A Manx Gaelic choir has returned from a successful mini-tour of Dublin, where it performed to a packed audience at one of the city’s most prestigious cultural venues.

Caarjyn Cooidjagh performed a varied selection of unaccompanied songs in Manx at the Royal Irish Academy on Thursday, September 4.

The performance formed part of an event celebrating the languages and cultures of the island’s Gaelic neighbours, with a particular focus on the Year of the Manx Language.

The event also provided an opportunity to share some of the history of the Manx language with an Irish-speaking audience.

Dr John Walsh gave a short lecture in Irish about former Irish president Eamon de Valera’s role in sending the Irish Folklore Commission to the Isle of Man in 1948. The commission was sent to help record the last remaining native speakers of Manx, a story which was unfamiliar to many members of the Irish-speaking audience.

The afternoon also featured traditional cello music from Skye-based Alison McGillivray, who performed a selection of pieces from manuscripts she had been studying.

Liam O’Connor, current director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, acclaimed fiddle player and researcher - recorded the whole event.

He brought the afternoon to a close with a selection of Irish tunes.

The following day saw the choir perform in a very different setting, taking to the stage at Meeting House Square as part of Dublin’s outdoor Saturday market.

Caarjyn Cooidjagh thanked Dublin City Council for helping to secure the venue, with the choir saying the acoustics were excellent and that members were particularly pleased to make it through the performance without rain.

The group went on to perform at a private soiree later that day, before also giving a short impromptu concert for visitors from Iceland and America.

For choir director Annie Kissack, the trip was about more than simply performing.

She said the group had enjoyed ‘singing our hearts out, making new friends, learning new things, picking up a little Irish’ and, importantly, ‘flagging up the Isle of Man and the Manx language at every possible opportunity’.

The mini-tour provided the choir with an opportunity to showcase Manx Gaelic to audiences outside the island while also strengthening links with other Gaelic-language communities.

Ms Kissack also thanked the Isle of Man Arts Council for its support, with a travel grant helping to make the Dublin trip possible.

The visit comes during ‘Blein ny Gaelgey’, a year-long celebration of the Manx language and its place in the island’s culture and heritage.

For Caarjyn Cooidjagh, the Dublin performances offered another chance to bring that language to new audiences and highlight the connections between the Gaelic traditions of the Isle of Man and Ireland.

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