A musical collaboration blending Irish and Middle Eastern musical traditions hosted at Earagail Arts Festival 2025 was captured on film and is now available to watch.
Supported by British Council and co-created in partnership with Earagail Arts Festival, Macalla has brought together musicians from the North West Folk Collective and Mashakt Collective, Iraq, blending and mirroring melody and instrumentation exploring the old and venturing into the new.
Inspired by the music of Celtic harpist Turlough O’Carolan, and featuring the musicians spent a week rehearsing together at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny before performances at Cairde Sligo Arts Festival and Earagail Arts Festival.
The eight-piece will perform together next at the iconic Scottish festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland on 24th January 2026 in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum as part of a night of cross-cultural music collaboration from Scotland, Sweden, Ireland and Iraq, alongside Laura Jane Wilkie & Ian Carr, and Woodlands Bäckafall. Tickets are now on sale!
Macalla features Lucia McGinnis (Harp), Niwar Issa (Qanun), Saman Kareem (Oud), Martin Coyle (Bouzouki), Denise Boyle (Fiddle) and Paul Cutliffe (Uilleann pipes and whistle).
Videography and editing by Alan McLaughlin, AML Media.
Earagail Arts Festival is kindly supported by Donegal County Council, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon & Wild Atlantic Way
