Aislínn Kelly

Environmental Geography Researcher & Writer

Aislínn Kelly

Environmental geographer, PhD researcher and writer exploring land, nature and the politics of place.

Field Notes by Aislínn

Field Notes by Aislínn •

Built in Urgency, Removed in Hindsight

This Riverfest, a new art instillation invited visitors to stand, smile, and capture King John’s Castle rising neatly behind them. The LK Frame positioned history as composition. The castle, acknowledged as Limerick’s most iconic structure, sits at the centre of the frame.There were once council houses inside that castle.In 1932, Limerick Corporation constructed 22 local authority houses within its courtyard after a tenement collapse made urgency unavoidable. Medieval stone met washing lines and...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Public Aren't Thick

Visiting Newgrange with my friends recently brought me straight back to being seventeen and studying Neolithic art.We had to draw diagrams of concentric circles, pinpointing the different places across Ireland where some of the oldest expressions of belief in the world had been carved into stone, and then surmise their possible meanings. There was something wonderfully ambitious about it. Here were a group of teenagers being asked to look at marks made thousands of years ago by people whose cosm...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Workhouse and the Plough

Do buildings remember?Not in the supernatural sense. I don’t think I believe that walls whisper or ghosts linger in empty corridors, despite recently being spooked hearing a story about a lighthouse supposedly haunted by a little girl climbing its stairs.What I do believe is that certain places refuse to become ordinary. They possess a kind of aura, compressing time until the veil between the present and the past feels unusually thin.This is why I spend so much of my life wandering abandoned rai...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Cahir Railway Station

When the train crosses the River Suir into Cahir, it feels less like arriving at a railway station and more like passing through a fortress.William Dargan understood that railways were not merely engineering projects but ways of choreographing arrival.Approaching from Limerick Junction, the limestone towers of the viaduct deliberately echo the battlements of Cahir Castle downstream, allowing the railway itself to become part of the medieval landscape rather than an interruption to it. The town u...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Ribbons at St Berahert’s Well

I have a habit of assigning auras to places. Some streets feel hostile, some ruins feel tragic and some fields feel telepathic. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the places that move me most, not chosen for comfort or beauty, but for something closer to honour.Unsurprisingly, one of my favourites is not a cathedral or a curated heritage site with a gift shop flogging leprechauns and laminated wayfinders. It is a marshy field in Tipperary, with no signpost and many ribbons blowing from the trees....
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Between Holds

I’ve been acutely aware of how preachy this Substack has become lately, all land and policy. Consider this a break. Me stepping down from the pulpit, if you will.When I’m not ranting about land use I’m usually doing something vaguely PhD-related. The last few weeks have been spent buried in journal articles and archives, reading about ecology and how nature creeps into buildings, how heritage management can reckon with an accelerating climate crisis and shift towards something more adaptive rath...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Nuclear Notebook

I was back in Tipperary the other day, and my older brother had just returned from a tillage conference. He came home with one of those goody bags they give out to farmers attending and, naturally, I went rifling through it. (If you’re reading this, Michael, I’m sorry.) I found amongst the goods a small, dinky notebook. Only afterwards did I realise it was sponsored by a company selling herbicides. At the back of the notebook was a graph that genuinely frightened me.Cow parsley, brambles and doc...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Raising Railways

Last weekend I visited my lovely friend Tess in Bournemouth and was reminded just how much I love to travel. I absolutely adore the weightless feeling of it, having everything in a backpack and being engulfed by the new sights, smells and adventures that new cities promise. I had a blast. Tess brought me to the seaside like I was a Victorian Londoner recovering from consumption, like we were Jo and Beth in Little Women. We visited the Russell Coates museum (would recommend) and also consumed man...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Blackbird's Poet

Everyone carries their own superstitions, from not walking under ladders to blessing themselves when they pass a graveyard. Mine is that the blackbird is sacred. When I see one hopping through the grass, I take it as a sign of good luck. When I see one dead, I brace myself for misfortune. The blackbird, or lon dubh as Gaeilge, is one of the most widespread garden birds, easily identified as the males have black plumage and yellow bills, while the females are a less distinctive speckled brown, li...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Land Calls Again

