Irish Trad Music Blog

Pádraig Rynne and Brian Duke from the band Cian. Music from the fleadh in Ballina 1999.

Irish music session with Mike McGoldrick on flute

The famous family group the Mulcaheys in private concert

I feel that some confusion may have entered based on two concepts, namely the relativity of time and secondly the history of harp playing in Ireland. What is traditional? The first point derives from the music being labeled "traditional". What does this mean? For every player/singer, there is a definition, but the prime common factor is typically some notion of "age"-it's being an "old" form of music. As Einstein might indicate to us, time is relative. Look at the Bunting, Joyce and Petrie Collections (the works of the early "great" collectors). They all invariably describe certain tunes as "ancient". This is the typical terminology of the "antiquarians" of their day (which they all were themselves). BUT, how old is old and ancient? A house in North America built in the 1700s is rare and considered very old. Alone in the small town in which I live, Ballyshannon in County Donegal there are several of them. How old is ancien...

Irish music workshops with Tradschool in August 2009: Fiddle, flute, bodhran & pipes. 24-29 august at Neuvéglise, France. (Accomodation included) For more details, see tradschool.com

2  jigs by the fiddles at Tradschool's Irish Music Workshops in summer 2008.  

Ennis, County Clare is home to Glór Irish Music Centre, built in recognition of the area's musical heritage and contribution to Irish traditional music. Glór Summer Music Festival brings the finest Irish musicians, singers and dancers to entertain local and international audiences. Glór gives you the opportunity to experience the ultimate traditional music 'session' and provides you with information about instruments, styles, dance, music and song through live musical demonstrations. Using fantastic musicians and friendly hosts, Glór demonstrates (in a predominantly non-verbal style) the richness and diversity of Irish music. The glór café serves the best in contemporary cuisine, offering you the chance to enjoy lunch while listening to live music. The café serves an evening meal prior to performances (by advance request only). The wonderful 'They Love Music Mightily' interactive exhibition features contemporary recordings from some of Ireland's greatest ambassa...

The tin whistle is a simple wind instrument with six holes and a mouthpiece. The working principle behind a tin whistle is similar to that of a flute except that you blow directly into one end, like a referee’s whistle, and not from an angle, like a normal flute. The tin whistle is a popular instrument in traditional Irish music. The tin whistle is also known as the pennywhistle. It is commonly made of a molded plastic mouthpiece attached to a cylindrical brass tube with six holes set in it. Different sizes of tin whistles will play in different keys. The tin whistle is also normally diatonic although accidentals can be played by half-covering the holes. Mass produced tin whistles vary a lot in terms of quality so it is wise to check out a tin whistle before you buy it. Play the tin whistle to check the tone. You can even compare it to another instrument or an electronic tuner to make sure that the tin whistle is operating at its normal pitch. You can also opt for a more expensive hand...

Come to Keadue and enjoy harp and traditional music in this mystical village surrounded by lakes, woodland and archaeological sites at the foot of the Arigna Mountains. Keadue Keadue (Ceideadh - which means low lying hill) is set on the Arigna mountains scenic drive in a landscape adorned by lakes and mountains. The village presents a delightful picture with traditional houses, stone walls, gardens, and window boxes adorned with flowers and shrubbery. In 1993 Keadue won the National Award in the Tidy Towns Competition, being declared Ireland's tidiest town and best kept village. O'Carolan International Harp Festival The renowned music festival takes place annually in Keadue commencing August Bank Holiday. This ten day event of Irish music and culture, features traditional music concerts, sessions and workshops, craft demonstrations and exhibitions, side by side with the International Harp Competition, School and Recitals. The festival is a must for anyone interested in Irish tr...

IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC, SONG & DANCE 3RD AUGUST - 7TH AUGUST 2009 SLIGO TOWN CLASSES IN TIN WHISTLE, FLUTE, FIDDLE, BODHRAN, TRADITIONAL SINGING, PIPES, BUTTON ACCORDION, MANDOLIN SET DANCING AND SEAN NOS DANCING. Morning Classes: 10:00am - 12.00MD . Afternoon Classes: 12.30pm - 2.30pm  Afternoon Classes: 3.00pm - 5.00pm CLASSES HELD ON A DAILY BASIS IN MUSIC AND SINGING AND THEY FINISH ON 7TH AUGUST AT 12 MIDDAY. ALSO MUSIC SESSI0NS, LECTURE,WORKSHOPS,TRAD SINGERS EVENING,CONCERT & SETS CEILI. SETS CEILI - 7TH AUGUST, 2009 - SWALLOWS TAIL CEILI BAND. ENQUIRIES FROM DECEMBER 2008 PLEASE. ENROLMENTS FROM FEBRUARY 2009 PLEASE. OTHER EVENTS ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE. VENUES FOR THE SUMMER SCHOOL ANNOUNCED IN JANUARY 2009 (PLEASE CHECK BACK). ALL CLASSES HELD PENDING SUITABLE NUMBERS.(PLEASE CHECK WITH DIRECTOR) ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Click here for Enrolment PDF Email:  carmelgunning@gmail.com

From a recording of music made in Cavan in December 2003, a piano solo by music teacher Catriona Cullivan from Stradone, Co. Cavan. She plays two reels: "The Baltimore Salute" and "Crehan's".

From Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Clonmel 2004, a session of reels led by the well-known McKeown family from Dublin. Uilleann piper Gabriel McKeown and his wife Mary (then on piano) were members of the Pipers' Club Céilí Band who were the All-Ireland champions in 1975 and 1976.

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music. We’re a non-profit cultural movement with hundreds of local branches around the world, and as you can read in our history we’ve been working for the cause of Irish music since the middle of the last century (1951 to be precise). Our efforts continue with increasing zeal as the movement launches itself into the 21st century. WHAT WE DO Because we’re so many different things to different people, it can be hard to keep track of the true scope of our activities! You might have been involved with a Comhaltas event and not even known it. If you’re a student of Irish music, you might know about the music, dance and language classes that we teach through our network of branches. If you’re interested in learning the music, you might want to find which one of our 1,000 weekly classes is closest to you. For musicians who like to play socially, you might be interested in finding ...

Introduction The Irish Traditional Music Archive –  Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann  – is a national reference archive and resource centre for the traditional song, instrumental music and dance of Ireland. It is a public not-for-profit facility which is open, free of charge, to anyone with an interest in the contemporary and historical artforms of Irish traditional music. The Archive promotes public education in Irish traditional music through its own activities and through partnerships with others. Established in 1987, the Archive is the first body to be exclusively concerned with the making of a comprehensive multi-media collection of materials – sound recordings, books and serials, sheet music and ballad sheets, photographs, videos and DVDs, etc. – for the appreciation and study of Irish traditional music. The Archive now holds the largest such collection in existence, with coverage of the island of Ireland, of areas of Irish settlement abroad (especially in Britain, North America and ...

The Dromore Céilí Band from Co. Tyrone plays a set of jigs, commencing with "The Coming of Spring" by Paddy O'Brien. The selection was recorded at the Senior Céilí Band competition at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, held August 2008 in Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Band members are: John Woods, Aileen Swift and Fergal Fafferty, fiddles; Catriona Garry and John Quinn, flutes; Conor Woods and Edel Quinn, accordion; Tomás Quinn, banjo; Aiveen Gormley, piano and Margaret Maguire, drums.Dromore Céilí Band Jigs at the All-Ireland

From the 2007 Comhaltas Tour of Ireland concert, a selection of reels started off by button accordionist Peter Staunton of Dublin playing "The Pride of Rathmore Reel". Pete is joined by the full group of musicians and five dancers, concluding with "The Ivy Leaf Reel". The dancers are Aidan Mc Koughlin (Leitrim), Teresa Donaghue (Westmeath), Laura Crossna (Leitrim), Cathal Mc Garrigle (Offaly) and Hannah Longmore (Wicklow).