Nurturing resilience in the face of a changing climate

Sunday, October 15, from 5-7.30pm at Aughakillymaude Centre, Derrylin.

'Caoineadh Dúlra' - an evening event exploring Caoineadh and Climate Grief will take place on Sunday, October 15, from 5-7.30pm at Aughakillymaude Centre Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh.

All are welcome to the Aughakillymaude Centre for this once-off experience with keynote speaker University College Cork’s Marian Caulfield, a leading expert in the field. There will be a round table discussion led by environmental artist AlanJames Burns and live performances by Rose Connolly and Kerry McCabe both from Newtownbutler. This haunting musical journey will unite the audience in a powerful exploration centred on the challenges of our collective environmental crisis.

Separately there will also be a Caoineadh Residential Workshop on October 14 & 15 led by Tanya Bryan, a psychotherapist and keening expert. This workshop aims to revive the nearly forgotten practice of caoineadh, allowing participants to create their own caoine’s that expresses their own feelings of ecological grief. The goal is to reconnect participants with their heritage and channel collective experiences into positive environmental action.

By processing grief and redefining environmental loss as a cohesive bond rather than a source of division, Caoineadh Dúlra Weekend aims to inspire attendees to take meaningful action in preserving the precious natural resources of the island of Ireland.

“In an era dominated by climate anxiety and ecological distress, Caoineadh Dúlra is a groundbreaking series of events which seeks to reawaken traditional forms of grieving to process environmental degradation,” says AlanJames Burns. “Caoineadh Dúlra will explore the pressing issues of climate change and associated climate grief.

“As the realities of the climate emergency become more apparent, feelings of grief are some of the responses people can experience. Consciously or subconsciously, many people are mourning ecologies and futures we thought were guaranteed.

“The weekend events foster cross-border collaboration, bringing communities together in a collective effort to address the shared environmental crisis. Focusing on re-connecting keening or caoineadh, the traditional Irish mourning art form, with contemporary emotions of ecological loss. These mourning traditions have strong connections to the heritage of Ireland’s North-South border region.

“By re-imagining caoineadh or keening rituals, oral traditions, and storytelling Caoineadh Dúlra seeks to restore ancient skill sets for processing grief, offering participants a transformative experience and tools to reframe environmental loss as a collective unifying action.”

Booking

The live event on Sunday is a free event but booking is advised through: www.alanjamesburns.com/caoineadh-dulra

Workshop Spaces can also be booked through the above website.

Caoineadh Dúlra has been developed by Cavan environmental artist AlanJames Burns in collaboration with Aughakillymaude Mummers Community, Marian Caulfield: University College Cork, Tanya Bryan Psychotherapist: A Time To Gather, Irish Hospice Foundation, Karina Lynch Charles producer, Martin Donohoe Traditional Arts Musician & Presenter of The Wind That Blows.

Caoineadh Dúlra is funded and supported by The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltach, Sport & Media, 2023 Cooperation with Northern Ireland Scheme, Creative Ireland, Cavan Arts Office, Cavan County Council, Aughakillymaude Community Centre, Sustainable NI, Irish Hospice Foundation and Cavan Adventure Centre.