A new charity single released in time for World Music Day on 21 June highlights the comfort to be found in the wealth of Irish sayings, words and music.

NATIONAL, 19 JUNE, 2020 (GPN): Partially inspired by a centuries-old traditional Irish blessing, ‘May The Road Rise – A New Dawn’ is a rousing anthem of hope and friendship for the times the world is living in today.

Recorded by a star line-up of musicians from Ireland and America, the song is dedicated to all who have lost loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic.

Penned by leading Irish country singer Nathan Carter, the track also features country legend Crystal Gayle, as well as Celtic Thunder, Chloë Agnew (Celtic Woman), Moya Brennan (Clannad), Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh (Altan), The High Kings, John Carter Cash and Larry Gatlin.

The single is available now on iTunes and Google Music and the funds generated will be donated to The Mater Foundation and #OurHospitalHeroescampaigns supporting frontline workers in Ireland’s acute hospitals. A video version features stunning aerial footage of different parts of the country mixed with shots of the musicians recording their parts.

At this unique time in world history, Irish culture, and especially the island’s spoken word, poetry, literature and music has been to the fore in cheering people up and offering comfort and hope.

In the opening weeks of the pandemic, Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney’s promise of reward for endurance struck a chord across right across the internet.

His quote “If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere” appeared in countless social media accounts, on handmade banners, and was written on walls in the Irish capital, Dublin.

With heartfelt poetry readings and literary sayings circulating widely among families and friends online, the island’s innate lyrical traditions have also been important in raising the spirits of those tackling the everyday effects of the pandemic.

In a nation with the gift of the gab, verse has even been ingrained into Irish public health messaging and the state broadcaster RTE rounded off one particular news bulletin with an assuring “Everything is going to be alright”.

Irish writers have been exploring life during crisis too, with the Abbey Theatre’s Dear Ireland project offering a set of monologues by 50 writers and 50 actors created in self-isolation, while musicians across the island have collaborated in an array of fundraisers, quarantine concerts and messages of hope. In one example, over 300 churches from across the island joined together to raise spirits with a gorgeous rendition of a 1,000 year-old Celtic hymn.

‘May the Road Rise to Meet You’ is one of the most well-known Irish blessings. Originally written in the Irish language, it is has travelled through the centuries by word of mouth, the written word and musical composition. Uttered in the dulcet tones of Colin Farrell, the ancient blessing even makes it into Disney’s latest Artemis Fowl release. The Irish actor plays Artemis Fowl’s father in the film, which was partially filmed on location on the island of Ireland.

For something written so long ago, the blessing’s comforting sentiments still shine through. Not just in Ireland, but all around the world. www.ireland.com ENDS