Music of Ireland

Ireland is internationally known for its folk music, which has remained a vibrant tradition throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. In spite of emigration and a well-developed connection to music imported from Britain and the United States, Irish music has kept many of its traditional aspects; indeed, it has itself influenced many forms of music, such as country and roots music in the USA, which in turn have greatly influenced rock music in the 20th century. It has occasionally also been modernised, however, and fused with rock and roll, punk rock and other genres. Some of these fusion artists have attained much mainstream success, at home and abroad.

Modern revival

A movement of revival took place (based in London and Dublin) in the early twentieth century. A commission was formed, and the arts encouraged. The public was invited to actively take part, and a great passion was discovered for the arts of Ireland.

Related Topics:
London - Dublin

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Pub sessions

Main article: Irish traditional music session

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Pub sessions are now the home for much of Irish traditional music, which takes place at informal gatherings in urban pubs. The first known of these modern pub sessions took place in 1947 in London's Camden Town at a bar called The Devonshire Arms (although some ethnomusicologists believe that Irish immigrants in the United States may have held sessions before this); the practice was only later introduced to Ireland. By the 1960s pubs like O'Donoghues in Dublin were holding their own pub sessions, and the Fleadh Ceoil music festival was sparking increased popular interest in traditional music.

Related Topics:
1947 - London - Camden Town - 1960s - Dublin - Fleadh Ceoil - Music festival

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1960s and 70s: Revival...again

Seán Ó Riada's The Chieftains, The Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners, Sweeney's Men and Planxty were in large part responsible for a second wave of revitalization of Irish folk music in the 1960s, followed up by The Bothy Band and Clannad in the 70s.

Related Topics:
Seán Ó Riada - The Chieftains - The Clancy Brothers - The Dubliners - Sweeney's Men - Planxty - The Bothy Band - Clannad

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The 1960s saw a number of innovative performers. Christy Moore and Donal Lunny, for example, first performing as a duo, and later creating two of the most well-known bands of the era, Planxty and Moving Hearts (in the 1980s). The Clancys broke open the field in the US in the early part of the decade, which inspired vocal groups like The Dubliners, while Ceoltóirí Chualann's instrumental music spawned perhaps the best-known Irish traditional band, The Chieftains, which formed in 1963.

Related Topics:
Christy Moore - Donal Lunny - Planxty - Moving Hearts - The Clancys - The Dubliners - Ceoltóirí Chualann - The Chieftains - 1963

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By the 70s, bands like Planxty and Clannad had set the stage for a major popular blossoming of Irish music. Formed in 1974, The Bothy Band became the spearcarriers of that movement; their debut album, ' (1975), inspired a legion of fans. (One can often find The Bothy Band under "Rock" in some stores.) New groups that appeared in their wake included Davy Spillane's Moving Hearts.

Related Topics:
Planxty - Clannad - 1974 - The Bothy Band - Davy Spillane - Moving Hearts

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The 70s saw the beginning of fusions of Irish traditional music with American and British rock and roll, beginning perhaps with the band Horslips. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison is also renowned from the trad-rock scene, and is known for incorporating soul and R&B to great effect. Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher was renowned for his masterful guitar playing. The heavy metal band Thin Lizzy occasionally used Irish musical traditions in their songs. For example, the song Emerald used a jig (6/8) time signature, and a melody that was influenced by traditional Irish music. Also, the song "The Black Rose" contained a traditional Irish reel being played by guitar, bass, and drums. Most famously, their reworking of the traditional folk staple, "Whiskey in the Jar" was a huge hit. Singer and songwriter Phil Lynott is often said to be a modern incarnation of the Irish poetry tradition.

Related Topics:
Rock and roll - Horslips - Singer-songwriter - Van Morrison - Soul - R&B - Rory Gallagher - Heavy metal - Thin Lizzy - Phil Lynott - Irish poetry

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Late 20th century: Rock and More...

