Welcome From Stirling

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this festival of Celtic Music and the Arts. Scotland and Ireland are inextricably linked by our common Celtic heritage and culture. Stirling and Galway share remarkable similarities with each having played a vital part in the development of their respective nations. With its exhibitions, presentations, concerts and ceilidhs, the Festival will set us on a course of shared experience for our common benefit and enjoyment. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible during these two weeks, whether in Stirling or Galway.

Welcome From Galway

Up to the 17th Century the words ‘Eireannach’ and ‘Albanach’ were seldom, if ever, used. The inhabitants of Ireland and Scotland were called ‘Gaels’, one people with a common language, heritage and history. Due to a variety of religious, socio-political and economic developments this special relationship between the two counties almost disappeared. Our combined history, if not our very DNA, demands that we revisit and re-evaluate this special relationship. The Stirling-Galway Sessions can play an important role in this and will bring two great cities closer together. So we offer the heartiest of welcomes to the many musicians, singers, dancers and artists coming from Stirling to Galway. The festival explores the many facets of Scots and Irish culture, the links between them and the way in which they powerfully combined to create the foundation for American folk music.