Sharing Songs, Unforgettable Voices – A Creative Fingal Shared Island Initiative

A very special concert will take place on Saturday, 21 February at 7.00pm in the iconic Stormont Great Hall. Sharing Songs, Unforgettable Voices marks the culmination of a two-year, cross-border collaboration uniting two dementia-inclusive community choirs and 150 participants from Larne, Co. Antrim and Baldoyle, Co. Dublin.

Rooted in a shared love of song across North and South of the island of Ireland, the project has brought together the Forget Me Nots Choir in Baldoyle and the This Is Me Community Choir in Larne in an ambitious programme of musical exchange, creative collaboration and social connection. This Shared Island initiative has been supported and funded by Creative Ireland and Fingal County Council.

The partnership began with a simple but powerful question: could organisations working with and for people living with dementia collaborate across borders? For Community Arts Partnership and The Forget Me Nots Organisation, both long committed to artistic excellence and inclusive practice, the answer was an immediate yes. Over the course of the project, relationships flourished through shared rehearsals, collective songwriting, poetry, storytelling, travel and performance. Exchanges took place in Baldoyle Community Centre, Larne Town Hall, Newcastle Community Cinema in Co. Down, and Carlingford, Co. Louth, alongside online “Friday Silver Linings” musical appreciation sessions also supported by Creative Fingal. What began as collaboration evolved into community - encompassing seniors, people living with dementia, carers, family members and volunteers.

While working across jurisdictions brings complexity, a clear focus on shared purpose ensured the project’s success. The Gala Concert at Stormont’s Great Hall stands as both celebration and testament: an affirmation that access to cultural life should never be limited by ability, geography or circumstance.

Through song, laughter and creative exchange, participants discovered not only new repertoire but renewed confidence, friendship and belonging. This concert honours the voices and spirit of every choir member who shaped the journey - and carries forward a simple hope: to keep singing, keep connecting, and sustain the joy far beyond the life of the project.

Lilian Whelan, Creative Ireland Coordinator for Fingal County Council said “We are delighted to support such an uplifting and important project. Projects like this demonstrate the importance of creativity for the wellbeing of the community. The cross-border collaboration has made this a truly cooperative project.”

Órla Horn, Forget Me Nots Co-Founder and Chair, commented “The organisations involved in this collaboration have been developing artistic programmes for and with people living with dementia for many years, so this all-island collaboration not only felt like a natural progression - it felt instantly right.”

The Government’s Shared Island initiative aims to harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on the island and engage with all communities and traditions to build consensus around a shared future.

The Forget Me Nots Organisation is a registered charity in Ireland (No. 20144661) offering an inclusive community choir for older people, family, friends and neighbours and is especially welcoming to those affected by dementia and memory loss. Participants are drawn from the neighbourhood, the local HSE Day Care centres, The Alzheimer Society Social Clubs in the region, local residential nursing homes, and from the wider Dublin North-East community.

Community Arts Partnership is a registered charity in the United Kingdom (NIC105169). Its mission is to take the lead in the promotion, development and delivery of community arts practice, to affect positive change in Northern Ireland. Its vision is to see the emergence of a just, inclusive, peaceful and creative society, where difference is welcomed and participation is valued.

The 'This Is Me' choir in Larne is a dementia-friendly, all-ability community choir based at The Music Yard. Founded in 2018 by Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna, it provides weekly music sessions to improve the quality of life, emotional wellbeing, and social connection for people living with dementia, their carers, and families.