Young Irish Violinist Bridges Cultural Divide Through Music

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With an ardor that ignites her youthful countenance, fifteen-year-old Cara cradles her handmade violin, taking it gently from its case. She is one of the youngest musicians of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland, a group originating from the peace process in Northern Ireland that aims to utilize music as a connective thread between people of diverse backgrounds.

Situated in the characteristic town of Dundalk, County Louth in the Republic of Ireland, the orchestra conducts its rehearsals. It is here that young individuals such as Cara immerse themselves in the intricate language of music, preparing for a series of scheduled concerts. Established in 1995, a year after the announcement of ceasefires by the republican and loyalist paramilitaries, the orchestra symbolizes a beacon of unity and resilience in the wake of a quarter century of violence.


The central premise of this 140-member orchestra, even three decades later, is to forge connections between young people from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds straddling both sides of the Irish border.

A student at a Catholic girls’ grammar school in Ballynahinch, music has always been an integral part of Cara’s life. For the past two years, she has anchored herself in the strings section of the orchestra, a space that she claims has enabled her to build friendships across varying cultural and religious sectors of the community. In an environment where schools are often segregated along Catholic and Protestant lines, the orchestra offers a sanctuary of unity.

Cara expresses how her participation in the orchestra has broadened her musical horizons, introducing her to the captivating rhythms and melodies of contrapuntal Ulster-Scots music, a genre absent from her home county’s soundscape.

The orchestra interweaves the richness of Ulster-Scots culture, incorporating bagpipes and Lambeg drums, with traditional Irish instruments such as uilleann pipes, the harp, the fiddle, and the bodhrán. They revel in their perceptive renditions of popular pop, rock, and dance classics, a fusion that adds a dash of modernity to their repertoire.

Farm girl from Hackballscross Sharon Treacy-Dunne, the brainchild of the orchestra, fondly recalls the early days of the initiative. As a young teacher in Dundalk during the tumultuous times preceding the ceasefire and the Good Friday peace accord, she realized the potential of music as a peace-bringing tool. With staunch determination, she accomplished the laborious task of convincing schools on either side of the border to participate in this ambitious orchestra.

The harmonious collaboration culminates in the Peace Proms, an annual tour that brings together school choirs from across the two Irelands. The heartening participation of children from diverse backgrounds has ensured the sold-out success of this event at several UK and Ireland arenas over the past five years.

The orchestra, through its varied musical leitmotifs and the united performance of its members, stands as an emblem of possibility against the backdrop of political unrest. Amidst the newsreels dominated by divisions between political parties and absence of devolved government, Cara articulates the significance of publicizing the positive impact created by the orchestra, sharing the transformative narrative of music as a unifier resonating with the international community. In the end, performing together is an act of profound resonance that uplifts all involved.