A RANGE of Irish artists have offered messages of inspiration for the community in Britain while in isolation.
Country singer Nathan Carter, Limerick singer/songwriter Don Mescall, who is based in Greenwich, and Hackney-based poet Martina Evans are among those who have answered a call by Irish ambassador Adrian O’Neill to send a message to the community to provide “inspiration to us all especially in these difficult times”.
Mr O’Neill, who is working from home at the Irish Embassy in London, launched the From Isolation – Inspiration initiative over the weekend.
“For the last few weeks like everybody I have been working from home and following the rules on social distancing, something that we all must do if we are to combat this terrible virus and protect our communities,” he explained.
“It struck me that there must be many Irish artists who also are in domestic isolation but of course they and their work continue to be important sources of inspiration to us all especially in these difficult times.
“So, we reached out to these artists, poets, writers, singers, musicians and actors and we invited them to send us from their place of isolation a video message of inspiration that we in turn could share with you through social media.”
The first message comes from singer/songwriter Don Mescall, who hails from Co. Limerick but lives and records his work in Greenwich.
Mescall shares a song he has written about the Sunday drives he used to take with his family as a child.
The second instalment is from poet Martina Evans, who states: “I have no words of wisdom, they have all been taken by far better writers than me,” before going on to “celebrate London” and the many immigrant communities it has “taken in” by reading a poem inspired by the capital.
The likes of Nathan Carter and flautist Eimear McGeown have since added their messages to the initiative, which is expected to run for the next few weeks, with Mr O’Neill adding: “I hope that these video messages over the coming weeks offer some moments of comfort and joy to you all during difficult days and that they also demonstrate that even in isolation there is always inspirations. Stay well and stay strong.”
The Irish embassy will share the messages through their social media channels, and they can also be found here.
