INTERVIEWWITHAMYLOUISEO'CALLAGHAN REIMAGININGIRELAND

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

A Cork-born artist and UCC alumni, Amy Louise O’Callaghan is on an adventure to capture and reimagine Ireland’s vibrant mythology Her work brings Ireland’s rich culture to a modern audience, and re-interprets stories through crisp lines and vivid renders

You may know her from her Irish Mythology Tarot series, which combines the characters of Irish folklore with the different Major Arcana cards of a typical tarot deck She deftly intertwines Irish art forms with that of tarot, going so far as to display the figures’ names in ogham, alongside their portraits My favourite card is of the Star, represented by the salmon of knowledge The card shows a young Fionn MacCumhaill dancing in excitement as the magical, iridescent salmon is hoisted into the air

I had the pleasure of chatting with Amy and understanding her connection to Ireland’s magical history

Imbolc : the celebration of health, light and fertility.

Through her work, Amy Louise navigates the relationship between modern and ancient Ireland. She was drawn to Irish mythology by her love of fantasy She explains she is “ aware of how much Irish mythology has inspired various stories and media, despite still not being as popular as Greek or Norse mythology I always liked it because, put simply, it was Irish!”

This beautiful painting of Brigid shows her surrounded by animals native to Ireland, painted in shades of turquoise to capture the season’s return of life She stands framed with an interlacing design, used in the insular illuminated manuscripts found in ancient Ireland

She builds her connection with mythology, through her connection to the Irish landscape “When reading about stories and characters, the settings are down the road, which was always pretty fun to me Approaching it from an artistic perspective it came from a desire to help bring attention to lesser (or even well known stories) and bring a new perspective if possible Long story short, I want everyone to be as obsessed with thes d deeper ”

Beltane : the celebration of growth, summer and warmth.

For Beltane, Amy Louise depicts Clíodhna the queen of the Banshees leading her fairies to dance, as she takes on the form of a large rabbit This story is unique to Cork She symbolises love and beauty, and in folklore, is the patron saint of the county Allegedly, her palace, where she leads the fae to dance, is near Mallow

Amy Louise explains how art has altered her relationship with Cork and with the Irish language: “Mainly it’s made me proud of our little island and its culture and how unique it is, particularly with regards to its links to art and storytelling As someone who has never been good at speaking Irish, being able to be an artist makes me feel like I’m still managing to contribute to our culture if that makes sense ”

Amy Louise shows us with her art that there are many ways to keep the Irish tradition alive Our language is beautiful, but by empowering our cultures and traditions we make our rich history accessible to all “They say we ’ re a nation of artists and storytellers, and I really feel like art gave me the avenue to express my culture in a way I never did before ”

She goes on to explain, “I always like to keep this quote from Seanachai Eddie Lenihan in mind which is “the stories will die if they become canonical and fossilised and sacred We own them as much as previous generations did and we can adapt them to keep them alive” and that’s basically the mentality I keep when approaching my own personal interpretations of the myths ” skill, and feast.

Amy Louise uses modern mediums to reinterpret Irish folklore She says, “I think it’s very easy to fall into a trap thinking there’s a “ canon ” way to draw and tell the stories, that everyone should have red hair and a green cloak, like they did in our school books, when in actuality, there’s no “correct” way, characters can look however we want, do whatever we want ”

What draws me to Amy Louise’s art is her vibrancy From the 19th century onwards, art representing Ireland, both visually and in literature, shows Ireland as a dark, dreary land Following the famine, literary figures and audiences thought Ireland too depressing to enjoy its culture Despite the hardships this country has faced, we have a rich culture celebrating the arts and innovation Amy Louise’s art reflects a positive light on our past, bringing it to life through striking colours and scenes

Painting of the Battle of Magh Tuireadh

The battle of Cath Magh Tuireadh sees the Tuatha Dé Dannan free themselves from the oppression of the Fomorians Lugh, from whom the celebration gets its name, leads the Tuatha Dé Dannan, and defeats Balor of the Evil Eye, leader of the Fomorians, with his sling

She continues, “from my point of view, I effectively treat the world of Irish mythology as a fandom that I just draw fan art for (it technically is too, I highly recommend checking out the Celticist community on tumblr) and pull from my love of decidedly modern things like anime and manga when doing it, to hopefully create something new and playful.” Her art portraying Irish mythology is showcased on her Instagram alongside paintings of Sailor Moon, Howl’s Moving Castle, and original characters Representing Ireland among these works playfully reintroduces our folklore into the everyday

