Quickie with Éamonn Ó Hairtnéada

Evan: What the BUTT is this?
Éamonn: It’s a woven casket I made out of hedge material – split and twisted branches – that’s an abstract representation of a nightjar, a bird native to the UK which has bark-like camouflage and makes this hammering sound at twilight. When my friend Tyler took these photographs, I was lying naked in the casket, listening to these birds.
Where are you right now?
I’m in a local parish church. I needed a moment of mindfulness and the church is always empty. It has all these beautiful wood and granite carvings. I thought it’d be a nice confessional atmosphere to talk to you.
Do you have anything to confess?
I’m not sure. (laughs)
What gets you off?
There’s an amazing river nearby. People come down from London for dates on sultry summer evenings and go down there to be in nature. When there’s nobody else around, you can swim naked and make out – that’s pretty hot.
If you could be anyone for 7 minutes, who’d it be?
Yukio Mishima. He writes so much about vernacular traditions, nature and the spiritual need for beauty. I relate to that.
What are you working on? Give me the elevator pitch.
Currently, together with a friend, I’ve set up these Hedging for Faggots courses.
What is hedging?
A hedge is the periphery of a field. It’s a tree line that you cut down every 7-15 years. You cut into the base of the tree trunks and slap them down like dominoes, one after the other. Because you’re leaving a tiny sliver of bark, the sap from the ground rises through and new shoots come up. That creates a stock-proof barrier for animals or people. It’s also a very diverse ecosystem. Animals form migratory paths along these lines – badgers, bats, butterflies.
What’s faggy about it?
We lay the hedges with billhooks and axes. It can be a very empowering thing for queer people who don’t have much access to the countryside to get muddy and learn to use tools. The workshops feel slightly like a dating platform or a point of connection between urban and rural queers.

Have you always been a country boy?
I grew up in rural southwest Ireland, but I used to live in Amsterdam. I worked at Club Church…which was very empowering, but maybe not the kindest place. I think we as men have a hard time being vulnerable. These hedge-laying courses really dip into that. I want to hone the skill of being able to go to a sex club and do whatever you want, but also be more tender.
How quickly do you fall in love?
Problematically quickly. The scarcity here makes it even worse.
We’re almost out of time. What’s next for you?
We want to build a bigger platform for Hedging for Faggots, so that we can have events in the summer, maybe basket weaving workshops. Hedges have historically been laid on Hampstead Heath. I like the idea of laying a hedge that can be cruised behind at another time of the year.
Does hedging turn you on?
I like the domination and submission of shibari, rigging, bondage – which I think relate to managing hedges, taking billhooks, knives and axes and slapping hedges to the ground. There’s an element of power to that.
Like nature is submitting to your will?
BDSM is a conversation about what two people like. Humans need to have that conversation with nature. I’m a human and I like to axe a tree to the ground. There’s something very pleasurable about getting a grip on your tools and making a beautiful “tongue”, which is a length of cut wood. And the tree enjoys being cut down. They actually live longer if you keep them trimmed. They reshoot in handfuls in the spring, bursting with life.