Field Recording — Killarney

Field recording in the Killarney National Park, with the Black Valley looming in the background

My wife and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary in Killarney, Co. Kerry where we stayed near the Killarney National Park. We’ve been to this park a couple of times before but I never brought a recorder with me until now. I have two field recording rigs to choose from, one is an ambisonic rig featuring a Rode NT SF-1 microphone and a Zoom F8n Pro 8-channel recorder. It’s reasonably portable, but not something I would get away with bringing on a getaway like this. That’s where my trusty Sony PCM D-50 comes in handy — literally. It’s a lightweight handheld device with built-in stereo microphone capsules. It’s never let me down in the fifteen years I’ve owned it. The Sony has a low noise profile and configureable microphone capsules making it a great choice for recording ambiences.

It was an impromptu decision to bring the recorder along on one of our hikes and as such I didn’t have any strategy in place other than to get as many recordings as I could manage. I keep recordings like these in a content management system until such a time as I find a use for them in a film or television project. It was a Sunday afternoon in early Spring and my expectations for usable recordings faded rapidly upon arrival as the park was as busy as you might expect with hikers, cyclists, dogs, and jaunting cars. It wasn’t until we were several kilometres down the hiking trail that we were fully immersed in the stillness of nature.

Recording the sounds of boats on the Old Weir Bridge at the Meeting of the Waters

A clearing in the woods near Muckross Lake

Crossing over the Old Weir Bridge at the spot known as the ‘Meeting of the Waters’ was like a portal to another world. Most of the other tourists had seemingly decided this was their limit and headed back to the entrance. Our decision to carry on hiking the path was rewarded with unspoiled scenery and soundscapes. The bridge itself is an 16th Century stone structure situated where the three lakes, Muckross Lake, Lough Leane, and Upper Lake converge. Between the bridge’s twin arches is a gap just large enough for the occasional small RIB to pass through carrying curious passengers armed to the teeth with cameras ready explore the lakes. I set the recorder up on the wall of the bridge and captured the sound of one of these boats as it passed beneath my feet and out into the wide expanse of Muckross Lake.

Through a clearing on the path I spotted an ancient wooded area covered in green moss and foliage. The trees were home to some native birds that I never learned the name of, and the low hum of insects surrounded us. Recording at locations like this one reminds me how meditative the process of recording ambiences can be.

Torc Waterfall was our final location on this mini field recording trip. Torc is from an old Irish word for ‘wild boar’ — and the story goes has it that the legendary Irish warrior Fionn MaCumhaill once killed a magical boar here with his golden spear. I saw no sign of spear or boar but the soundscape was immense and the waterfall is breathtaking.

Recording Torc Waterfall as it drains from The Devil’s Punchbowl at the top of Torc Mountain

Recording water streams at the lower section of Torc Waterfall