South Armagh and Senegal musical collaboration premieres at AE Russell festival this weekend

A unique collaboration between musicians from South Armagh and Senegal will premiere at the second AE Society Spring School in Armagh this weekend.

The mission of the AE society is to highlight the life and works of Lurgan born George 'AE' Russell and his multifaceted contributions to Irish cultural and economic life.

Traditional Arts Partnership musicians led by Fergal O'Brien collaborated with Abdou Sene and the Keur Gu Rutmo group from Senegal to interpret the AE Russell poem 'Carrowmore' via bodhráns, Uillean pipes and Senegalese drumming.

 The event this Saturday night 11 April will see Bohráns and Senegalese drumming surrounding AE's poem 'Carrowmore' in both French and English. The unique artistic exchange will demonstrate how poetry, rhythm, and shared creative vision can transcend geography, language, and tradition - building meaningful cultural bridges between Ireland, Senegal, and beyond.

The package was put together by Ruairi Cahill from Camlough based Funk Soul Media. The production really does span the oceans, with Minnesota based Dr Patrick O'Donnell, Chair, AE Society; Laura Ostertag, Franco-Irish Scholar and Armagh based Réamonn Ó Ciaráin, CEO Gael Linn and Treasurer/ PRO, AE Society also involved in the project.

Fergal O'Brien from TAP said the event is based around looking at Russell's 'Carrowmore' poem through two cultural lenses. This African Ireland project follows on from a TAP involved Kindred Spirits event that brought the Choctaw Indian story to life. Explaining that project Réamonn Ó Ciaráin said "we obviously imagined that we had many parallels with the native peoples of the territory of the United States of America, but only when we began to share our experiences from a language point of view and musically and particularly drumming, did we realise that we were indeed kindred spirits. They had been brushed off their land, their language and culture was suppressed over in North America, Turtle Island, they might call it. And similar happened to our fore-bearers on this small island".

O'Brien explains how the project started "The instigators are Patrick and Laura in terms of the choice of the AE Russell poem, I had an existing relationship with Abdou that goes back two or three years now. We were sharing a Bodhran Lambeg drum collaboration from Kilkeel on a world percussion event and the next thing this 'Like' came in from Abdu and I thought, 'I don't know anybody from Senegal, it's a good opportunity to meet somebody from Senegal'. It was as random as that."

That simple follow up led to being asked could some musicians play (remotely) at a wedding in Senegal.  O'Brien explained "I rounded up some neighbours and said, there's a wee wedding going on in Senegal, could you do a few tunes? We put the name up in French of the couple, I gathered up the neighbours, and we had some Uileann piping and some music, and we sent it to them." That went down "very, very well", there was a follow up and then a request to be part of this project.

The AE Society is an attempt to revive interest in AE Russell's work, Chair, Dr Patrick O'Donnell explained "Russell is a figure of world importance. He's a figure as important as William Butler Yeats, or James Joyce, or Samuel Beckett. And what's so interesting about him is that he's not just a literary figure, he's an artistic figure, he's involved in economics, but then he is a spiritual philosopher, very studious in his attention to the world's mystical traditions.

"So whether you're interested in Irish cultural history, Irish economic history, Irish spiritual consciousness history, Irish poetry, Irish literature and then, most importantly, probably, besides being a mystic, is that his role as a catalyst figure - He was a great mentor to many women and many artists, poets ands writers during the period of the Irish cultural renaissance, active from about the mid 1880s to his death in 1935."

Réamonn Ó Ciaráin added "it's mesmerising how one man could have an influence in so many different spheres"

Laura Ostertag translated the Carrowmore poem into French which then allowed the Sengalese musicians to interpret it. 

Many months of planning will come together at the event this Saturday 11 April 7.30 - 8.30pm at  Aonach Mhacha, Armagh when Fergal O'Brien and Traditional Arts Partnership bodhrán players and a piper in collaboration with Senegalese drumming group from Dakar, Senegal, Keur Gu Rutmo will present this world premiere via both pre-recorded video and a live video link.

Ruairi Cahill not only carried out the video production but also performed a rap to the poem. Cahill said "I’m genuinely excited to be part of the Senegal to South Armagh community music project because it brings together cultures, stories and sounds in a way that feels both powerful and meaningful. 

"Collaborating with musicians from TAP Mullaghbawn and Senegal to reinterpret AE Russell’s Carrowmore creates a unique bridge between traditions and getting to rap the poem allows me to bring a fresh, modern voice to its timeless imagery. 

"As head of video production and editing on this project also I’m especially passionate about shaping the audio and visuals into something that truly captures the spirit of the piece; blending rhythm, landscape, and emotion into a living, breathing work of art that connects people across continents."

View the AE Russell Spring School 2026 Programme at issuu.com/aegeorgerussell