Renowned Scots and Donegal musicians to gather in Glenties

The cultural connections between Donegal and Scotland run long and deep and you can see top exponents of itrisha and Scottish fiddle playing at a special Cairdeas na bhFidiléirí in the Highlands Hotel, Glenties at the end of this month.

In many senses, the people of those locations are one and the same. One of the most important shared treasures found on both sides of the Sruth na Maoile was the life and work of St Colmcille.

Born at Gartan and having crossed to Scotland he founded the influential settlement at Iona.

The bond between Donegal and Scotland has remained strong long after Colmcille’s lifetime. Our gaelic languages could be argued to be at most only different dialects.

The folklore of the two locations firmly mirror each other, however it is probably in the playing of traditional music where our shared cultural DNA is strongest.

The Colmcille 1500 programme as administered by Foras na Gaeilge sets out to support local projects facilitating a greater understanding and appreciation of the shared Irish and Scottish cultures with a distinct emphasis on doing so through the medium of Irish and Scots Gaidhlig.

Cairdeas na bhFidilieiri is the recipient of funding under the Colmcille 1500 programme.

Their project aims to bring together a group of traditional musicians from the Donegal and Scottish Gaeltachtai for a number of days where they will explore the common traditional melodies and songs and examine the shared history and folklore of the material.

The languages of this work will be Gaeilge and Scots Gaidhlig as all of the participants are native speakers.

The Donegal participants are Ellie Nic Fhionnghaile of Gleann Cholm Cille who is a noted fiddler and singer as well as Megan Nic Fhionnghaile of Gaoth Dobhair who is a highly accomplished fiddle player.

The Scottish musicians are fiddler Iain McFarlane and Ailean Mac Domhnaill.

Iain Mac Farlane (above) is one of Scotland’s most dynamic fiddlers and is best known for his role in the dynamic band 'Blazin' Fiddles'.

He is steeped in traditional Scottish fiddle playing since his youth being influenced by such masters of the tradition as his father Charlie, Donald Riddell, Fearchar MacRae and Evan MacRae.

Ailean MacDomhnaill is a multi-instrumentalist and best known as being the most influential bagpiper of his generation. Ailean plays a variety of pipes including the highland pipes, the Scottish small pipes, the Scottish lowland pipes as well as the uilleann pipes.

He also plays flute and whistles as well as being a renowned singer, particularly of songs in Scots Gaidhlig. Ailean’s television work on the Trans-Atlantic Sessions series has gained him global recognition. So great is his impact on the current Scottish tradition he has been cited as ‘the single most influential Scottish musician today’.

The collaboration will be based in the Highlands Hotel, Glenties and the four will appear in concert in the Highlands Hotel on Saturday, March 26 at 9pm with an entry fee of €15.

The four will also broadcast live on Raidio na Gaeltachta on the Barrscealta programme on Friday morning, March 25.

As part of sharing their music with young persons from the Donegal Gaeltacht, Ellie, Megan, Iain and Ailean will give a recital through the medium of Irish and Scots Gaidhlig at the Min Tine De national school, Ardara where the performers will play, sing in the two languages and discuss their music, its importance and how they came to learn it with the pupils.