Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council unveil first Shared Music of Dalriada performance
Fri, December 18, 2020
A Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council project is celebrating the shared musical traditions of Rathlin Island, the Glens of Antrim and the Mull of Kintyre with the first of three special online performances.
The Good Relations and Museum Services project is part of a programme that has seen Carey Historical Society, Glens of Antrim Comhaltas, Glens of Antrim Historical Society, and Rathlin Development Community Association come together to understand and embrace their sense of identity and cultural heritage.
The initial aim was to bring young musicians from the Glens of Antrim Comhaltas and the Mull of Kintyre Music Festival to Rathlin Island to explore their shared musical traditions. But due to the onset of the pandemic, this wasn’t possible and instead the project quickly adapted to our new social circumstances and moved online, with participants recording themselves at home and producing joint virtual performances.
Miss McLeod’s Reel is the first of three pieces that the young people have worked on together, chosen for its traditional popularity on both sides of the water.
The beautiful production is available to watch now below or on the NI Archive website by going to www.niarchive.org/projectitems/shared-music-of-dalriada-miss-mcleods-reel/
Paying tribute to the young participants, Mayor of Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, Alderman Mark Fielding said: “I would like to express our thanks to all the talented musicians for their time and dedication to this project under these difficult circumstances.
“The end product is a wonderful showcase of the history, culture and music we share with communities across the sea in Scotland and is a demonstration of the importance of building on our shared past to foster wider and more inclusive connections in the future”.
The project is funded by the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Good Relations programme, supported by The NI Executive Office (Together: Building a United Community), and delivered by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Museum Services in partnership with Glens of Antrim Comhaltas and the Mull of Kintyre Music Festival.
The remaining performances in the series will be released in the New Year, to coincide with Burns Night in January and Irish Language Week in March.
