Skye Gaelic singer Anne Martin’s musical piece, An Tinne, featuring songs and stories from Scots, Gaelic, modern Australian, and First Nation artists, is set to be performed in Resolis, Croy, and Inverinate in Scotland as part of the upcoming Blas Festival. This unique project explores connections between Scotland and Australia through music and storytelling, with a special focus on the impact of settlers on Indigenous people in Australia.
The performance line-up includes traditional songs and new works by various artists from Scotland and Australia, including playwright, scriptwriter and musician Richard Frankland of Australia’s Gunditjmara people, who addresses the injustices done to Australia’s Indigenous people. The project was originally commissioned by SEALL for Scotland’s Year of Stories in 2022.
Anne Martin, known for her Gaelic singing, hails from Skye, and this project was inspired by a chance meeting with an Australian whose ancestors were from the same area. The connection between their families and a cooking pot hook on a chain (an slabhraidh), which had been taken from a village in Skye, to Australia with a family forced from their homes during the 19th century Highland Clearances, formed the basis of An Tinne.
The township they left was Greaulainn, now a long-abandoned village in Kilmuir, and in 1852 Donald and Anne MacPherson boarded a ship to Geelong, Victoria, for a new life in the ‘New World’. The slabhraidh was passed down through the generations and remains a constant reminder to the MacPherson families of their journey from Skye to Australia.
The Blas Festival, taking place from September 1-9, celebrates Gaelic culture and traditional Scottish music. Anne Martin’s performance is a highlight of this festival, showcasing the enduring connections between Scotland and Australia through music and storytelling.
For further information, go to https://www.blas.scot/
Anglo&Celtic 