Women helping women. That was the idea behind the single Irish Women in Harmony have released, a cover of the Cranberries song Dreams. The singer RuthAnne, aka Ruth-Anne Cunningham, decided to do the cover to raise funds and awareness for Safe Ireland, an organisation that provides support for women and children who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

RuthAnne wasn’t sure how many other women would want to contribute their voices and music. As it turns out, 38 of them did.

They include Imelda May, Allie Sherlock, Caroline Corr, Eve Belle, Faye O’Rourke, Moya Brennan, Loah, Lucia McPartlin, Saint Sister, Sibéal, Erica Cody, Soulé, Stephanie Rainey, Wyvern Lingo, Tolü Makay, Pillow Queens and Una Healy. They stood in front of microphones in their homes across the locked-down country and sang. They played keyboard, violin, guitar, cello, double bass, drums.

The video does a superb job of piecing together this aural jigsaw from many Zoom videos. It’s heartening to see so many women combining their considerable talents to voluntarily create something both so beautiful and useful. We might all be burnt out from making video calls at this stage of the pandemic, but it’s undeniable that such platforms have made it possible for communal projects such as this one to be created.

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Dolores O'Riordan, with whom the song will always be associated, would surely have approved of this cover of Dreams.

Donations can be made to Safe Ireland through its herewebsite