'Bogland Healing Magic. From Secrets to Science'
Public talk by Professor Helen Sheridan
13th October 2023
‘Cré - Believing Earth’ exhibition
Prof. Helen Sheridan, Academic Director of the Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, NatPro, will deliver a public talk entitled 'Bogland Healing Magic. From Secrets to Science' on the 9th November at 7:30pm in Kenmare Butter Market Gallery, Co Kerry.
The talk is part of the touring exhibition Cré - Believing Earth, which explores folklife traditions connecting Irish culture to the natural environment through a range of media from performance-based drawing and photography to poetry and calligraphy.
The audience will be brought through a journey exploring the history and folklore of bogland use in the west Kerry area as laid out in the 1930's school manuscript in the National Folklore Collection (NFC). Participants will learn how some of these records gathered in the 1930’s have inspired researchers today and are leading to real world applications for Irish Bogland species.
About ‘Cré – Believing Earth’ Exhibition
The work was inspired by the wetlands of the Iveragh Peninsula and at the National Folk Theatre of Ireland at Siamsa Tíre in Tralee and was funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, Kerry County Council and Ealaín na Gaeltachta.
Irish wetlands, like raised bogs in the midlands and mountain blanket bogs along the coast, have been shaped by nature for thousands of years. The slow accumulation of mosses and plant debris, about 1mm per year, was driven by consistent rainfall from the Atlantic Ocean. This gradual process, combined with human activities like using turf for fuel and harvesting peat for growing, transformed the Irish landscape over time. However, with the introduction of machine cutting, more than a third of these wetlands have been lost. Today, in the face of climate change, we must rethink how we understand and use boglands, recognising their vital role in storing carbon.
Collaborating artists include photographers John Minihan and Alex Boyd, sculptor Holger Lonze, poet Paddy Bushe, calligrapher Tim O’Neill, visual artist Karen Hendy and the performers from The National Folk Theatre of Ireland.
About Professor Helen Sheridan
Helen Sheridan is the Professor in Natural Product Science at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SoPPS) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She is founder and Academic Director of the NatPro Centre for Natural Products Research located at TCD. She attended St. Paul’s Secondary School in Greenhills in Dublin, where she was inspired by her science teachers Sr. Elizabeth Walsh and Mr. Eddie McDonald. She completed her B. Sc and Ph. D in University College Dublin and was held fellowships at Oxford University and at the CNRS at Gif-sur-Yvette, Paris. Helen’s personal research and teaching interests lie in using natural product approaches to maintain health, prevent and fight disease and to address global challenges that require use and valorisation of Natural Capital. Helen was Co-founder of Trino Therapeutics Ltd, a TCD Campus Biotech Company, where she has acted as Director, Chief Chemist and Chemical Strategy Advisor to the Board. Her current research focusses on ‘Unlocking Nature’s Pharmacy from Bogland species’ looking at his topic through disruptive scientific, and cultural lenses, and now, is using Artificial intelligence to inform her research. She has been involved in the regulation of Herbal Medicines in Ireland and Europe and has acted as phytochemical expert on the Herbal Medicines Committee of the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) and is currently an advisor to the Irish Government in the area of Natural Products and the Bioeconomy. She is married to her childhood sweetheart Kevin and is the proud mum of three children Davey (a theatre director), Judy (a marketing executive) and Robbie (final year medical student). Kevin and Helen have a unique and much-loved rescue dog Scruffy.
Find out more about the exhibition and Prof Sheridan’s talk here