Dónal Lunny embarks on his epic journey following the Celtic Songlines to Donegal where he meets Altan’s Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and learns about the close musical ties between Ireland and Scotland. In Miltown Malbay he meets old friend Paddy Glackin and takes a trip to Spanish Point, while in Galway Dónal meets Simon O’Dwyer who demonstrates some of Ireland’s oldest musical instruments. Back in Dublin Dónal visits the Irish Traditional Music Archive and the RTÉ archives where Nicholas Carolan and Jim Lockhart explain why music collectors have been so important for the survival of traditional Irish music while Dr Éamon Ó Ciosáin from Maynooth University places Irish music in the context of the wider Celtic world. Before leaving for Scotland Dónal takes a trip to the Grouse Lodge recording studios in Westmeath where he is joined by some of Ireland’s best traditional musicians including Máirtín O’ Connor, John McSherry, Graham Henderson, Éamonn de Barra, Cormac de Barra and Zoe Conway. Here they record a number of tunes that Dónal will take with him on his travels to be added to by musicians he meets along the way.