The Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory (K.E.R.L.) announces the release of the third and final volume of its acclaimed anthology, a richly layered exploration of experimental sound, artistic collaboration, and the cultural phenomena orbiting the enigmatic Kiely cousins, Owen and Tom. Bringing the series to a compelling close, this volume bridges archival research, oral history, and critical reflection, tracing the roots and reverberations of a uniquely Irish avant-garde movement. The book unfolds in two interconnected halves. The first charts formative projects that shaped the Lab’s ethos, beginning with the 1971 children’s book and cassette Upon the Air, an ambitious attempt to translate early-years sound research into a public-facing work. Though commercially unsuccessful, it marked a bold experiment in interdisciplinary practice. Subsequent chapters revisit an unrealized immersive installation for the Irish Pavilion at Expo ’74, revealing the creative tensions and political frictions that led to its collapse.

A central thread emerges through the rediscovered works of folklorist and composer Maeve Scully, whose Mayday Dew compositions have inspired a new generation of musicians worldwide. Her connection to both K.E.R.L. and the later Radagast’s Allotment collective underscores the continuity between experimental sound and communal living practices. This trajectory continues with the radio adaptation of T.V. Delaney’s The Capsules of Posterity – The Aurochs, a production widely regarded as a conceptual precursor to Radagast’s Allotment. The second half shifts focus to the collective itself—its ideals, contradictions, and eventual dissolution. Highlights include rare excerpts from the 1985 Radagast’s Allotment Almanac, a candid interview with Owen Kiely, and a critical examination of the group’s quasi-spiritual identity. Further chapters document lesser-known musical projects such as Socracht Rothlach, alongside the turbulent legacy of associated artists.

The anthology concludes with the controversial activities of Tom Kiely’s splinter group, The Small Green Hand, whose radical actions epitomize the extreme fringes of the movement’s utopian ambitions. This final volume offers a vivid, often startling portrait of creativity at its limits—where sound, ideology, and community collide.