Tonnta Tíre/Ground Waves

This exhibition of new work by Cahersiveen artist, Helen Richmond, brought the music of the Iveragh peninsula to life.

Tonnta Tíre/ Ground Waves is a collaboration with Peter Malarkey, who is the founder of the Binneas Collection, an archive of traditional music and songs from the Iveragh peninsula.

Helen's work was inspired by a tune composed by a Ballydearg, Filemore man named Jerh Coffey, who passed away some years ago. Basing herself around his old cottage at his home place, she began to make paintings of the natural world around her. Using his tune as inspiration, she wondered if she couldn't turn the sound waves into colours and eventually she came up with a notation system using the frequencies or Hertz (Hz) in the music and using corresponding Terrahertz (THz), which is a unit to measure colour. The result is three giant scrolls which abstract both the music and the sense of place.

“It marks a turn for me in the way that I approach painting - the painting is more about an eco system of the natural world and the people who live with it. For me that connection to place is the most important thing,” she explains. Helen says the work is a community endeavour bringing together the music of the area and her artistic work.

The catalogue that accompanied the exhibition was kindly translated by Paddy Bushe.

"None of this would be on the wall, but for a huge community effort, everyone seems to have been involved and I'm so grateful,” said Helen.

Helen also held a Free Artist Talk on 25th July 2025

helenrichmondartist.com