Tìr Ìseal nan Òran
A' dèanamh uaill à cruth-tìre, sgeulachdan agus sgeulaichean Thiriodh, tro cheòl, òrain, fiolm, sgrìobhadh, agus cluiche-dràma
Celebrating Tiree’s landscape, stories and story-telling through music, song, film, writing and dramatic performance.
Tìr Ìseal nan Òran brought together artists, community and stories to celebrate the richness of Tiree’s landscape, heritage and culture. It took place between February 1st and July 31st 2022
The Tìr Ìseal nan Òran project took seven stories from Tiree’s history, tradition and mythology. The stories are linked to locations in Tiree’s landscape using James Turnbull’s 18th century full-colour illustrated map of the island.
Artists, community members and children from Tiree’s schools created artistic responses to the stories, map, and island natural environment.
Local musicians created new music and songs. A local film-maker developed live and animated film, and engaged young people in learning new skills for story-telling. Writing, theatre and historic environment workshops inspired learning and creative work from all ages in the community, in Gaelic and English.
In June 2022 children from Tiree Primary and High School drew together the stories with the artists’ and community’s inspired work in a dramatic multi-media performance.
Tìr Ìseal Creative Work
The project created new work in theatre, music, film and animation, writing, tapestry, as well as informative talks about a range of subjects.
To see our creative click the menu item “Our Creative Work” at the top of the page or use the buttons below.
Artists
The artists commissioned to create imaginative responses to Tìr Ìseal nan Òran’s seven stories either live on or have a connection with Tiree.
They have each explored the seven island stories and created original work from different disciplines of music, song, film, drama, and animation, rooted in the landscape of the island.
This new work was woven together with creative writing, theatre and textile pieces into a live performance, delivered in English and Gaelic to the community on June 16th 2022, and during Tiree Music Festival in July 2022.
To learn more about the artists participating in Tìr Ìseal nan Òran, visit our Artists page by clicking the “Learn more here” button.
Seven stories
There are only seven stories in the world, says an old tradition. But there are countless ways of telling them. Our seven stories expand into eighteen tellings of tales, from dramatic historical events to mythical fragments.
Visits by Danes and Saints, stones that ring and pipes that echo from caves, hangings and beheadings, potatoes, kelp, and leaving the island for promised lands; our stories are as varied and unpredictable as the sea around Tiree.
To learn more about Tìr Ìseal nan Òran’s stories, visit our Seven Stories page by clicking the “Learn more here” button.
Events
A diverse range of Tìr Ìseal nan Òran community, school, and public events took place between March and July 2022 on Tiree. Online events widened participation throughout the project.
For full details of Tìr Ìseal nan Òran events, visit our events page by clicking the “Learn more here” button.
Turnbull’s map
James Turnbull was engaged by the 5th Duke of Argyll in the 18th century to survey Tiree and the two ends of Coll. It took him five weeks to travel to Tiree, with a small team of assistants, and complete his work.
He was a supremely skilled professional, creating a map which is a thing of lasting beauty as well as being a treasure trove of information about the island in the 18th century.
The written report which accompanies the map includes detailed observation of the inhabitants, their lives and way of working as well as detailed analysis of land quality and use, and was to underpin the development of individual crofts on the island.
To learn more about Turnbull’s map and report, visit our Turnbull’s Map page by clicking the “Learn more here” button.
Funders
Tìr Ìseal nan Òran was generously funded and supported by a partnership of organisations who recognise the importance of stories in the landscape and cultural life of a community.
We are grateful to all our funders for placing their trust in our participating artists, archivists, teachers, and historians.
To learn more about the organisations and individuals who supported Tìr Ìseal nan Òran, visit our Funders page by clicking the “Learn more here” button.
Donate
Individual donations to help fund the ongoing work of the Tìr Ìseal nan Òran project are very welcome at any stage of the project’s activity. We have ongoing additional work that we can undertake with further funding. Your donation large or small helps us deliver a richer and more diverse range of activities and resources.
Donations can be made via the Friends Of The Argyll Papers by clicking the button. This takes you to the Friends donation page, where you can follow the process to make a one-off donation. Please also send us an e-mail to tir-iseal@gmail.com to inform us you have donated to the project.
To donate to Tìr Ìseal nan Òran click the “Donate to the project” button
