Film Screening and Discussion of Beart Bunting

Presenter: Deaglán Ó Mocháin and guests

Chair: Dr Conor Caldwell

There will be a film screening and discussion of Beart Bunting at 4pm to 5pm on March 8^th. Beart Bunting is a new documentary film from Dearcán Media which explores some of the mysteries of the Edward Bunting manuscripts through an innovative mix of historical research and performance. The film brings a group of traditional and classical musicians together to explore the contents of perhaps Bunting’s most fascinating notebook. This notebook, known as MS6, contains the airs of British military marches, Gaelic songs and tunes which would go on to become commonly played in traditional sessions around the world. How did these pieces from such disparate sources end up in a single notebook and can today’s musicians negotiate a common path towards interpreting them? These are some of the questions answered in Beart Bunting, with music from Aoife and Deirdre Granville, Conor Caldwell, Aidan O’Donnell, Lauren O’Neill, Eilís Lavelle, and The Strabane Brass Band. The programme also explores the wider social context of the Enlightenment period in Ireland, with contributions from Dr Ian Malcolmson and Dr Gordon Ramsey. Beart Bunting is an Irish language documentary, directed and produced by Deaglán Ó Mocháin, with English subtitles. It was commissioned by TG4 and BBC.