Those Missing Conversations

WE LIVE AMIDST soundscapes of change. I record some of them in dictapause snippets and hope that my collection will form part of an Irish podcast that totally confounds visitors searching for Irish accents. The confusion will arise amidst the discovery that today's Irish soundscape is just as likely to be Polish or Russian or Chinese as it is Hibernian English. (Note that Irish is subordinated totally in the soundscapes I capture.) Because I live on a building site, I hear Polish banter every morning as crews shuffle off to work. When I buy my newspapers, two Latvians chat about the kinds of sandwiches they should make behind the counter. Irish soundscapes become totally multicultural once you step inside a phone call centre or cybercafe. I wonder if anyone else is listening to this remarkable transition in Irish society. The sound clips prove that Ireland has shifted from being an island nation and now offers a revolving door into a marketplace of full employment.
We're discussing these facts on Sunday during the Impressions Writing Festival in Clonmel. For those attending, please note the change in venue from the Clonmel Guard to the Clonmel Park Hotel. One of the best visual arts exhibits to arrive in Clonmel occupies the main Guard space and deserves a visit if you're passing through town.

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