If you are passing Lough Atalia and the mouth of the river Corrib on this weekend, you may come across a rather unusual catamaran in the water.
Its two hulls are made from decommissioned wind turbine blades, and on its deck a roped buoy swings in hypnotic arcs around a scaffold structure.
This is the Seagoing Moon-Powered Sculpture, and it runs on electricity generated from the tidal currents rushing along Galway’s coasts.
Designed and built by artist Paddy Bloomer, the artwork is a commission by Ríonach Ní Néill for the climate art project Baint an Aeir, based in an Cheathrú Rua and funded by Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund.
Learning from Gaeltacht traditions
Facing into a future shaped by the climate emergency, the project brings together artists, scientists and the public to consider how we might gain from the traditions and customs of the Conamara Gaeltacht, its landscape and locally managed natural resources to realise a decarbonised future.
“Baint an Aeir is asking what can we learn from our past,” said Ríonach Ní Néill.
“What practices brought communities through previous crises, and what kind of community do we need to build, in order to face and come through the existential threat of climate change?”
During a month-long residency with an Cheathrú Rua’s Mens Shed, Paddy Bloomer, who hails from County Down, was introduced to the Conamara Gaeltacht’s rich maritime culture and saoirseacht bád (boat-building ) traditions, as well as to the region’s significant tidal streams and currents.
“Tidal energy is still not exploited commercially, so the technology holds a sense of fascination for tinkerers and armchair inventors”, said Paddy. “I thought I’d take the armchair to sea and experiment with home brew tidal turbines.”
He used scavenged propellers, parts from old outboard motors and other mechanical and electrical scrap to build his microgenerator.
“When the tidal current powers the electric motor, the sculpture draws arcs and epicycles with light in the sky and on the water.
“The movement of the kinetic sculpture is based on the movements of celestial bodies. It’s a cross between Etch a Sketch and swing-ball.”
Fishing for wild energy
Originally launched on the tidal stream in Cuan an Fhir Mhóir, Paddy will be exploring the coast and waterways of Galway city over the weekend, fishing for wild energy.
This is Paddy’s second foray into renewable energy art in Galway. During 2020 his Weather Modulator, commissioned by Ríonach for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, was installed on the Goal River, and used solar energy to create rain showers from spinning watering cans.
While there is significant research ongoing in Galway into the potential of tidal and wave power, Ríonach points out that we also have much to learn from its past.
“Galway was already using renewable energy to produce electricity at hydroelectric stations on the Corrib from the late 19th century to the 1930s. If we did it then, why can’t we do it again?
The public is also invited to visit another Baint an Aeir art installation at Céibh an Doilín, beside an Cheathrú Rua’s famous coral beach, Trá an Dóilín. An Scailp, by Seán Ó Flaithearta, is a temporary structure resembling the shelters built by displaced people during the Famine, and features soundscapes by Marcus Mac Conghail, which can be accessed through QR codes around the site.