Samhain : the celebration of winter, darkness, death

This piece depicts Fionn Mac Cumhaill defeating Aillen, who came from the Otherworld every Samhain to set fire to the palace of Tara With his harp Aillen would lull people to sleep, and one year Fionn Mac Cumhaill fought off his spell, and defeated the fire-breathing goblin with a poisoned spear. This victory led to Fionn becoming leader of the Fianna

“In terms of a creative process, I try to do as much research as I can ” Amy Louise begins, as she describes her steps in creating each piece “This is sometimes online if I can find reputable-ish sources (the fun/not-so-fun thing is that there’s a lot of contradictory information, be this due to oral traditions persisting or the fact that authors seem to be allowed publish anything and everything), but I also have built a nice collection of books I sift through for inspiration If I find notes on appearance I’ll take notes, but I’m never bound to that unless I find something fun, mainly I’m searching for things like fun stories to draw, associated symbols, etc ”

“My approach tends to be “character first, find a story later”, and I’ve a preference for action and storytelling, so I don’t often do portraits, or just like, a guy on a chair So if I want to draw Nuada, I’ll try and find interesting scenes or tales I can pull from. From that point I’ll sometimes draw some bits in my sketchbook, but 90% of the time I head straight to Procreate (I use an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil) and kind of black out from there ”

Finally, I asked Amy Louise what Ireland’s past means to her She explains, “while we know so much, there’s so much lost and ultimately unknowable, which makes me sad to think about to be honest Considering the past and what this country has been through, it’s made me immensely proud of what we ’ ve managed to keep, but also very mournful for what we lost, the total sum being impossible to ever really know Thinking about it makes me frustrated and protective also Much in the way so many people did in the past, so many people nowadays feel like they’ve an authority on our history, and the slightly unknowable aspect of very ancient Ireland makes it ripe for a whole bunch of misinformation and exaggeration, which while often hilarious, also frustrates me a lot ”

As a fan of her work for a while now - her delightful piece titled ‘Fairy Circle’ watches over me as I write - it was delightful to have the opportunity to chat with Amy Louise Understanding her approach to capturing mythology has shone a new light on my relationship to Ireland and I hope it inspires readers to strengthen their connection with what has nearly been lost

WRITES CLAIRE WATSON | FEATURES EDITOR

“UCC is my home ” Despite the cheesiness, Max smiles Alison nods in agreement, taking in her surroundings She adds that “UCC is very familiar, it feels so warm ”

We sit on the ground floor of the Hub, sipping Roots coffee out of our reusable cups, nibbling on brownies and lemon cake As always, the sun pours through the large windows and across all the students that, like us, have met for coffee There’s the constant clacking of keyboards that falls like white noise into the background Students are laughing, busying themselves with group projects and study sessions, or finding fun ways to procrastinate The student voice is at the heart of it all, which is why Max and Alison love the work they do

Any time you see a camera and a microphone on campus, there’s a good chance Max and Alison are the ones holding them Going into the Hub, you’ll have seen their videos explaining the laptop loaning system the building offers or UCC’s moves towards a plastic-free campus UCC TV has become a great lens on student life By both representing and engaging with students, the team brings our voices to the forefront.

Max began creating content for UCC through his placement in Digital Humanities

For many, work placements in this field are generally set in computer science “But there was no one in media ” He explains “There was a university videographer and a university photographer that covered events, but not social media ” Through AVMS, Audio Visual Media Services, Max was able to fill this gap It wasn’t long before Alison became a part of the team, interviewing and interacting with students to capture their voice

I first met Max back in 2022, during Green Week He says “We needed studentsstudents talking about student issues ” He and his team took to interviewing students across campus understanding what they knew of climate change and how they felt we could overcome this crisis Reflecting on this moment, there’s a strange yet brilliant connection that’s carried from that moment to now As Alison goes on to state, “People know us now ” It’s nice being able to change it up a little, and be able to interview the interviewers

This desire is shared by Max and Alison, and all the students that have participated, and will participate, in their content Whether it's by engaging with students or by creating content with a student audience in mind, community is what inspires them Reminiscing on a past project, Alison says, “It’s nice to get to know people You’re trying to get all walks of life and you need people who are uncomfortable in an interview ” Max adds, “You meet amazing people everyday There’s always someone new ”

