Stopping By Hedgerows

Alan Mee
  • 5.0 (1)
  • NATURE
  • UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY

Wandering through fields, stories, and time, Stopping by Hedgerows explores the layered landscape of the West of Ireland where nature, memory, and history intertwine. Each episode begins with a walk and unfolds into reflections on the wild and the vanished, the visible and the forgotten. From wolves and ravens to field names and folklore, join Alan Mee as he shares quiet stories suggested by the land itself.

  1. 11 MAR

    the sappers mark

    I explore how Ireland’s historical maps serve as more than just navigational tools, revealing the deep, often complex stories etched into our landscape. By retracing the steps of 19th-century surveyors, I examine the intersection of culture, colonial history, and personal memory. Acknowledgements Jim O’Connor for his local knowledge. https://www.facebook.com/jim.oconnor.33633344/posts/pfbid02mCyZZhexCAt3y76JnBtTcDqaiGgASsbGfQjwEK7GWCHLTFz3DUuKXDVxQ21HJ8E7l?comment_id=3294401454051542¬if_id=1769102767301634¬if_t=comment_mention&ref=notif William Anthony Smith, Thesis for PhD NUI Maynooth 2008 https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/7778/1/Smyth%202008.pdf Tailte Eireann https://osi.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=1d1c28801e5542f88960fda8e9f6d686 O’ Donovan Field Name books https://www.mayo.ie/library/local-history/publications-photographs/historical-artifacts?fbclid=IwY2xjawPgRPdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETB5WEJIZFg2OVRHMXdMWmlZc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhIylqYHwQqypXOBIGt1nUHS04dcuCZdPwJoGe7wO45k3HdW-rPzOCUumLP9_aem_ulbBLqJG3kdck6XmgJkkjg Digital Archive of Ireland’s Ordnance Survey - https://dri.ie/os200/spotlight/os200 Hubert Dreyfus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Dreyfus The Bog Shaman. Manchán Magan on John Moriarty https://open.spotify.com/show/31m0uD97rsj9i4q1ROdjvz?si=471f5663980f457c  https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07037386 https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=0009008 https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07038006

    13 min

  2. 25 FEB

    spring

    Spring a time of birth and life, but also of death. Seeing the signals, listening to the sounds. Acknowledgements BirdWatch Ireland, Buzzard Species Focus (2011) https://birdfact.com/articles/buzzard-nesting https://historycooperative.org/cailleach/ https://simonbarnesauthor.co.uk/books/birdwatching-with-your-eyes-closed/ Collared Dove https://xeno-canto.org/621403  Great Tit https://xeno-canto.org/1073555  Chaffinch https://xeno-canto.org/717558  Chiffchaff https://xeno-canto.org/561607  Willow Warbler https://xeno-canto.org/561607 Cuckoo https://xeno-canto.org/673118  Buff tailed bumble bee https://plant-evolution.org/buzz-pollination_sounds/080109-002.mp3

    13 min

  3. 12 FEB

    of stones and soil

    We depend on the ground beneath our feet more than we realise, and it has moved more than we can imagine. Acknowledgments Music by Camron RooLivingstone, S.J., Cofaigh, C.O. and Evans, D.J.A. (2008) Glacial geomorphology of the central sector of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Maps, 4 (1). 358 - 377. ISSN: 1744-5647Geology of South Mayo Bedrock Map Series Sheet 11

    7 min

  4. 28 JAN

    the well at Carn

    As the wheel turns toward St. Brigid’s Day and the ancient festival of Imbolc, I mark the traditional arrival of spring with a visit to a local holy well. Join me as we explore the intersection of landscape, ritual, and history. A special note of thanks to Jim O'Connor for his knowledge and poetry reading. Acknowledgements Poetry remains the copyright of Jim O’Connor Cameron Roo - musicJohn O’Donovan’s 1838 Ordnance Survey Letters of County Mayo, edited by Rev. Michael O’Flanagan (1927) Vol 2 page 456.Celeste Ray, Sewanee, The University of the South https://new.sewanee.edu/our-faculty-staff/celeste-ray/  Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 472. https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/ Voices from festival in Mali celebrating goddess Nyale Tribal deer dance North America  Church bells - Ammassalik, Greenland

    14 min

  5. 14 JAN

    even stranger things

    During a trip to the hazel forest I got lost, little did I know I was not the first. No affiliation with Netflix or the show! Acknowledgments Cameron Roo - MusicSean Lysaght Phil Barnett https://www.logainm.ie/en/ https://irishpagan.school/irish-for-fairy/ https://www.irishagroforestry.ie/silvopasture-cattle

    12 min

  6. 30/12/2025

    a year in Vermont

    As the year turns, let's turn our ears beyond the patch to listen to something different. A special episode to explore a year in Vermont with Micki Colbeck.

    6 min

  7. 18/12/2025

    the stonechat field

    In the summer, I walked down to my favourite place in the world to listen and to observe. Being not doing.

    8 min

  8. 03/12/2025

    voices among the hedgerows

    Exploring the history of our hedgerows and what they say to us. Acknowledgements https://www.mayo.ie/heritage/mayo-hedgerow/https://www.mayo.ie/getmedia/3c367b71-7008-46d9-a62a-c055fd2beb68/County-Mayo-Hedgerow-Survey-Report_Final.pdf

    5 min
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About

Wandering through fields, stories, and time, Stopping by Hedgerows explores the layered landscape of the West of Ireland where nature, memory, and history intertwine. Each episode begins with a walk and unfolds into reflections on the wild and the vanished, the visible and the forgotten. From wolves and ravens to field names and folklore, join Alan Mee as he shares quiet stories suggested by the land itself.

Information

  • Creator
    Alan Mee
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alan Mee
  • Show Website
    Stopping By Hedgerows