Traditional music, especially sean nós, played a major part in Irish popular music later in the century, with Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers and Sinéad O'Connor using traditional elements in popular songs. Enya achieved success with New Age/Celtic fusions. The Pogues, led by Shane MacGowan, helped fuse Irish folk with punk rock to some success beginning in the 1980s, while the Afro-Celt Sound System achieved considerable fame adding West African influences and drum n bass in the 1990s.

Related Topics:
Van Morrison - Hothouse Flowers - Sinéad O'Connor - Enya - New Age - The Pogues - Shane MacGowan - Punk rock - 1980s - Afro-Celt Sound System - Drum n bass - 1990s

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In the 1980s, major bands included De Dannan, Altan, Arcady, Dervish and Patrick Street. Punk rock entered Ireland in full in the late 1970s, and flowered in the following decade with performers like Gavin Friday and Bob Geldof, while the Belfast scene inspired a legion of punk bands from Northern Ireland, of whom the Stiff Little Fingers are the most well-known. Later in the 80s and into the 90s, Irish punk, like the scene in the UK, US and elsewhere, fractured into new styles of alternative rock, which included the critically acclaimed That Petrol Emotion, the renowned underground band My Bloody Valentine and the popular punk sound of Ash.

Related Topics:
De Dannan - Altan - Arcady - Dervish - Patrick Street - Punk rock - Gavin Friday - Bob Geldof - Belfast - Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative rock - That Petrol Emotion - My Bloody Valentine - Ash

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The 80s also saw the rise of Irish international stars. The biggest Irish musical performer of any kind is undoubtedly U2, who entered the mainstream beginning in 1980 with Boy, and continuing to incorporate a number of styles on later albums into the next century. Other rock bands of the era included The Undertones, Energy Orchard and The Boomtown Rats. A growing interest in Irish music at this time helped many artistes gain more recognition abroad, including Mary Black, Andy White, Sharon Shannon, Hothouse Flowers and others. The BBC screened a documentary series about the influence of Irish music called Bringing it all Back Home (a reference to both the Bob Dylan folk song and the way in which Irish traditional music has travelled, especially in the New World following the Irish diaspora, which in turn has come back to influence modern Irish rock music). This series also helped to raise the profile of many artistes relatively little known outside Ireland. The fashionability of Irish folk music at this time may be judged from the huge success that non-Irish band The Waterboys enjoyed with their albums Fisherman's Blues and Room to Roam, both of which are full of Irish folk influences. Meanwhile, Sinéad O'Connor's confrontational style won her a legion of fans as well as controversy.

Related Topics:
U2 - 1980 - Boy - The Undertones - Energy Orchard - The Boomtown Rats - Mary Black - Andy White - Sharon Shannon - BBC - Bob Dylan - Irish diaspora - The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues - Sinéad O'Connor

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In the 1990s, pop bands like the Corrs, B*Witched, Boyzone and The Cranberries also became internationally renowned. Ireland had developed the Celtic metal scene, part of the black metal style which was common throughout much of Europe, and soon evolved into Celtic battle metal, Celtic doom metal and Celtic pagan metal. Artists included Waylander, Bran Barr, Cruachan and Geasa.

Related Topics:
1990s - The Corrs - B*Witched - Boyzone - The Cranberries - Celtic metal - Black metal - Celtic battle metal - Celtic doom metal - Celtic pagan metal - Waylander - Bran Barr - Cruachan - Geasa

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In 1998, a crew called Exile Eye released the Optic Nerve EP, which generated a great deal of interest in hip hop and inspired a number of newer hip hop crews, though Exile Eye was not the first Irish hip hop performers, as Scary Éire and others came first. These included Homebrew, Third Eye Surfers and Creative Controle.

Related Topics:
1998 - Exile Eye - Optic Nerve - EP - Hip hop - Scary Éire - Homebrew - Third Eye Surfers - Creative Controle

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In the 2000's Danú and Teada are among the youngest major instrumental bands.

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The London Fleadh music festival has become an annual event and showcase for Irish music. It is held in Finsbury Park during the summer.

Related Topics:
Fleadh - Finsbury Park

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