Ancestral Voices: The Stories of Ireland. Short stories, tall tales, plenty of sagas, and even the odd odysseys. Known the world over. Ever-changing through discoveries as well as new adaptations of some of the most prominent. Expand on in retelling those stories. Delve deep into some of the better-known sagas, like the story of the Children of Lir, and what we believe it represents beyond the obvious tale of loss and heroics. Ancestral Voices goes deep to bring the audience inside what we believe is the true meaning behind the story. What the children, who were turned into swans and were forced to leave their home, as many of Ireland's children have had to over the centuries. There is a parallel between their journey and the journey outlined in the adventures of the Children of Lir. For like the swans, Irish children have taken the music and song of their wee Island far and wide.
Along with great stories that have become synonymous with Ireland. The world needs great stories, great music, great theater and Ancestral Voices aims to continue to bring people the very best of what Ireland has to offer. We are well aware of the gravity of the task at hand, as we follow in the footsteps of such greats as W.B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, Seamus Heaney, George Bernard Shaw, and Francis Bacon; the list goes on from the land referred to as the land of Saints & Scholars. The story behind that glorious title came way back in the 5th century when the Roman Empire crumbled. The world was in disarray as institutions crumbled all over Europe. But because the Romans never set foot on Irish soil. Ireland, being an Island, was insulated from the rest of Europe, including what was then Breton which later became what we know of today as Britain. Ireland’s institutions could continue to prosper and evolve without interruption, leading to a period of intellectual, religious, and artistic superiority that has been called ‘Ireland’s Golden Age’. It is during this period that Ireland earned the title ‘Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum – The Island of Saints and Scholars’.
And of course in the world of music, we've got Clannad, Van Morrison, Enya, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, and of course all the great publicity brought upon by the success of Riverdance.