Luke will work with communities in Offaly and Meath in this unique, embedded residency. Running from June to August, the Bog Bothy artist residency offers space to respond creatively to Ireland’s evolving peatland landscapes through a collaborative and context-driven process of research, engagement, and making.

Luke’s residency will begin with a simple intention: to listen. By spending time in both Clara and Girley, he hopes to build meaningful connections with those who hold deep ties to the peatlands, including former bog workers, conservationists, and local residents. These conversations will inform a site-responsive soundscape, shaped by field recordings and personal stories collected throughout his residency. The bothy will act as both anchor and space for reflection, culminating in a shared walk and a digital archive that will continue to carry the voices of these landscapes beyond the residency period.

Bio:

Luke Casserly is a multidisciplinary performance maker from Longford. His work weaves together ecological research, autobiography, sound art, and place as a way of carving out space for new possibilities to emerge between live performance and physical landscapes. His projects have brought audiences through city streets, back gardens, train stations, beaches, and a bog in the Irish Midlands which have led to the creation of a network of wildflower meadows across Ireland (1000 Miniature Meadows, 2020-23), the planting of 1000 indigenous trees (Root, 2021), and the development of an organic perfume made using botanicals from the Irish bog (Distillation, 2023). Luke is a recipient of the Arts Council’s Next Generation Award and was selected for the Norman Houston Multidisciplinary Commissioning Award with Solas Nua (Washington, DC), as well as the International Forum at Theatertreffen (Berlin Festspiele). In 2024, he was appointed as a Biodiversity Artist in Residence with Dublin City Council. He holds a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies (Trinity College Dublin) and a Certificate in Art and Ecological Practice (NCAD).

About Bog Bothy:

Bog Bothy  is a collection of new work, built outcomes, and ambitious proposals toward a new peatlands architecture. Launching on 19 June at the Bog Trotters Festival in Clara, County Offaly, Bog Bothy will present a new bothy shelter, an exhibition of photographs and drawings, work by the resident artist, and a public programme of national and local conversations on our evolving relationship with Ireland’s peatlands through the lens of architecture and placemaking. The bothy structure has been co-created with communities in Offaly, Louth, and Meath and designed by architects Evelyn D’Arcy and David Jameson of 12th Field.

Running in Clara from 19-22 June, Bog Bothy will then tour to Girley Bog, County Meath in August.

Bog Bothy is a Creative Climate Action II – Agents of Change project, funded by Creative Ireland. This Residency is supported by Creative Ireland, Offaly County Council, and Meath County Council.

Portrait of Luke Casserly by Fergal Styles.