Music and Gaelic in Ireland and Scotland!

Jenny Hughes Start Date: Oct 3, 2016 - End Date: Jul 2, 2017
  • Ireland
  • Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

My Travel Story

by: Jenny Hughes Start Date: Oct 3, 2016 - End Date: Jul 2, 2017
We would like to do a heritage and cultural trip to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in August of 2017. We have been learning to play Celtic music on the flute and fiddle for the last year and a half and also have begun to learn Gaelic. Chris and I (Jenny) would like to immerse ourselves in our grandparents and great grandparents homelands to further our connection to our ancestry and culture.
Chris's grandfather was from Inchinnan, Scotland - which is now a part of Glasgow. His grandfather always talked about his childhood there, and Chris, since then, has always had an interest in traveling to Scotland. Chris holds a love for bagpipes and would love to see how they are made and played while we are there. (Bagpipe festival)

My father's side of the family is from Co. Armagh in what is now Northern Ireland. I grew up with him and his siblings and friends playing Celtic music in our kitchen while all of us kids danced. I have been trying to keep the tradition going by learning the fiddle and the tunes they played. I would love to find where the old Flanagan and Johnston homesteads were while we are over there and to continue the documentation of our family history that my uncle began years ago.

Every August, Ireland holds a Fleadh, which is a nine day Celtic music festival where musicians compete for titles and recognition. We would love to go and immerse ourselves in such an event to take the workshops from these musicians and connect with others in order to develop our own playing styles and techniques. Although we cannot play at the standard of the world-class musicians, we feel that we would benefit greatly from watching and learning from the master’s of Irish music.

We also hope to go see our close friends in Belfast who are expecting a baby in 2017. I am making a teddy bear for their upcoming child and would love to give it to them in person! This would be an opportunity that we wouldn't have without your help! 
This trip will help us to develop our cultural understanding of our ancestry and to build the knowledge and skills that will help us build our community at home. As a professor use to say to me time and time again, “You cannot begin to understand other people's cultures if you don't know your own.”

Please help Chris and I to fund our travels to our ancestral homelands to further our understanding of our own culture!
We will be setting up a blog that will document our trip, so you can follow along on our adventures! Check back soon for the link to it.
  • Ireland
  • Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Northern Ireland, United Kingdom