This year’s early contender for banger of the summer started in an unlikely place, the idyllic rural community of Lisdoonvarna on the edge of the Burren, West Ireland. The viral hit, The Spark was a collaboration between a crew of pre-teens in Lisdoonvarna and Kabin Studio in Cork City — aka “the real capital of Ireland” — two hours south. While this collaboration has been widely reported as the track goes viral, what many people don’t know is that it started in an asylum seekers’ home.
Kabin Studio went to Lisdoonvarna with their Rhyme Island initiative , which seeks to make rap an accessible tool for expression, personal development and wellbeing. The Spark was made for the annual Cruinniú na nÓg (Youth Gathering) with local kids, many of whom live in the village’s Direct Provision centre. Direct Provision is shorthand for the system that provides accommodation, food, money and medical services for people waiting for international protection applications and asylum claims to be assessed.
I spoke to Kabin Studio Director, Garry McCarthy, who explained: “The asylum process can be really isolating, so the Rhyme Island initiative gives young people a way to connect and create. "The Kabin has worked with young international protection seekers over the last decade now, to the point where we have had youth from Direct Provision develop into mature artists themselves and work as youth mentors at the Kabin.” As a member of the Kabin’s Advisory Board and glo.