Irish historical figures like Connolly, Ceannt, Plunkett and Pearse have lived on in the national consciousness, to a point where we all feel our own personal relationship with them.We have all studied fragments of the fight for Irish freedom in its many iterations, from the Battle of the Boyne, the flight of the Wild Geese or the signing of treaties. We move through streets where battles were fought and arrive in train stations named after signatories.Growing up in Tipperary, it is impossible n...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Where the Stations Sleep

It all started with a fifteen-minute train ride from my small apartment in Flemingsberg to central Stockholm. Hurtling past the snow-covered streets and morning commuters, that train ride reshaped my perspective on transport. The train has always been my favourite way to travel, and I’ve explored Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway by rail.But I’m no Francis Bourgeois. I can’t name train models and I don’t stand by tracks to watch them pass. What interests me isn’t the trains themselves, but how...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Until the Cows Come Home

As a journalist, one of my biggest frustrations was how agriculture was treated as a niche topic. It was always difficult to pitch farming stories, as they were considered not to appeal to a Dublin audience. We’ve all seen the familiar setup of an IFA representative pitted against an environmentalist, with a host floundering to keep the discussion on track. This format only reinforces the tired narrative of persecuted farmers under siege from ignorant city slickers, while genuine, solutions-focu...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

When the Birds Don’t Follow the Plough

At the beginning of this summer, I started research for my master’s thesis on the challenges facing organic tillage farmers. From as long as I can remember, I have loved walking fields with my dogs. A lot of land around me is tillage, and I find the thrill of the harvest intoxicating, from the first preparation of washing the combine in mid-spring, to dinners served out of the boot of a car after a day of baling, and even the feeling of chaff in my socks.Although I circle fields daily with my d...

Featured Radio Work

Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 9- Helping the Hedgehogs

This week looks at how we can help the hedgehogs in our garden. Wildlife expert Bev Truss tells us all about this cute creature and provides tips on how we can adapt to protect their habitats.

From Mrs Tiggy-Winkle to Sonic, there’s few wild animals that capture the imagination and heart more than the hedgehog. Despite being very recognisable, there’s very little research on their presence in Ireland and there are many human processes that threaten their numbers.

For this week’s episode Aislin
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 4 - St Munchin's Allotment

St Munchin's Allotment is a hidden treasure on Limerick city's northside. Aislinn Kelly spoke to Marlow O'Brien for this week's Ours to Protect about how a fully organic community has come out of a misused piece of land.

You can listen here....

This week Live 95’s Aislinn Kelly paid a visit to St Munchin’s Allotment in Ballynanty. The community revived a piece of overgrown land and transformed it into a thriving allotment, supplying volunteers with organic fruit and vegetables. The allotment d
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 1 - Saving our Hedgerows

This week on Ours to Protect Aislinn visited a campaigning farmer Michael Hickey alongside Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland to talk about how this part of our landscape provides an invaluable carbon sink. Listen here:
• None Hedges provide an invaluable carbon sink for our environment.
• None Hedges are woodland edge habitats that come in many shapes and sizes.
• None They provide an invaluable corridor for wildlife to avail of.
• None The best hedges for wildlife are thick and broadest at the bo
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 6- The magic of moths with Kevin Hannon

Did you know Ireland has almost 1,500 species of moth that come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes? Limerick man Kevin Hannon has spent his life recording hundreds of these insects. Live 95's Aislinn met Kevin to learn more about this fascinating pollinator and the role it plays in our environment.

Week 6- The Magic of Moths with Kevin Hannon

Moths are often considered a nuisance and the culprit of pesky holes in your clothes, however Limerick man Kevin Hannon has spent years discovering ra
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 14- Lab Grown Diamonds

They may be a girl's best friend, but did you know not all diamonds are sourced the same way?

For this week’s episode Aislinn met Jenny Darcey at Field’s Jewellers at the Crescent Shopping Centre to learn about lab grown diamonds and how they are marketed as a more sustainable option on the market.

What exactly are lab grown diamonds?
• None To the naked eye, lab grown diamonds are identical to natural diamonds.
• None They are created in controlled environments, either using high pressure or
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 42- Ardnacrusha Generating Station

For this week’s episode of Ours to Protect, we visit Ardnacrusha Generating Station to learn more about this amazing feat of engineering on the River Shannon.

This week's episode of Ours to Protect focuses on Ardnacrusha Generating Station. We learn how the generating station works and how it revolutionised Ireland.

