On the 300th anniversary year of the Battle of Sheriffmuir, in the place that inspired Burns, Tannahill, Hogg, Lewis, Penny and others to compose verse that once made Dunblane a place of poetical pilgrimage, thanks to The National Lottery through Creative Scotland, scotsbard, Paraig MacNeil, is giving Dunblane a cultural kiss of life, unearthing her ancient yarn and weave to join it with the new verse of its present day bards, in a selection of poem and song.

The on-going e-book anthology’s three chapters will exhibit works of:
the traditional bards, the Battle of Sheriffmuir and the ‘15’, and the modern bards.

This will be available for all as a resource, to assist the growing population of the area, or increase a cultural identity focal point, helping to generate more of an interest in the local community through its native literature.

Also as a community project, part of Paraig’s contribution is to hold periodical showcase/performances in local venues, as well as constructing home-made videos with verse/lyrics for folks to follow.

Besides the traditional verse collected, Paraig has about eighteen modern contributors so far.  So, if you are resident in Dunblane and area and have been writing verse, or if you have written verse about Dunblane and area, or both, and wish to contribute, then please let Paraig know soon on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 01786 824563.

‘The Bards o’ Allan Water’ is scheduled to be published in early November.  You can follow the project and the videos on:
http://www.scotsbard.com/the-bards-o-allan-water.html