Ode to Ballynafagh: Walk 2: Grand Canal Gathering

Ode to Ballynafagh is a participatory arts project celebrating Ireland’s EU Presidency through music, heritage and ecology. Taking place from July to November 2026 at Ballynafagh Lake, a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation, the project brings together renowned composer Elaine Agnew, musician, writer and live performance artist Branwen Kavanagh, the acclaimed Nás na Rí Singers, and local communities. Under Natura 2000 Special Area Conservation. Ballynafagh Lake forms part of a Europe-wide network protecting rare habitats, species and the biodiversity they sustain.

Through three guided heritage and ecological walks, Ode to Ballynafagh invites participants to discover the connections between people, nature, heritage and place. In doing so the project places climate action within the living relationships between biodiversity, resilience and care for the landscape. By fostering creativity, curiosity and care for the bog landscape, the project promotes European environmental citizenship and demonstrates how local pride can be strengthened through shared experiences of the natural world that form part of our shared European heritage.

An original song work inspired by the lake’s landscape and biodiversity will be developed throughout the project which will. culminate in performances featuring the Nás na Rí Singers conducted by Tony Norton and Branwen Kavanagh and guest Kildare musicians and artists.

WALK TWO: Grand Canal Towpath

Led by somatic movement specialist and eco-arts practitioner Rachel Sweeney along with local heritage expert Dara Wyer.

This walk follows the waterway that connects Ballynafagh Lake to the Grand Canal, revealing a landscape shaped by engineering, ecology and collective memory. Tracing the route of this historic water infrastructure, participants will learn how the canal transformed the movement of water, people and goods across the region, while creating new relationships between natural and constructed landscapes. The route also invites reflection on water, adaption and the quiet resilience held within connected blue-green landscapes.

Along the way, a heritage talk led by Dara Wyer will uncover the story of eighteenth-century canal building, water management and the remarkable evolution of Ballynafagh from a constructed reservoir to a protected wetland of national ecological significance.

At the meeting point of engineering, heritage, biodiversity and ecology, the project asks how cared-for landscapes can support climate resilience.

The wetland illustrates how healthy habitats sustain wildlife, hold water and strengthen resilience for people and nature.

* Meet at Sallins Train Station Car Park, W91 XY28

Other Event Dates:

Listening to the Lake, Saturday, 5 September 2026, Ballynafagh Lake

Grand Canal Gathering, Saturday, 3 October 2026, Grand Canal Towpath

Ode to Ballynafagh, Saturday, 7 November 2026, Ballynafagh Lake

Voices of Kildare: Ode to Ballynafagh Public Premiere, Saturday, 21st November 2026, The Hunting Room, Castletown House.

Delivered by Kildare Library and Arts Service in partnership with Kildare County Council's Climate Action Office, the project is funded through the Culture Programme for Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union and further supported through Creative Ireland's Community Engagement programme.

* Header image: Serena Devereux, Recursive Environments, 2025