Built as part of the Shannon Scheme, it is considered the most ground-breaking infrastructure project ever constructed in Ireland and it is still generating power for the ESB today
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 12- Minister Eamon Ryan

For this week's episode we hear Minister Eamon Ryan's opinion on climate anxiety, agriculture and his hopes for Ireland's sustainable development.

On this week’s episode, we will hear from the person tasked to lead Ireland’s strategy for change to become carbon neutral as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Transport.

Live 95’s Aislinn Kelly sat down with Minister Eamon Ryan at the Department of Transport in Dublin to learn about the big switch we need to make and his vision for Ireland’
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 11- Richardsons

On this week's episode, founder and Managing Director Matthew Richardson will tell us about food security and the Irish agri-food industry as he gives Aislinn a tour of this successful Limerick business.

It’s all about food on this week’s episode as Matthew Richardson gives us a tour of Richardsons, a Limerick supplier of fresh food to top restaurants, hotels and catering companies. We will learn how the highly successful business has a sustainable focus, producing electricity needed by solar p
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 8- The Irish Flower Industry

This week Aislinn looks at the sustainable Irish Flower Industry by interviewing Fiona Cloherty, a grower based in Elton who has the environment at the forefront of her thriving practice.

A bouquet of flowers is always a lovely gift, but have you ever wondered how far it had to travel to reach your vase?

For today’s episode of Ours to Protect, Live 95’s Aislinn travelled to Elton to meet Fiona Cloherty to see her business Doonmoon flowers that sells Irish grown flowers as a more sustainable al
Limerick's Live 95 •

Episode 7- Limerick Beekeepers' Association

This episode focuses on the conservation of The Native Irish Honey Bee and what we can do to help their population. Aislinn visited Tom O'Brien at Limerick Beekeepers' training apiary to learn about beekeeping and what we can do to help these important pollinators.

The Native Irish Honey Bee was originally plentiful in Northern Europe, however numbers were decimated due to hybridisation with other subspecies. The purest strain of the bee remains in Ireland.

Tom O’Brien of Limerick Beekeepers'

Featured Articles

An Focal •

The Art of Preserving Irish with Manchán Magan

What can certain words of the Irish language tell us about our culture?

For writer Manchán Magan, answering this question has spurred his latest book ‘Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and other Irish Words for Nature.’

Reuniting with publishing house Gill and illustrator Steve Doogan, it serves as a sequel to his bestselling ‘Thirty Two Words for Field.’

The idea originated from a passion to preserve the rare words that grant us a unique insight into Ireland’s heritage.

“For years I was thinking I
An Focal •

An Focal Art Club #2- Faith Ringgold

In 1968, a black artist launched her first solo exhibition American People. The display quickly became a talking point for its unflinching depictions of racial tensions.

#20: Die depicts the riots of 1967. Crimson blood splatters contorted, helpless figures with their haunted saucer eyes spelling pain, both animalistic and terrified.

The men and women wear business clothes, making the business class accountable for the violence.

In the middle of the painting sits two toddlers, a white boy and
Irish Examiner •

Gen Z want active travel — temporary Adare Ryder Cup train station shows what's possible

For my generation, how we move through the world has become one of the small ways we are told we can change it. We are encouraged to consider the carbon attached to ordinary journeys, to take the train instead of driving, walk shorter journeys and cycle where the roads allow us to.The curious thing is that many of us are perfectly willing to change.I take the train, like most of my peers, and when I arrive somewhere I will happily walk, take a bus or unlock a rental bike for the rest of the jour...
Tipperary Live •

Passion and patience is the key to the unique craft of master Tipperary potter

In the workshop adorned with terracotta splashed walls and scrawls of formulae only a true master could decipher, the unique art of Rossa Pottery emerges from the hands of potter Alan Walsh.

Rossa was established by his father Ned Walsh and is celebrating sixty years in business this year. The art of producing pottery, characterised by its distinctive glaze, is second nature to Alan, who shared his father’s love of creating the completely handmade pieces that are now sold all over the world.
Limerick Voice •

New Leaf Urban Farmers: A Limerick micro-farm with a global mindset

Founder of New Leaf Urban Farmers Kevin Wallace has taken a sustainable approach to food production

In our increasingly globalised world, local food producers are developing new and dynamic solutions to challenge the import dominated market.

One Ballyneety based farmer has overturned the idea of large scale factory farming to create his award winning biologically diverse market garden.

Kevin Wallace noticed the land use values were becoming increasingly unsustainable after returning to his ho