Authenticity is a core element in capturing the student voice In order to do this, you need to be approachable Balancing production value with approachability was a learning curve for the pair Starting out, Max explains, the team used tripods, light reflectors, and large cameras to produce their videos He says, “technically speaking, it hit every note but it’s so unapproachable ” The team took the time to scale back, learn how to create their content using as little as possible Alison notes that while the high-tech has its value, “if it’s a phone, they’re [students] going to say what they want ”

I asked what it was like for them to work with UCC I had wondered if there were certain parameters that they were to abide by to share an image of UCC, that was filtered through its own values Thankfully, this is not the case Max explains that they

AlisonO'Mahony(Credit:MaxBell) have the opportunity to “push the boundaries of what is going up on media ” To share “Honest comments, honest stories ” In their New Year’s Resolutions video, students laugh about skipping lectures, readings, and just hoping to pass and make money

The two uplifted the inner workings of UCC, from the support they receive from AVMS as UCC TV, to the people that they have worked with in creating their content Max explains that there’s “ a range of people and skills” behind each project, “but it’s all of these people coming together ” That’s when the magic happens

They extended their admiration to the Student Union and the committees behind Clubs and Societies “The work they put in that you don’t realise!” Alison expresses Going forward, the two want to engage more with clubs and societies Max states, “I would like to help out clubs and socs - if a bit of media can help out their passions. ”

The pair are brilliantly creative, pushing the limits of what is expected of student media Entertaining videos such as “Escape the Orb,” engage with the student perspective by realising the jokes made by students The video format that plays on aesthetics and tropes that are at once familiar and nostalgic to students

Their video titled, “The 7 Sins of Greenwashing” is a brilliant satire that aims to educate students on how corporations cover up environmentally damaging practices, by offering an allusion of sustainability The team began working with Cian Pierce, former Arts and Literature Editor and Social Media Manager of this very paper, who they knew could bring a theatrical element to their work Max laughs as he recalls Cian’s decision to go under the bench in the Boole lecture theatres - a fate no student should have to endure Involving actors allowed the team to produce skits, providing a new format to reach students with

“Collaboration is key ” Alison smiles, talking of their latest project Alison took to interviewing students, alongside Communications and Engagement Officer Sinéad Roche, about their New Year's resolutions Alison explains the joys of working with someone, especially someone as electric as Sinéad, and to be able to banter with them The video is a pleasure to watch, as in capturing the laughter of Alison, Sinéad, and all the participants, the life of UCC is allowed to shine It starts the second semester on a light note, urging students to not take things too seriously, but also to not let go of their ambitions

On ambition, the pair had a lot to share Max begins by sharing his own experiences as a student, of coming onto UCC’s campus and viewing himself as one of many students “You don’t think you’ll get that position,” he says “You’re a student ” It’s easy to think there is little more to college than just lectures and assignments But by putting yourself forward, you can create the experiences you want to enjoy Alison advises, “if you follow what you ’ re passionate about, you ’ re going to find your way Even if you don’t achieve it, if you follow it you’ll feel fulfilled ” Part of ambition is staying true to oneself She continues, “It’s really nice to do something and not have to think about it. You don’t show it to anyone, you don’t post it online, you don’t get praise; just do it for you ”

I asked what the future had in store for UCC TV Max explained that he’d like to make “ an appreciation video for the library,” now that his time with UCC is nearing its end He wants to capture the building’s stories; “how it used to be, how far it’s come People don’t appreciate it enough ” But the team is excited to expand their subject matters Max goes on to say, “there are dates, there are events ” Max praises Alison’s timelining of the year, so that the pair have their finger on the pulse of student life They’ll happily listen to suggestions from other students of what they’d like to be covered Max says, “Students who know their own university come up with the best ideas ”

Importantly, UCC TV’s goal is to “document the good that’s happening. It’s hard to always read negative media ” For me, UCC TV has been a great reminder that college is not just a string of deadlines one after the next

Finally, we touch on the bitter-sweetness of being final year students “Until your final year, you don’t realise how fragile your student life is ” We laughed about trying to appreciate every corner of UCC in our final semester here Only now, writing this article, I realise that my voice won’t forever be a student voice While we all resolved to use the library more, if there’s one thing that you should be utilising, it’s your voice