Songlines
Director Pat Collins Producer Sharon Whooley Camera Keith Walsh Sound Robbie Elder Editor Keith Walsh
RTÉ
In 2022 Harvest Films made a documentary with the great Traveller singer Thomas McCarthy; ‘Songs of the Open Road’. At the end of that film, Thomas was embarking on a project with the Irish Traditional Music Archive travelling around Ireland meeting Traveller singers and those connected with the great Traveller songs. These are charismatic performers and carriers of tradition but rarely seen or heard outside the Travelling community and include Rosie McCarthy, Kitty Cassidy, Ellen McDonagh, Ned McCarthy, Stephen McDonagh, Ellie Stokes, Trish and Martin O’Reilly and Kathleen and Mary Keenan. What results is an absorbing documentary on tradition, song and the importance of singing while paying tribute to the immense contribution that Travellers have made to the art of traditional singing in Ireland.
