Green Limerick: Endangered Corncrake bird the focus of city exhibition

A GROUP exhibition about an endangered species of bird is coming to Limerick this September.

Ormston House, a gallery and interactive space on Patrick Street in the city, is bringing The Sky is Falling! to the people of Limerick.

The showcase is all about the Corncrake bird, an endangered species which has been facing approaching extinction in Ireland and the UK, due to industrial-scale agriculture which has all but eradicated their breeding habitats.

A group exhibition featuring contributions from Ceara Conway, Seoidín O’Sullivan, Scott Rogers, and Christopher Steenson, it is an accumulation of several years of research into the corncrake.

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The exhibition will open Thursday, September 12 from 7pm to 9pm and will be running until Saturday, November 16.

Corncrakes are small migratory birds that move between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Shy and elusive, they live in the cover of long grass and tall vegetation.

Rarely seen, they are identifiable by their distinctive call; a loud, almost mechanical-sounding noise that was once a prominent feature in the soundscapes of rural Ireland.

In the last 50 years, corncrake numbers in Ireland have declined drastically.

Today, surviving populations are found along the outermost peripheries of our western coastline, in the Gaeltacht regions of Donegal, Galway, and Mayo.

The roots of this exhibition date back to 2022, when Ormston House partnered with Corncrake LIFE, a conservation project working with farmers to improve habitats for the bird.

To accompany The Sky is Falling!, Ormston House will host a series of free events:

On September 13, 7pm to 9pm, they will host presentations by ecologist Dr John Carey (Corncrake LIFE) and artist and educator Seoidín O’Sullivan.

On September 14, 2pm to 3pm, artist Scott Rogers will lead an all ages workshop entitled Decoy Orchestra.

On October 5, 7pm to 9pm, exhibiting artists Ceara Conway and Christopher Steenson will present new performances.