Herding

The ecologically sustainable, small-holding farm - in which particular herding calls are used - is dying out. Replaced by heavily-industrialised agricultural practices, resulting in bigger herds, animals have little interaction with humans, breaking a fundamental ecological and historical link.

I worked with 7 farmers along the west coast of Ireland, focusing in particular on the Burren, an area shaped by glaciers and millennia of transhumance farming.

I accompanied these small-holding farmers when herding their animals – recording their interactions when moving them from one place to another – capturing a disappearing idiolect that was once common. I used a mixture of sound recordings, video recordings, photographs and drawings to capture the herding sounds and atmosphere.

A big thanks to farmers Eileen and Melissa Jeuken, Micheal Killeen, Caitriona Clarke and her father Sean Clarke, Barry Healy and Stephen Hegarty.