In this episode, we spotlight our Transition Year programme, where students from local schools spend a week gaining hands-on experience at UCC Library.

Michelle Rumley, Transition Year Course Coordinator at UCC Library, speaks with three Transition Year students from Coláiste Muire Crosshaven, Christ King Girls’ School, and Carrigaline Community School about their experiences, insights, and reflections on what it’s like to work with us.

If you’d like to learn more about the Transition Year programme at UCC Library, please get in touch at [email protected].

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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In this episode, Trevor Joyce, poet and founder of the SoundEye Festival of the Arts of the Word, talks with fellow poets and festival organisers, Ellen Dillon and Fergal Gaynor, about twenty-one years of poetry and the avant-garde in Cork and beyond. The conversation takes place in the same building, UCC Library, where the SoundEye Collection, of books, memorabilia, recordings and archival material, will be housed.

Trevor Joyce, born in Dublin in 1947, is the author of numerous poetry collections, the first being Sole Glum Trek (1967), and the most recent Possession (2026). He is a member of Aosdána.

Ellen Dillon is the author of, among other poetry collections, Sonnets to Malkmus (2019) and Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel (2023). She was UCC writer-in-residence in 2025 and her most recent work, of essay, prose poetry and fiction − A Whale Called Milieu − was shortlisted for the Prototype Prize.

Fergal Gaynor is a poet and critic based in Cork. 2025 saw the publication of his Clio’s Ground: New and Selected Poems and Geoffrey Squires in Conversation with Fergal Gaynor. He is a member of the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art.

Additional music and performance: Margaret Barry – She Moves Through the Fair; Niña de los Peines – Alegrias; Los Langeros – Killing Frogs; Jaap Blonk – from 8 Mechanical Statements; Maurice Scully – Bread.

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In this episode, Eimear Ryan, lecturer in English and Digital Humanities at UCC, interviews novelists Clara Kumagai and John Patrick McHugh in UCC Library’s Creative Zone on March 26th, 2026. They discuss their writing careers and recent acclaimed publications.

Clara Kumagai is from Canada, Japan and Ireland. Her debut novel, Catfish Rolling, received the 2024 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Award. Her second novel, Songs for Ghosts, was named one of the Best Irish Books of 2025 by Children’s Books Ireland, and has been longlisted for the 2026 YOTO Carnegie Medal for Writing.

John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in the Stinging Fly, Winter Papers, Banshee, Tolka, and Granta and been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He is the author of the short story collection Pure Gold and the novel Fun and Games.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Intro music: Bog Jazz - Bad Ducks

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This is the inaugural episode of UCC Library’s Community Matters discussion forum. It was recorded live in front of an audience in our Creative Zone as part of the Cork Podcast Festival on March 24th, 2026.

The first Community Matters forum focused on the topic of housing and features contributions from the following representatives:

Lucas Van Bilderbeek - CATU

Cllr. Honore Kamengi - Green Party

AJ Nagle - Cork Student Housing Co-op

Jason O'Shaughnessy - Cork Centre For Architectural Education

Frank O'Connor & Jude Sherry - Derelict Ireland

Community Matters is a library‑led initiative that creates a shared forum for diverse voices to come together for an in‑depth panel discussion, recorded live as a podcast.

It is also designed to encourage meaningful conversations on local issues through multiple perspectives.

This episode was produced and moderated by Dave Hackett, UCC Library Public Engagement Coordinator.

All proceeds from this event were donated to Cork Simon Community.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Intro music: Bog Jazz - Bad Ducks

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In this episode Elaine Harrington, Special Collections Librarian, and John Hough, Senior Technical Officer in UCC’s Department of Music speak with Dr Abigail Wincott, Falmouth University about The Sonic Histories of Cork City (SHOCC) Project.

