Podcaster in Residence - Episode 9 - The Reader - Adrian Crowley

Adrian Crowley This is the final episode in this podcast series The Reader with Zoë Comyns Podcaster in Residence at The National Library In each episode of this series a guest imagines a fictional reader who explores the collection. In this episode to talk about old maps of Dublin, liminal spaces and forgotten card games Zoë is joined by songwriter, singer, composer and writer Adrian Crowley. Adrian was born in Malta, raised in Galway and now calls Dublin home. He was nominated on three occasions for Ireland’s Choice Music Prize for album of the year, winning the prestigious award in 2010 for his album Season Of The Sparks. To date he has released ten solo albums. His most recent, Measure Of Joy was produced by John Parish and was met with widespread acclaim. Adrian has ten studio albums and has recently toured Europe including shows in Vienna, Amsterdam and two nights in the legendary Paris venue, La Cigale in March of this year. Adrian is in his own words ‘a restless and constantly searching artist’, and as he writers, composes and sings he isn’t satisfied to settle on just one artistic discipline pushes boundaries in multiple disciplines. Crowley has recently been involved in film and theatre projects as an actor. Last Summer he performed with Olwen Fouéré at the National Gallery of Ireland for a special production of Fouéré’s short play entitled Duet. Adrian takes as his inspiration a map Zoë found in the manuscripts room which depicts Dublin in the 17th Century and features an area in called The Whole Land of Tibb and Tom. Adrian has channeled Tib* & Tom into shadowy characters in his short story Gleek. It’s hard to say when Lenny first started feeling the presence. It never felt like an ill-meaning thing, no, but a presence all the same. Faint and friendly sadness in the room. And there was the song. The song that he found himself humming at times, when he was in the depths of his work, That in slow increments became apparent that in some way in his mind was connected to the presence.. The broken melody gave him a feeling that wasn’t at all unpleasant but at the same time had a slow building expectancy about it As if it were an invitation to, a prelude to an act. An act that felt familiar to Lenny but when he tried to focus the lens of his waking mind on it, it was lost. Lenny has come to name this presence. He calls this presence Tib and Tom. Zoë and Adrian chat about the history of the area’s name (it refers to a card game called Gleek). Adrian’s main character Lenny is loosely based on a real person, a former tour manager of his. The setting for the story in a framer’s workshop, is also based on a real location. Adrian says it took some time to quietly summon the story into being. He used his own attunement to liminal spaces and talks about how he has always felt connected to ghostly presences. He talks about two specific incidences one in his childhood and another living in a Dublin flat, where he felt he was on the threshold of other worlds. The Map featured in this episode is to be found in the Manuscript Room. MS 46,575 (1-2) Dublin in the 17th Century: an attempt to identify streets by T Phillips, 1685/L.R.S del 1905. If you’d like to listen back to any of the episodes in this series you can find links to stories by Jan Carson, Nuala O’Connor, Adrian Duncan, Niamh O’Brien, Clara Kumagi and of course this episode with Adrian Crowley. Have a listen back to how these writers were inspired by collection items and visit yourself, become The Reader and write your own responses. Thanks to you all for listening to the podcasts in this residency. Thanks to The National Library of Ireland and The Arts Council of Ireland for supporting this podcast.