The Wild Bees' Nest The Wild Bees' Nest was a research and songwriting project involving a group of traditional singers from throughout Ireland. The project was conceived and devised by Michael Fortune and Aileen Lambert and supported by The Arts Council in conjunction with The Bealtaine Festival, The National Library of Ireland and the Irish Traditional Music Archive.

Eleven singers hailing from Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, Galway and Dublin participated in the project:

Luke Cheevers, Fergus Russell, Tim Lyons, Pat Burke, Anne Parsons, Niamh Parsons, Paddy Daly, Tony McGaley, Micheál Marrinan, Mick Fowler and Tim Quan.

Stage One of the project provided the singer the opportunity, through focused research, to gather further information on a song of their choice. From October to December 2010 they researched material in the National Library and ITMA. This was in regard to both the background and events which inform the song and in relation to different versions of the song which exist on commercial and field recordings etc. On December 18th they performed the songs in question, at a concert in The National Library.