A stunning copper beech tree in Ireland’s County Galway attracts tourists from around the world. Lady Gregory was its owner, and she drew legendary writers of her day to her house and garden at Coole Park - William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and others. If they were lucky, they were allowed to etch their names into the bark of what’s now known as the Autograph Tree. Learn the full story steeped in Irish literary history.

Guests
Jenni McGuire
Head Guide, Coole Park Nature Reserve
Gort, County Galway, Ireland

Margaux Pierrel
Conservation Ranger, Coole Park Nature Reserve
Gort, County Galway, Ireland

Dr. James Pethica
Senior Lecturer in English and Theatre, Williams College
Williamstown, MA, USA

Dr. Anna Pilz
Independent Researcher
Academic Developer & Trainer, University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Scotland

Consulting Editor
David Still, II

Music
"Cailleach An Airgid" - traditional
Arranged by Katharina Baker
Performed by Sonic Strings from Coole Music & Arts in Gort, County Galway
Soloist - Lilian Owens
See Sonic Strings performing the piece on Inis Mór on YouTube here

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

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This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org