London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland: A fusion of Irish and Ulster Scots culture

Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland: A fusion of Irish and Ulster Scots culture

"This orchestra started because of peace in Northern Ireland, it wouldn't have ever existed otherwise."

A generation ago, Sharon Treacy-Dunne was so inspired by the emerging peace process that she set herself a mission.

Her aim was to bring young people from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds together, using the power of music.

The result was the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland, which has helped thousands of musicians, singers and dancers from both communities showcase their different cultures on a shared stage.

In recent years, its young members have staged sell-out shows in arenas across the UK and Ireland.

They have toured US cities and performed for heads of state including President Barack Obama; his then vice-president Joe Biden and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

This week the orchestra returns to New York to play in one of the music industry's most prestigious venues - Carnegie Hall.

"We're using this occasion to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which is the whole reason for our being," its founder told BBC News NI.

"What better place to do it than on the most iconic stage in the world?"

The Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland is conducted by its exuberant musical director, Greg Beardsell

The youth orchestra plays a mix of pop, rock, trad, classical and even some 90s dance music


Ms Treacy-Dunne grew up in the Republic of Ireland during the Troubles, in a County Louth village close to the border with Northern Ireland.

In 1994, she was teaching in St Louis secondary school in Dundalk when republican and loyalist paramilitaries announced ceasefires after more than a quarter of a century of violence.

"I was an educator. I was working with young people and it's an influential position to be in, and I just thought I had a responsibility to play my part in peace-building," she recalls.

At her school, she found a stash of instruments that had fallen into disrepair and got them fixed to see if they could be used to forge links with schools across the border.

Her first collaboration in 1995 involved just two schools - her own and the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar in Newry, County Down.

"Following the success of that and being able to see the great potential in cross-border projects, I started trying to contact Protestant schools in Northern Ireland," she explains.

Music teacher Sharon Treacy-Dunne is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland


But in a deeply-divided society, the project got off to a shaky start.

"The support from the management in the schools was fantastic, but there was massive opposition among parents, particularly the parents in Northern Ireland. They just did not want it happen," she recalls.

"It used to upset me so much. I used to go to Belfast for meetings to try and convince people that there was no hidden agenda, that this was so genuinely about bringing people together.

"I'd often come away just crying my eyes out, thinking there was no hope, it would never work."

The teacher recalls attending one meeting where parents "were accusing me, very clearly, of trying to destroy Protestant culture and trying to brainwash their children".

"Obviously that was devastating," she says.

"When I got over the trauma of being accused of something like that, I thought: 'Well, that's their perception and we have to change it.'"

Bagpipe players are now an integral feature of the orchestra's performances

Members of the orchestra are required to rehearse for several hours every week


In response, her orchestra started commissioning music that celebrated both cultures equally.

"We talked to pipe bands and the Ulster Scots Association and anybody we could to see what music was important to them, what music would they like to hear us playing," Ms Treacy-Dunne explains.

The result was a repertoire which fuses instruments from Ulster Scots culture, including bagpipes and Lambeg drums, with Irish traditional instruments such as the uilleann pipes, the harp, the fiddle and bodhrán (drum).

"It did have a huge impact and it did mean all those suspicions and fears just flowed away," Ms Treacy-Dunne says.

"The perception of us from then was that we very clearly and genuinely did want to celebrate both cultures; did want to gently try and remove all these barriers that were there and we really wanted to create a shared future for the young people, for the next generation."


'Lifelong friendships'


The orchestra's shows also began to incorporate performances by both Scottish Highland dancers and Irish dancers, sticking to their own styles but sharing a stage.

The orchestra aims to "reflect and respect both cultures on our island" and its performances feature Highland and Irish dancing

New York's Carnegie Hall will host the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland for the third time on St Patrick's Day


The peace initiative brought the orchestra to a world stage, with performances at the White House, Chicago Symphony Hall and London's Royal Albert Hall.

But membership requires "extraordinary commitment".

On weekends when they are not performing, its musicians travel from all parts of the island for rehearsals in County Louth.

"There's a gang that come from Limerick, they're up at five o'clock in the morning. They get the bus so far, the train the rest of the journey," Ms Treacy-Dunne says.

After a four-hour rehearsal, they begin the 172 mile (277 km) journey home.

"But they love it," their teacher insists, adding some cross-border connections produced lifelong friendships and new experiences.

"They all just get on extremely well, there's no barrier in their minds," she says.

"I know that sometimes they would head up to the Twelfth of July parades, purely just to be there as a cultural thing and to support their friends in Northern Ireland."


Peace Proms


The orchestra's maximum membership is 140, so its founder was soon looking for ways to involve more young people in "spreading the message of peace".

Thousands of schoolchildren get to perform in some of the biggest venues in the UK and Ireland as part of the Peace Proms


In 2002 they got school choirs involved, initially inviting 200 pupils from Dundalk to sing with the orchestra.

These performances gradually grew into the Peace Proms - an annual tour which has sold out several arenas across the UK and Ireland.

The Peace Proms currently involves 35,000 children from schools all over the island, from diverse backgrounds and abilities.

The choirs sing and dance along to plethora of pop, rock and dance anthems, from Coldplay to the Prodigy, and from Madonna to Harry Styles.

Limerick is among the cities which regularly host the Peace Proms


"The brilliant thing about that is in Northern Ireland we have about 6,000 kids who participate, and we have a 50:50 representation for both communities," Ms Treacy-Dunne says.

"That's one of our greatest successes."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×