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.

This Good Relations and Museum Services project is part of a programme that has seen participants from Carey Historical Society, Glens of Antrim Comhaltas, Glens of Antrim Historical Society, and Rathlin Development Community Association engage in various projects to explore and embrace their sense of identity and cultural heritage.

The initial aim of the Shared Music of Dalriada project 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. Due to the onset of the pandemic, this wasn’t possible and instead the project 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.

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.

For more information, or to get involved with this or future projects, contact Museum Services at cms@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk