Classical Piano Instrumental with Modern Production. Orchestral & Moody.

Assez Vif

A Simple Piano Melody with Warm Strings, paints the picture of a previous time.

Anamnesis

Dreamy Piano Slow Reel, emotional and relaxing classical composition.

Temperance

Get Up Off Your Feet 8 BIT Cover

A conversation with Fiona McArdle RBV about the White Boys between the late 1980s and the 2000s, and the wider Manx cultural circles in which it lived.

It was as a driver in the late 1980s that Fiona McArdle first joined those keeping alive the Isle of Man's 200-year-old Christmas mummers play named for its unusual costume.
In 1992 she was a leading member of 'The White Girls' who performed the first ever modern all-female performance of the play.
She continued to play a central role in the play's performances each year through to 2007, when the performances linked to the dance group, Bock Yuan Fannee, finally ceased.

As well as discussions of the White Boys, the conversation also touches on the wider Manx cultural revival of the time, including the Manx language and dance.

This conversation with Fiona McArdle RBV was conducted by James Franklin on 2 December 2025.

This interview is part of the collection of over 200 oral history recordings freely available on the Culture Vannin website: culturevannin.im/watchlisten/oralhistory/

The image is Fiona McArdle RBV as St Denise in 'The White Girls,' 28/12/1992, MNH PG/16370. It is used here with thanks to our friends at the Manx National Heritage Library & Archives.

Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
https://culturevannin.im/
www.facebook.com/culturevannin/
www.instagram.com/culturevannin/
www.youtube.com/@culturevannin8486

Oral history interview with Fiona McArdle RBV about the White Boys (2 Dec 2025)

Promoting and supporting all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.

Culture Vannin awards grants and initiates schemes whilst supporting the work of development officers for music and language. The work of Culture Vannin has been fundamental to the revival of interest and support for Manx language and culture over the last twenty years.

Culture Vannin is the trading name for the Manx Heritage Foundation, registered charity 333 in the Isle of Man.

Oral history interview with Fiona McArdle RBV about the White Boys (2 Dec 2025)

Culture Vannin

Related tracks