I have been asked . . . What exactly do you do?

I capture the sounds of nature, mainly birdsongs and calls, often insects, Frogs and mammals, if they are about. I also record on occasion the sounds of streams, rivers, thunder, rain, wind the sea etc, also I have sometimes recorded people talking about life or as most of the people were ‘Old’ they talked about the times past. I also record ‘Sound effects’ like trains, aircraft, fireworks, parades, racing cars and sometimes even music. (Collecting) Yes; I love to collect recordings made by other people, I have birdsong / nature sound albums from a fair few parts of the world.

Something like 140?

Different titles. I don’t restrict myself to Irish birds only, I love all nature sounds, no matter where they come from. It is all beautiful music to me. There is something almost spiritual about birdsong. Unlike music I don’t get tired of hearing it. It does not go out of fashion. There is no irritating sharp beat or great predictability about it. Whereas with music we can grow used to a song and tire of it. Birdsong speaks to me of crystal silence and wild beautiful places, where I find solace and peace. Gives me another reason to go to these places, some are quite hard to get to. These sounds have as a result a special place in my heart and mind. Like a photograph of a happy day, the birdsongs bring back the mood and peace of the happy time spent in the lonesome place. Birdsong both creates the atmosphere of a place, but it is also part of that atmosphere too. It suit’s the environment so well, those beautiful sounds, like for instants birds twittering on a spring morning, match the feeling of freshness so well, there is a joyous feeling, made all the more intense by the birds.

How much time?

It can vary from nothing to perhaps 18 hours per week after my return from foreign parts.

When did I first become interested in sound recording?

First of all my earliest memory of birdsong is when I was about six or eight, that was either 1968 or 1970, I was in my grannies house in Larkfield gardens in Kimmage, Dublin. I used to go over there for the weekend sometimes. I loved it. It must have been springtime because I remember hearing a bird sing in a tree at the end of the garden and even then I thought, what a beautiful sound ! Some years later I saw a cassette recorder and was surprised at the sound quality, I had heard that Moore street was to be knocked down so I thought it a good idea to record the sounds there before it was all gone. About this time, a friend of the family used to send over tapes of jazz music, he even gave us two of his old open-reel tape recorders to listen to them. I had great fun as a young teenager taping sounds then playing them back at half speed, I was fascinated with it. In 1979 when I begun my apprenticeship to the cabinet making. I happened to be on bench number 10 with someone who also happened to be interested in recording. He was into sound recording of music, multitrack machines guitars, drums and so on rather than wildlife. It was he who first told me about Revox recorders, he was himself trying to get a Teac. I saw a picture and article in a hi-fi magazine about the Revox B77 tape recorder. I had no idea of the quality of work I would do someday, or the technology that would come along. It has been quite an adventure.

Who listens to my recordings?

Well; at this stage, they have gone fairly far and wide. Many people listen to them for pleasure or to learn the different birds. I also have two other albums that are not of birds; One of the sea in different moods, and another called ‘A sound picture of the Dublin area.’ Lately teachers in schools have begun to teach birdsongs using my CD.

Where have I been?

At first I hadn’t a clue, I went to places at the edge of town, some not bad at all, as they were fairly quiet at the time (If only I had my present knowledge then). I have been to the Great Saltee Island where I made a film. I also made two albums of the sounds there. I have been to Wales, twice. Finland Twice (Two albums). Belize, in Central America, four times (Three albums). Many places here, the Wexford slobs, the midlands for the Corncrake, Glenveagh National Park, Donegal. Killarney National park, Kerry, I also made a film about the park in autumn. I have recorded in places near Arklow. Kilcoole County Wicklow and Broadlough, also in Wicklow. I have been to Cavan too. The level of silence has to be very deep for recording. Then I have been to many other places to record interviews with people as well as to get sound effects.