This series documents the activities of The Chieftains between the years 1974 and 2002 when Derek Bell was a member of the group. The subseries contains promotional material produced by the group’s record companies, tour schedules and itineraries, performance set-lists, programmes, ephemera, newspaper clippings, reviews, articles, photographs and memorabilia. Also included are a number of awards including a Grammy Award nominee medal (DBE-239678/4/2/9) and platinum, gold and silver discs awarded to the group for achieving exceptional album sales in a number of different jurisdictions.
Audiovisual recordings of singing sessions, and recordings of individual singers made in public and private venues, organised predominantly by Inishowen Traditional Singers' Circle, in Inishowen, Co. Donegal, 1980-2003. Occasionally includes music and dance.
Audiovisual recordings of singing sessions, and recordings of individual singers made in public and private venues in Ireland and England, attended by Jimmy McBride, 1983-1991.
Letters, typescripts, programmes, reviews and newspaper clippings relating to the following compositions by Derek Bell Variations on the IDB theme ‘Come on Northern Ireland’, Symphony No. 2 The violet flame - Comte de Saint Germain , Divertissement for a Kerryman and Three pictures from Ancient Ireland in druid times .
This subseries contains seminar notes, letters, articles and religious texts relating to Bell’s interest in Buddhism, Eastern mysticism, Kriya Yoga and the power of music and meditation to counteract evil. Seminar notes and articles are from the teaching of guru, Gideon Fontalba. The second file in this subseries relates to letters and articles which refer to a legal case involving a minister of the Self Realization Fellowship, Swami Kriyanan (born James Donald Walters). Kriyanan was a friend of Derek Bell for many years and collaborated with him on two CDs - Mystical harp and Mystical harp II . Other religious texts are from a distance learning course provided by the Arcane School, London, England. The school provides students with training in meditation and offers a service to develop their spiritual potential.
Audiovisual recordings of the Inishowen International Folk Song and Ballad Seminar (IIFSBS) 1990-2004 and events organised by the Inishowen Traditional Singers' Circle, 1990-2004.
