We have a wonderful meeting of Gaelic Scotland and Ireland at The World's Room on 15th February.

Margaret Stewart was born and brought up in the village of Upper Coll, on the Isle-of-Lewis, where she was surrounded by song and poetry throughout her formative years. In 1993 she was awarded the National Mod's Gold Medal; since that time her reputation as a singer and tradition-bearer has travelled far and wide, and in 2008 she was voted Gaelic Singer of the year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards. Margaret is also widely respected as a teacher of Gaelic song and its related history. She has a special interest in bringing rarely heard songs to a new audience, and has put her knowledge of music and song to good use in the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o' Riches project. The two CDs Margaret has made with piper Allan Macdonald from Glenuig, Fhuair mi Pòg and Colla Mo Rùn, are widely acclaimed, as is her own album, Togaidh mi mo Sheòlta.

Nell Ní Chróinin is a young sean nós singer from the Múscraí Gaeltacht of West Cork. The singing tradition is integral to cultural life in Múscraí and as a result she began singing at the age of eleven, being influenced by the local singers at the many singing sessions. Her main influences are Máire Ní Cheilleachar and Eoiní Maidhicí Ó Suilleabháin, from whom she acquired many of her songs. A recent television programmes, Cérbh í, featured Nell as a presenter setting out on a quest to uncover more on the life of the deceased singer Bess Cronin. She has given group and individual masterclasses at the University of Limerick on three separate occasions, and has sung at many festivals in Ireland. She is the youngest ever recipient of the TG4 singer of the year award and she is currently working as a primary teacher in Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil , Glanmire where she is encouraging young people to take up traditional singing.

http://www.theworldsroom.com/en/coming-up/february-15th