Historian John Mann,
Maine Highland Fiddlers,
and Maine’s Ulster-Scots

FARMINGTON —  John Mann, historian for the St. Andrews Society of Maine, will lead a discussion and visual presentation about the archaeological dig at the site of a 1718  early Ulster-Scots homestead  in Bowdoinham. The program, presented by New England Celtic Arts, will be held at North Church Concerts, 118 High St., on Thursday, Nov. 19, and will also include a performance by the Maine Highland Fiddlers. Curtain time is 7 p.m., with a jam session starting at 6:30.

Tickets are $15.

Dozens of communities along the coast of Maine were settled by emigrants from the North of Ireland in the decades prior to the American Revolutionary War. Families were encouraged to relocate from Ulster Plantation to the District of Maine in the hopes that they would create a buffer for the residents of Massachusetts to shield them from recurring hostilities with the French and Indians. The first wave of these so-called Scotch-Irish families began arriving in 1718, but little study has been conducted of how they lived and adapted to life on America’s “Eastern Frontier.”

The 1718 homesite on Merrymeeting Bay was located through collaboration of the St. Andrews Society of Maine, the Maine Ulster Scots Project, local property owners and numerous volunteers.  It is the subject of an ongoing study under the supervision of Crane and Morrison Archaeology of Freeport. Pamela Crane, lead archaeologist, along with Brad McFadden, a descendant of the original settlers, will join Mann in the presentation that will include history, family story and findings related to the site.

Maine Highland Fiddlers are part of the traditional Celtic music revival that thrives throughout the North Atlantic rim. The music of Scotland, Cape Breton Island, Ireland and the Shetlands resonates well with the rich heritage of Maine’s early Celtic settlements. Along with fiddles, the group includes guitar, bodhran, piano, and occasionally, some step-dancing. The six musicians come together from Southern, Western and Mid-Coast Maine to perform, pass on, and renew the Celtic fiddle tradition in Maine — recapturing the kitchen party atmosphere that is central to the Celtic tradition.

For reservations at North Church call:  207-778-2006.