The Soviet Session

In March 1990 - over the Saint Patrick’s Day period - five Irish traditional musicians came together to form an ad-hoc group for a tour in the Soviet Union, organised by the Dublin-based Ireland-USSR Society as part of its efforts to maintain social and cultural links between the two countries. Going by the name of Pócaí Folamha (Empty Pockets), the musicians travelled to Moscow and the Soviet republic of Uzbekistan. Along the way they were to play not only in theatres but in schools, a porcelain factory and a collective farm - and to get a unique insight into life in the Soviet Union as it teetered on the brink of collapse. Accompanying them was a team from DoubleBand Films, the Belfast-based production company that had been commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and RTÉ to make a documentary about the tour. A film that would capture extraordinary cultural and musical experiences at an extraordinary moment in history.