Ciara Patricia Langan on Ocean FM – 15th September 2021

Host: As we were telling you on Monday
there has been substantial interest in a story and in particular the photograph which accompanied that story in the Sunday Times last weekend.
It was a story on naturism or nudism,
I think there is a a defined difference which, revealed that the Irish Naturist Association has reported a 68% rise in membership over the past 2 summers
and that its members continue to promote body positivity through various weekly events
which take place in remote parts of the country.
But in this particular photograph which is a quite spectacular picture I have to say to go with the article
it’s a a scene of 6 people in the nude on the slopes of Ben Bulben.
And I’m happy to say that we’ve tracked down the person who took the photograph
herself a member of the Irish Naturist Association.
Ciara Patricia Langan is on the line.
Good morning to Ciara.

Ciara: Good morning.

Host: And and thanks for joining us. It’s it’s caused a lot of reaction
I have to to say and we’ll come to the photograph in a moment.
But the story was about the apparent increase in numbers interested in naturism and joining the group. That is the case is it?

Ciara: It certainly is. Yeah. I’ve been a member now for a while
and I think the numbers have doubled certainly in the last 3 years. Yeah.

Host: Right. Has the pandemic led has is that a direct result of that
or is it related to it at all Ciara?

Ciara: I should think it would have a direct influence because people are kind of locked up in their homes
and they’re feeling unrealized and you know disconnected from the society and missing their friends and their families and
you know taking off your clothes and just kind of being free or going for a swim in the nude.
It’s a very freeing experience and it’s you know for the first time it gives you a bit of adrenaline.
But as you repeat the experience it just makes you feel really relaxed and really natural in your own skin.

Host: Right. Okay. So what, there’s about 500 members or so I think in the association?

Ciara: Yeah. Currently that. Yeah.

Host: Okay. Do you mind me asking how you became involved?
Was it something you read about or heard about? Or,

Ciara: It’s quite natural actually the association. So I’m a sculptor and artist. I work in very many different materials.
And so I always use the natural form of the body to to make my work you know.
My background is in holistic health and massage so the human body was always one of my, I suppose, my topics.
And so gravitating towards the Irish Naturist Association you know they’re naturists. So to kind of make work with them was really really logical and I suppose natural affinities happened over the years as well body painting in Cork and things like that. And so I started making a body of work 3 years ago called the Coastal Bodies Project and the INA certainly did help galvanize the project as it moved around the country the the numbers grew and you know there was a natural affinity with the group there.

Host: Right. Okay. So tell us about this Ben Bulben picture this photograph
which we have up on our social media. And I have to say artistically it is quite a a stunning picture because we we all know how scenic Ben Bulben is apart from anything else. So how how did the picture come?
It was you who took the picture Ciara. So how did it come about?

Ciara: I did. Well Ben Bulben was one of our tour locations. So we we gathered and we we went for a hike
and it was a beautiful day. Ben Bulben it’s such a stunning area such a stunning mountain. So
we took some shots at the foothills of Ben Bulben and then we went for a swim in the local beach.
And that’s typically what happens on a tour day that we have maybe 1 or 2 locations
and we just take photographs very naturally. They’re not hugely posed. A lot of the poses
actually I ask the people themselves to help form whatever form we’re making
wherever we are. So it’s very democratic art if you like. So that was just part of the tour
so I think that might have been the 16th or 17th installation at this stage.

Host: Right. Okay. So and as you say you there were I think there’s 6 people in the photograph. You went swimming in on a local beach.

Ciara: Yeah.

Host: And doesn’t cause any offense to anybody or you don’t…

Ciara: Not at all. The beach that we went to was, I can’t pronounce it, maybe you can help me. Trawalua?

Host: Yeah. Trawalua. And I think it’s on your website
I think as one of the beaches where naturism or nudism is accepted or welcome.

Ciara: Well yeah. We actually met 2 other naturists that day when we went to take social shots at the beach. They walked up towards us and it was it was so lovely actually because we didn’t know each other
and we didn’t know we were going to be there either. And just bumping into other naturists
you know is a lovely thing.

Host: Right. Okay. And Ben Bulben didn’t pose a problem Ciara. Was it 6 or 7 people on Ben Bulben and was there anybody walking there and

Ciara: There was

Host: And what was their reaction?

Ciara: In general 99.9% of the time people are actually very welcoming to it because they they understand that it is a kind of an art form and art is about I suppose bringing culture forward
ertainly from my perspective as a sculpture or a sculptor.
You can sculpt culture and what I would like is for people to be more comfortable in their bodies. I think people have an awareness of that and even families that were passing with their children
there was no real issue because the human body itself is not offensive
you know in its natural form. And certainly in that context it’s a lot more natural to see a naked body
we’ll say in an Irish landscape just being normal with itself rather than being
hypersexualized or dressed up in any way and garnished and again
hypersexualized. People realize that there’s no sexuality inherent there.
So it’s not threatening. It’s just very beautiful form of art.

Host: Yeah. Okay. And well yeah as I say
people can check out the the photograph on our website or on our Facebook site and on our Twitter account as well and see what you think for yourself. You mentioned the coastal bodies tour
Ciara that you’re involved in. What is that exactly?
And and you and your members travel from area to area is it on a regular basis? Or

Ciara: well yeah we do now. It’s been really difficult with the lockdowns because
obviously we have to keep everybody safe and make sure that you know
we’re following the letter of the law in terms of what we can do and not do
during the lockdown. So the tour had to slow down a hell of a lot. So it’s year 3 now at this stage
and we should have had a lot more installations done at this stage. But
actually it’s okay because more people are actually connecting with the Coastal Body Store.
The email is coastalbodies2021@gmail.com. And naturally people are just gravitating towards that wishing for it to do maybe just for a one off. And some people do it for a one off and then realize they really like it so they do it again. So the membership of Coastal Bodies has certainly grown
hugely over the last year which I found very surprising because I thought that that form of art might actually completely die down during the pandemic and it’s been quite the opposite. People are way more interested in doing it.

Host: Okay. So you you you meet up as a group on a what a weekly basis regular basis
for various activities. That’s essentially how it works?

Ciara: Yeah. Yeah. The Coastal Body Store does that. I’m not sure and I couldn’t actually give you locked down dates because everything has been kind of switched around with COVID. But
certainly there’s a battle in a slow swim every second Sunday
and there’s also Letterkeen hike which is fantastic.
I haven’t been on yet but the photographs are beautiful. It’s a really lovely area. And so
there’s various other beaches as well that people frequent and certainly every weekend people do meet up. Yep.

Host: Right. Okay. And we have people texting us this morning
and there were people commenting on our Facebook page as well just wondering how they can become involved.
How simple is it to get involved and to become a member of the Naturist Association?

Ciara: Well yeah. You can just put it into Google and it’s as easy as that I think it’s probably €50 for the year. I’m not sure about that now. But it’s a very easy process. You just fill out a form.
But if you wanted a taste today that’s no problem also. You just maybe contact Leticia or whoever is
doing the emails and just say you’re interested. And where wherever your location is
they’ll find you a kind of a nearby setting to connect obviously for free and
you know just have a little exploration of whether you like it or not.

Host: Right. Okay. Very interesting. And and the Ben Bulben trip was that a one off Ciara or will you will you be back again there, do you think?

Ciara: Yeah. No. The location there is so stunning. I definitely do want to do another installation in Sligo anyway certainly.
So I will be back. Yes.