As Artist in Residence of HearSay Festival 2026, I worked with the Sonic Historical Investigators (AKA Scoil Fionan‘s sixth class – 24 twelve year olds) to make an alternative audio history tour of Kilfinane.
HearSay Festival sees 300 audio producers from all over the world arrive to Kilfinane – a market town with a population of under 800. I asked the Sonic Historical Investigators what they would like to teach HearSay Festival goers about their town.
In groups of 4, the Sonic Historical Investigators chose places in Kilfinane to write a mythical backstory for. I ran workshops on storytelling, foley and presenting, and recorded and edited their stories. About 95% of the sound effects you hear in the stories are created by the kids themselves.
During HearSay Festival, we put up QR codes in each location and created a zine and map for festival goers, so that people could navigate and discover the stories. I also led a guided tour for around 60 people, with the Sonic Historical Investigators (AKA 6th Class).
Thank you to Fen Williams for bringing sixth class’s fantastic artwork to life. Some of the music you hear in the pieces is by local musician Liam Flanagan, the rest is from Freesound.org. Huge thank you to David Walsh and everyone at Scoil Fhionáin! And to Diarmuid McIntyre for this incredible opportunity. Mainly thank you to everyone in sixth class for being total legends and audio geniuses!
JESSE LAWSON 