When Peace Broke Out In The Garden [A Poem by Rónán Ó Snodaigh]

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The flora and fauna of Rónán Ó Snodaigh‘s poem, When Peace Broke Out In The Garden, become the central characters in an epic tale of war, negotiation, peace talks and transformation. The changing seasons mark the turning tides of fortune and defeat, prayers and hope for new beginnings. Will peace return?

The reading was filmed by Myles O’Reilly and is set in the scenic Sheep’s Head Peninsula (West Cork, Ireland); Myles also provides the ambient score. It’s great to see them collaborating here again. In last year’s interview for their album The Beautiful Road (reviewed here), Thomas Blake observes: Ó Snodaigh clearly has a poet’s eye as well as a keen ear for melody…O’Reilly…is a purveyor of mood, of subtle tonal shifts and enveloping soundworlds.

There’s a wonderful magic to the collaborations of these two, something Myles touched on in his guest article last year:

In that quaint cabin, isolated from the world’s noise, music flowed as if the dam was broken. All of our thought power for each lap of the moon could be dedicated to our craft. Time melted into the ether, and we lost ourselves in selfish sonic reverie. No interruptions, no distractions. Just us and our instruments. Melodies and rhythms that excited our ears. Not forgetting momentary pauses to be creative in the kitchen. To replenish and recharge. Stepping out regularly to gaze at the waters of Lough Key and the woodlands surrounding us, another plate of our favourite fuel in hands: bacon, eggs, black pudding, and bread, to which the last track on the album now serves as an ode.