On the same day that the election of members for the new Northern Ireland Assembly was taking place across the six counties, a group of Irish and Irish-Americans in San Francisco were making their contribution towards the "Peace Process" through the medium of music and the volunteer spirit.

The group will donate their time during the Guinness Fleadh in San Jose on June 28, to help launch a new CD "Peace, A Song for Northern Ireland", which will be offered for sale to the thousands of fans at the festival.

The song, written by Belfast men, Ciarán Mac Gowan, who comes from the Nationalist tradition, and Jim Crone from the loyalist community calls for peace, hope, and what is desperately needed in the north of Ireland at the moment, time, "time to find the lives we've lost".

The project was produced by local photographer James McCaffry, a friend of McGowan, for The San Francisco Irish Film Festival and a host of prominent members of the Irish and Irish-American community who acted as Associate Producers by donating services and financial support.

Said MacGowan, "... We can't expect a song to change the world, but given that it is better to take part than to look on, we offer this song, as an anthem for a just and constructive solution in our homeland, Northern Ireland. We hope that this music will contribute in some small way to an atmosphere of forgiveness, trust and friendship among all the peoples of Ireland."

The project started off said McCaffry with an original idea by Dan Hickey of Minute Man Press Inc. who wanted to make a poster to commemorate the Good Friday Agreement. As McCaffery was working on that he remembered Mac Gowan and Crone's song and with the help of Irish Film Festival Director Grania Flanagan who brought her organizational skills to the effort financial support was soon forthcomming.

The poster, entitled "Fresh Éire", a larger version of the CD cover features the face of a child peering through a bunch of Poinsettias. The poster boy is none other than Nick Scullion, Flanagan's son, whom McCaffery has used as a photographic model.

Ciarán Mac Gowan is a lecturer in multi-media in San Francisco and a musician from West Belfast. He spends his time equally between the two. In recent months he has opened concerts for Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Arlo Guthrie...and has released a CD: "...outta Belfast", from which are drawn the three tracks on the CD. He intends to continue making and promoting music with a strong Northern Irish input.

Jim Crone, (co-author of "Peace...") is a leading fashion photographer in Northern Ireland. he is a keen musician, plays lead guitar, and collaborates as co-producer and sound engineer on many of Ciarán's album tracks.

Proceeds from the sale of the CD will be donated to the Nerve Centre in Derry. The Nerve Centre's Interzone project provides training and ongoing access to multimedia technology and the Internet for schools, youth groups, community groups and individuals throughout Northern Ireland. The facility works to play a strategic role in nurturing the creative talent, energy and imagination of young people by providing a safe and neutral space where young people from every community in Northern Ireland can express their common identity and develop a sense of their shared creative interests.

"From the proceeds of this project," said Director Flanagan, "The San Francisco Irish Film Festival, will establish a scholarship to be distributed as bursaries to young musicians and filmakers in Northern Ireland and the beauty of that is, that even if only one kid decided that this is what I really want as my career we could be looking at another Margo Harkins, Tim Loane, a Neil Jordan or another Van Morrisson and that," she said, " is the kind of long term investment that is needed for the children of Northern Ireland and the more CDs we are able to sell the more children we will be able to help fullfil their hopes and dreams."

For information on how to buy a copy of

"Peace, A Song for Northern Ireland." $11
... outta Belfast, $16
Fresh Éire $ 9