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Philip Kinghas a gift for celebrating what’s about to happen – and capturing what’s about to disappear. In the midst of our current identity crisis, trust is what we need to recapture, he tells GRÁINNE FALLER

PHILIP KING HAS the air of a man who is never bored. It’s the quiet but profound enthusiasm of a man who values his own luck. In recent weeks he has been travelling all over the country – talking to people, visiting communities, listening to people playing music, playing a bit himself – all in aid of a documentary series called Cerbh é? (a Sibéal Teo production for TG4). “You couldn’t call this a job,” he says quickly. “I suppose it’s what I do. It’s an enormous privilege, really.”