For full show notes: https://abigailwincott.wordpress.com/2023/09/14/episode-1-sonic-histories-of-cork-city/

The SHOCC Project (2018-2021) was a public arts initiative exploring the connections between sound, space, and history in Cork City. Co-founded by Elaine Harrington (UCC Library), John Hough, and Dr. Jillian Rogers (Dept. of Music, UCC), the project used archival and historical sources to recreate historically informed soundscapes. Students contributed through a university module, and the team developed Sound Catcher, an online tool for collecting contemporary sounds from the public. Through public events, the project encouraged critical engagement with Cork’s sonic history. It exemplified successful collaboration between UCC’s Library and Music Department, aligning with the university’s connected curriculum.

Connect with Elaine Harrington, https://linktr.ee/walkerabroad 

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In this episode, Sarah Kernan speaks to Elaine Harrington, Special Collections Librarian at University College Cork about Historical Recipes in the Digital Age. This project was created by a partnership between UCC Special Collections and Digital Learning and relied on the contributions of staff and students to shape and analyze the project.”

For full show notes and a transcript: https://recipes.hypotheses.org/21761.”

• Connect with UCC Library Special Collections & Archives: linktr.ee/theriversideUCC 
• Connect with UCC Library: linktre.ee/UCCLibrary
• Connect with The Recipes Project on Facebook and Instagram.

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In this episode, Elaine Harrington, Client Services Team Lead, interviews PhD student and Skills Center employee Tadhg Dennehy about his audio-visual installation created for the Life Below Water exhibition on Culture Night 2023.

Tadhg reflects:

"Working on this project was an incredible opportunity to engage creatively with Special Collections. I created an audio-visual installation inspired by items from Special Collections, responding to UN SDG 14: Life Below Water.

Drawing inspiration from Louis P.W. Renouf’s Preliminary Work of a New Biological Station (1931), I explored Lough Hyne, the subject of Renouf’s study. While Renouf documented species of lichen and aquatic life, I captured images and sounds from this diverse landscape. These elements formed an immersive experience for the public during the exhibition. Engaging with Special Collections made this a deeply rewarding creative endeavor."

Tadhg produced two versions of After LPW Renouf:

• Long version (21:49): Features underwater recordings from Lough Hyne using a hydrophone mic and includes music by Neil Quigley.
• Short version (14:41): Focuses on images of Lough Hyne taken by Tadhg.

Both works are inspired by Renouf’s Preliminary Work of a New Biological Station. Tadhg’s use of a hydrophone inspired Elaine to create an exhibition section highlighting UCC’s activities near Lough Hyne.

Listen to samples of Tadhg’s work in the interview or view his videos and more from the exhibition here: Life Below Water Exhibition.

This interview was recorded by Elaine Harrington and edited by Dave Hackett, Programmes & Events Coordinator for UCC Library.

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In September 2024, Cork University Press (C.U.P) published this new volume in the award-winning Atlas Series which presents fresh perspectives on, and a nuanced understanding of, the history of the Irish Civil War (1922–3).

The centenary of the Civil War has prompted wide-ranging research into that tumultuous and complex period in Irish history. Featuring contributions from over ninety leading scholars from a range of disciplines, this book provides new insights into the conflict’s regional, national, and international dimensions. It includes the first-ever listing of Civil War fatalities and original explorations of issues including propaganda, gender, trauma, culture, labour, land, and class.

Produced in partnership with the National Library of Ireland with support from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Atlas of the Irish Civil War: New perspectives is richly illustrated with over 400 photographs, archival documents, and a series of newly created original maps. From the research team that produced the widely acclaimed Atlas of the Irish Revolution, this volume represents a major and accessible contribution to the historiography of a conflict that has cast a long shadow over Irish life.

On this episode, Head of Publishing at C.U.P, Sinead Neville interviews two of the editors of this book, Hélene O’Keefe, and John Borgonovo.

This episode was recorded and edited by Dave Hackett - Programmes and Events Coordinator for UCC Library.

Music: May 12th, 1916: A Song for James Connolly - Niall Connolly

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