Ambient Orbit is a non-presenter led specialist music programme on RTÉ lyric fm - listen to the first installment of the new series above.
The show occupies a unique space in Irish radio with its carefully crafted mix of ambient sounds and field recordings from the Irish landscape and further afield including birdsong from the Beara Peninsula, the Burren at sunset, a cave in West Cork filling with the tide, and falling rain along the Royal Canal Dublin allowing the listener to reset and escape the cluttered noise of everyday life. Airing from midnight on Sunday nights, and repeating on Friday mornings at 06:00, the sixth series recently culminated in a live outside broadcast from Eyeries Town Hall near the ancient Irish goddess An Cailleach Beara where she sits as a rock frozen in time on the Beara peninsula. This was attended by a live audience to mark the summer solstice on June 21st and featured field recordings from the vicinity alongside live performances from David Kitt, Elaine Malone and Clara Webster. Tune in (and tune out) below:
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Listen: Ambient Orbit live from the Beara Pennisula
The next series which begins on Sunday October 5th at midnight will be a 12-part series with field recordings from new locations around the country, capturing the wonderful variety of wildlife and landscapes in Ireland. The series includes new ambient music from Irish artists and there will be an additional final episode; a live broadcast from a significant neolithic site in Ireland, to mark the winter solstice on December 21st including performances from Jennifer Moore (Dreamcycles), Risteárd Ó'hAodha and Brendan Jenkinson.
Ambient Orbit has broadcast from many national festivals and events including Culture Night 2024 in collaboration with the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Kilkenny Arts Festival 2025 with a live broadcast from the impressive location of Dunmore Caves and Sounds From A Safe Harbour 2025 from Shandon bell tower. Through sound and live music from musicians including Caoimhín Ó’Raghallaigh, Shahzad Ismaily and RÓIS these events bring both listeners and an audience to breathtaking locations around Ireland in a unique way.
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Listen: Ambient Orbit live from Sounds From A Safe Harbour
In addition to broadcasting field recordings submitted by listeners, the programme has collaborated with field recordists, sound designers and ornithologists such as Seán Ronayne, Tadhg O’Sullivan, Fintan O’Brien and Aoife O'Neill, all to provide a meditative, relaxing soundscape. The locations are mentioned at the end of each episode to give the listener greater familiarity with the sounds they hear.
The broadcast time of midnight on Sunday nights was carefully selected to provide listeners a smooth atmospheric transition from the end of one week to the beginning of another. The episodes are repeated weekly on Friday mornings at 06:00 to give listeners a calm start to the weekend.
Ambient Orbit, RTÉ lyric fm, Sundays at midnight - listen back here
