According to many critics, Shantalla is one of the best Celtic groups in Europe. Formed and based in Belgium, five of the band members are Irish and the sixth Scottish. Their music includes original compositions, new arrangements of contemporary material and reworkings of traditional music. Their first album, 'Shantalla', was released in 1999 on the Wild Boar label and the second 'Seven Evenings, Seven Mornings' in 2001. In 2005, Shantalla disbanded and the individual members went their separate ways, playing and recording in different formations, including with The Helen Flaherty Band, Hot Spoons and OMNIA. After a four year break the band re-formed, adding bouzouki & guitar player Simon Donnelly to the original line-up. Their third CD 'Turas' – an Irish word meaning journey – was released in 2011. Reviewers agreed that the band was as good as ever and had matured into one of the best Celtic music acts on the international folk scene. Shantalla’s fourth CD ‘From the East unto the West’, was released in Summer 2019. It features traditional and contemporary songs and tunes from Ireland, Scotland and other European countries, with compositions by band members Gerry Murray and Michael Horgan as well as original material from Maurice McGrath, Brian McNeill, Michael McGoldrick, Lorcan Fahy, Charlie Lennon and Joe Liddy.