Ríonach Ní Néill, director, Hope It Rains

Ríonach is director of ‘Hope It Rains – Soineann nó Doineann’ and coordinator of the team that has created an amazing quirky but scarily realistic artistic expression of the impact that Climate Change could have on Galway city in the not-to-distant future.

Called Drowned Galway it comprises powerful photomontages by Joe Lee with designs by Emily Ní Bhroin, Arran Murphy, Deirdre Kennedy, Jeni Roddy and Ríonach. Set against familiar Galway locations utterly changed by sea-level rising and floods, they imagine how we might cope with this enormous and imminent change. These thought-provoking images feature on prominent landmarks across Salthill (Galway Atlantaquaria) and the inner city (Quay Street, Shop Street, Middle Street).

Art in all forms, from poetry and music to painting and sculpture, is often at its most dynamic when given expression to issues of societal concern. Ríonach and Drowned Galway continue this proud tradition. The works displayed on walls across the city are providing a mural artistic dimension that Galway is currently lacking and so desperately needs.

‘Drowned Galway’ and Ríonach’s guided walking tours are a joy to participate in and could become major attractions for tourists and locals alike, offering a reality-check vision of a world that awaits us if humanity does not undertake emergency action to roll back man-made global warming