer David Grant to film the honey bees. That was followed by a trip to Clarkes fruit farm in Stamullen to look at and film the pollinating bumble bees.
‘The idea was inspired by the parallels between bees and my instrument,’ Brenda told the Meath Chronicle. ‘The concertina is a hexagonal shaped instrument just like the honeycomb cells used by bees – and it makes use of drones just like a hive has drone bees.’
The result of Brenda’s quest is a short film called Plight Of The Bumble Bee that takes us deep into the world of bees and their profound connection to Irish religion, folklore, and biodiversity.
This documentary explores the vital role bees play in our ecosystems, the challenges they face, and how we can help ensure their survival.
The production features interviews with the likes of Kilkenny native, 81-year-old Peter Walsh – who has been counting bees in the same spot in Kilkenny since 1959 – and Skerries locals Charlie and Marion Heasman, who have created a 5km-long biodiversity corridor.
The film boasts a unique soundtrack of traditional Irish music composed by Brenda. The tracks will be performed live by a band with Brenda on concertina.
Brenda mastered concertina under maestro Mícheál Ó’Raghallaigh. With two solo albums, she’s a seasoned performer, often appearing with Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America – an ensemble that performs and promotes Irish traditonal music in the USA.
Plight Of The Bumble Bee takes place at Newry Museum on Monday 25 August. For booking details, phone 00 353 87 920 7300.