At dawn tomorrow morning a large portion of the population of Árainn Mhór will head to the pier for a ferry to take them on the first leg of the journey from their island off the coast of Donegal to another island in Lake Michigan in the US.
The local pipe band Banna Píob Árainn Mhór has been invited to perform at the Emerald Isle Irish Féile on Beaver Island on 8 and 9 September.
Around 100 friends and family members will travel with them.
Beaver Island and Árainn Mhór have strong connections going back to the Famine and the ties will be strengthened later this week when about a quarter of the population of the Donegal island arrive for a special visit.
It will be the first time for the band, which was formed in the early 1930s, to be invited to perform in America.
The band came about as a result of the strong tradition of "tattie-howking" which saw generations of young people from the island travel to Scotland to pick potatoes.
Scottish piping became popular on Árainn Mhór and the island's pipe band has had the honour of opening the Highland Games in Scotland three times.
Performing at the festival on Beaver Island in America highlights another major link in the history of Árainn Mhór.
During the Famine, 168 people were cleared from their land and the local landlord paid their passage to Quebec, Canada.
Some ended up on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan in the US.
Hugh Nancy MacRuairí of Árainn Mhór said the state government at the time was offering 25 acres of land and $25 to people who would come to the area and cultivate the land within six months.
Word came back to Donegal that it was a good place for fishing and logging and money was sent home to pay for the passage of relatives and more and more travelled to Beaver Island, he said.
Mr MacRuairí said that by the 1880's there were about 300 people who had been born on Árainn Mhór, living on the island and Irish was the main spoken language.
The last native Irish speaker on Beaver Island, Mary (Duffy) Gallagher, died in 1971, he said.
Beaver Island and Árainn Mhór were officially twinned in 2002 and there is a monument on the Donegal island marking the connection.
Many of those travelling to the festival from Donegal are looking forward to meeting relations on Beaver Island.
As part of this year's festival, Jerry Early of Árainn Mhór will be inducted into the festival's Hall of Fame for being a bridge between the people of both islands.
However, one of the main organisers of the trip, the band's pipe major passed away recently.
Alec Browne, who was originally from Scotland, had come to live on Árainn Mhór with his family 15 years ago.
Those travelling say the historic trip to the US will be an opportunity to celebrate Alec’s life and to strengthen the connections between the two islands.
