Sounding the Peninsula
Inishowen Trad Choir with Rita Gallagher
Welcome to Inishowen Trad Choir, a weekly gathering of friends, old and new, sharing a journey to learn and sing songs handed on by generations of Inishowen singers. Formed in 2023 by Lorna McLaughlin and Grace Toland, the choir combines two great traditions – the unaccompanied singer, and group singing – creating a new ‘voice’ in Inishowen’s rich song heritage.
Inspired by involvement in ITMP’s music and choral suite ‘Inishowen’, Lorna McLaughlin and Grace Toland, formed the choir in 2023 to combine the power of two great traditions – the unaccompanied singer, and group singing, creating a new ‘voice’ in Inishowen’s rich song heritage.
And our journey is well on the way, with:
The strength of the choir lies in centering our repertoire on the amazing archive of songs available in Inishowen. We draw on the wealth of material collected and recorded by Jimmy McBride and Jim MacFarland at singing sessions in pubs and homes around Inishowen in the 1980s-2000s. Songs are chosen to give both the choir and our audiences a sense of the variety of material available and of the different styles of singing in townlands across the Peninsula. We sing of shipwrecks, of unrequited love and about Inishowen – each song a tribute to the original singer.
Once a song is selected, we hand it over to an arranger. We have been so fortunate to work with some of Ireland’s leading arrangers: Neil Burns, Joleen McLaughlin (The Henry Girls), Gerry Cullen (The Voice Squad) and Ruth Clinton (Landless), each one bringing their own sound to the song – but totally respectful of the original Inishowen singer.
The song is returned to our choral director, Lorna McLaughlin, and from their she works her magic to prepare it for the group – creating recordings that you can practice along with, and preparing music scores for people who read music. This is because the choir is a real mixture of women and men who have never sung in a choir before or do not read music, to those who can do both. Lorna’s recordings shared through our dedicated WhatsApp group, and printed words/scores give everyone the opportunity to take part. There are no auditions, prima donnas, no one is singled out or asked to sing on their own – we just ask you to come along to each weekly gathering, and to do a bit of practicing at home in the car, or the shower!
We meet from 7:30 – 9 pm each Tuesday, and the night flies by, as Lorna helps us all learn the parts – and then sing together! The feeling in the room, as the song takes shape is really wonderful – emotional at times, hilarious when we make a dog’s dinner of it, but mostly a great sense of community spirit, and friendship.
Lorna McLaughlin
The Henry Girls
Learning and singing together weekly is a wonderful experience, but we do like to set ourselves a challenge – sharing the songs with an audience. The annual March Inishowen Singing Weekend has been a natural fit – taking part in the Saturday night concert in the Ballyliffin Hotel. We’ve joined the Henry Girls and other musicians, as support for a few of their gigs, and supported local charity events. In 2024 we set ourselves the challenge of our own full concert and so Sounding the Peninsula was born.
‘Sounding the Peninsula’ was devised by Grace Toland to bring singers and arrangers from different traditions across the island of Ireland together and sing/work with Inishowen Trad Choir. The project was supported by the Arts Council and Donegal Arts Office, and over a nine month period, the creative expertise of over 50 people was harnessed, culminating in a hugely successful concert in An Grianán Theatre Letterkenny on Sunday 24 November 2024. Nell Ní Chróinín, Rita Gallagher, Niall Hanna, John Francis Flynn, Inishowen Trad Choir and accompanying musicians, performed songs by Inishowen singers, whose families sat in the audience – a proud and emotional evening for us all.
If you like the sound of joining our band of singers, or are curious about it, why not come along and join us.
If you would like more detailed information, just send us email.