The opening celebrated the recent completion of this new community space in the unique site of Tramore Valley Park, a remediated landfill site.

The walls of the KinShip EcoLab have been constructed entirely using hand building techniques by Seán Ó’Múiri at Fuinneamh Workshop Architects with Kieran Ruane of Civil and Structural Engineering Advisors Ltd making it Ireland’s first and only rammed earth public building. According to Seán, “the process of “compacting earth” albeit above ground, resonates with the recent history of site use as a landfill, in creating a compacted landscape.” The roof has been thatched in reed by Master Thatcher John Barron, complementing the bogland environment by which it stands. Both John and Seán spoke about the sustainable processes they utilised in bringing to life this design inspired by both Irish thatched cottages and democratic spaces for assembly in Greece known as ‘Agoras’. The event was opened and closed with music by the talented Cork-based Uilleann Piper, Eoin O Riabhaigh and Fiddler, Johnny McCarthy.

Cork City Council’s Creative Ireland Coordinator and Arts Officer Michelle Carew describes the KinShip EcoLab as, “not just an intriguing new building in a stunning natural landscape, it is a creative laboratory, a meeting point and a shelter. Its open sides facilitate the close connection that artists Marilyn Lennon and Sean Taylor, the KinShip Project founders, have fostered and developed since 2021 supported by Cork City Council and Creative Ireland.” 

The Climate Action Coordinator at Cork City Council, Peter Medway, encourages local groups to avail of the KinShip EcoLab saying “We need new and effective ways to encourage more people to act on climate change now. Creative voices and initiatives are crucial to bringing more people into this movement for change who might not be motivated to act by other forms of engagement. I welcome the important contribution of the Kinship project and the EcoLab to that end.”

The EcoLab is located by Carroll’s Bog on the pedestrian path located on the east of the park. For travel tips to Tramore Valley Park by foot, bike, public transport or car, follow this link Tramore Valley Park  Attendees are advised to dress for the weather. Access for those with limited mobility can be arranged if notice is provided in advance.

KinShip is a long-term public artwork, developing a variety of public activities at Tramore Valley Park, starting in 2022 supported by the Creative Ireland Creative Climate Action Award.  Tramore Valley Park has been the site of great environmental change. From 1964 to 2009, this site was used as a landfill for Cork city. The area first opened up as a park in 2015 before fully opening to the public in 2019. The KinShip art project offers artists and interested communities an opportunity to gather together, and to respond creatively and critically to the ecological and climate action challenges we face today.

For map and more information about the KinShip EcoLab at Tramore Valley Park, go to https://www.lennontaylor.ie/projects/ecolab-den-talamh and https://www.lennontaylor.ie/whats-on/kinship-ecolab-launch-and-celebration