More Video & Audio

Video & Audio

on Ellen

Ellen Hutchins features in a video from the New York Botanical Garden showing some of
her specimens held there. Her story is told in a two part interview on AlgaTalk – a
podcast about all things algae (seaweeds are marine algae). Listen to a radio piece from
RTÉ Sunday Miscellany about discovering Ellen’s specimens in the Herbarium at Trinity
College Dublin.

Video from NYBG

This video from the New York Botanical Garden was made for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (DHL) as a Her Natural Histories event. It is a behind-the-scenes look at herbarium specimens, botanical art, and published works held in the Library and Herbarium. It showcases the work of female botanists and illustrators, and after a one minute introduction, there is a five minute piece by NYBG staff member Laura Briscoe on Ellen Hutchins. See Ellen’s specimens, an original drawing and published works featuring Ellen’s discoveries, her drawings and plants named after her.

A two part podcast about Ellen Hutchins

Jack Lunz of AlgaTalk interviewed Madeline Hutchins and Frances Gallagher, both members of the Ellen Hutchins Festival Team, about Ellen.

Part One: Ellen Hutchins: The Irish Queen of Seaweeds (22 minutes)

Part Two: Ellen Hutchins: The Story Worth Telling (19 minutes)

A Radio Piece

Ellen Hutchins, botanist by Seán Moffatt. Broadcast 16th August 2015 on Sunday Miscellany, RTÉ Radio One.

In 2015, Professor John Parnell of the Botany Department of Trinity College Dublin helped a small team of Ellen Hutchins researchers to hunt in the Herbarium there for specimens of seaweeds, mosses, or lichens collected by Ellen in the Bantry Bay area more than 200 years ago. The researchers were scriptwriter Seán Moffatt of Dublin; Madeline Hutchins, Ellen’s great-great-grandniece; and Madeline’s husband, Seán Maskey.

Seán Moffatt told the story of the search for the specimens in a piece he wrote for RTÉ. It was first broadcast on Sunday 16th August 2015. Click here for the link to listen to it; there is a short musical prelude and the piece itself is about eight minutes long.

Here are the pictures that go with the search and a bit more of the story.

: Trinity College Dublin

: Sean Moffatt searching drawers full of small brown envelopes

: A 19th century sketch of the hills, forests and inlets of Bantry Bay by Ellen’s niece, Louisa Hutchins

: Herbarium corridor; TCD

: Prof John Parnell searching the herbarium

: On the top rung

: Regrouped with large folder on small table

: Specimen of Fucus sanguineus (Delesseria sanguinea); collected by Ellen Hutchins, Bantry Bay over 200 years ago

: Sean is transfixed as more of Ellen’s specimens come to light

: Conferva stricta 1809

: Conferva Brodiae

: Polysiphonia Sp 1809

The Sunday Miscellany piece ends with Seán Moffatt describing the homecoming of Ellen’s drawings for an exhibition in Bantry House.

With wonderful synchronicity, the broadcast went out as Madeline and her husband Seán were driving over from England to Ireland, with the prints of the seaweed drawings from the Archives of Kew Gardens in the back of their car; all mounted, framed and labelled, ready to be hung in the Upper Landing gallery space at Bantry House, for their first ever showing in the Republic of Ireland. They were crossing the Severn Bridge at that moment, from England to Wales, with coast and seaweed below.

One of the Festival Organisers kindly emailed Madeline and Seán the link to the broadcast, and they listened to the Sunday Miscellany piece as the ferry pulled out of Pembroke Dock. Just as the piece finished, they saw, right in front of them, a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the ferry. It all felt very special.

And that special feeling continued throughout the Ellen Hutchins Festival. The organisers were pleasantly surprised by the large number of people attending all events, both locals and those who had travelled great distances; and the level of interest shown in Ellen was inspiring and gratifying. The view from the summit of Knockboy in the sunshine was spectacular. The children made splendid journey sticks and woven wonders in Glengarriff Woods. The botanist Donal Sinnott’s talk was captivating, showing how Ellen dried and laid out her specimens, the sort of microscope she would have used, and other fascinating details. The scientific knowledge of the botanists brought a new dimension to the walks, and the botanical art demonstration was delightful. Every time the events were outside, the rain stopped and often the sun came out. As if to provide a perfect ending to the Festival week, on the final evening before the journey home, there was a stunning sunset over Bantry Bay.