Well of voices from Down Under

WELL, well, well — it’s pub talk live and direct from the land Down Under.

Punters in a Cork bar have been swapping mobile phones for hi-tech ‘well phones’ to chat to complete strangers outside a Sydney pub.

Regulars in Ryan’s Bar in Cobh, overlooking Cork harbour, have been talking about everything from the weather and sport, with people outside the Mercantile Hotel, overlooking Sydney harbour, as part of the unique art installation.

The brainchild of Australian artist, Alan Giddy, the wells were inspired by the centuries-old function of wells, not just as places for collecting water but as central meeting points for communities.

He built two stone wells — one outside Ryan’s and the other outside the Mercantile Hotel — in cities renowned for their harbours.

Waterproof speakers and microphones are fitted inside the wells and the sounds are broadcast live via internet technology. Computers inside the pubs operate the system.

Gemma O’Halloran, who runs Ryan’s Bar with her husband, Paul, said they have created huge interest.

“It starts off with someone from Australia just shouting hello. The sound just comes out of our well, at any time,” she said.

“Someone who might be outside our bar having a cigarette usually just walks over and says hello back. Then the conversation takes off.”

There has been a mixture of accents coming through from Down Under too — from thick Aussie accents to a lilting Donegal brogue on one day.

“There was this one voice came through one day wondering if there was anybody from Donegal on our side,” Mrs O’Halloran said.

It is hoped that a coordinated event will be arranged next week so that people from Cork with relatives in Sydney can come down to the Cobh well and chat to their relations.

The installation will run throughout next week.