A Chairde, tá súil agam go raibh Nollaig Shona agaibh go léir agus guím gath rath oraibh don bhliain úr nua ceolmhar atá romhainn.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year, and best wishes for a musical and fulfilling 2024.
This year bookends ITMA’s Strategy 2019-2023. It proved to be a transformative year for the archive and for the service we provide to the public.
Our Annual Report 2023 will provide more details on the diverse range of activities and projects delivered by the staff, board, artists and supporters. In the meantime, I’d like to share a few highlights from 2023 and a few things to look forward to in 2024.
Highlight of 2023: Digital Infrastructure
ITMA’s digital infrastructure has been transformed in 2023 with new digital storage and preservation suites, a huge increase in digitisation capacity and a new website.
Democratising Access through Digital Services
ITMA will continue to grow its digital offering as we increasingly prioritise our services to remote users. We want to democratise access to the physical archival material we hold in Merrion Square by making as much material as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. We will make more archival material more accessible to more people. Digitisation is key to making this possible.
While anyone can visit ITMA’s Library at 73 Merrion Square without an appointment or invitation, and while we do not have any paywall barriers or membership fees, I am personally conscious that only a small number of privileged visitors can actually attend ITMA’s premises in Dublin during working hours, Monday to Friday. The number of in-person visitors pales in comparison to the number of people who access our digital services worldwide from the comfort of their homes at times that suits their own personal schedule.
In 2023, we built many parts of the digital systems we need to deliver on our ambitions for the digital archive of the future.
Broadening Our Funding Base (Strategy 2019-2023)
The year 2023 saw ITMA receive significant private financial donations of over €200,000. The generosity shown by individual donors helped to significantly bridge the gap between our ambitions and what we deliver.
We remain very grateful to our main funders The Arts Council of Ireland, who have themselves secured increased funding for the Arts Sector from their parent Department and Government since 2019. Without their support ITMA could not function. We salute the extraordinary success of their Director Maureen Kennelly and out-going Chair Kevin Rafter in securing a monumental increase in funding for the Arts in Ireland in recent years.
ITMA received standstill allocations in 2023 and again in 2024, so the support of philanthropists and donors ensures that we can deliver an increasingly better service. Without this private support, the transformative year we have experienced in 2023 would not have been possible.
For potential donors based in the USA, donating to ITMA can be a tax efficient way of supporting our mission of making more and more archival material accessible to remote users. ITMA is eligible for 501(c)3 donations and working through the Ireland Funds, our donors have had an amazingly positive impact on the work we delivered this year.
Irish-based donors can see their donations augmented by the State through the CHY3 form which any donation above €250 will be worth an additional 44.93%. So if you donate €250, we can claim €112.33 tax back from revenue – meaning your original donation is worth €362.33 towards ITMA’s archival work.
Artistic Programming
Our commitment to commissioning artists to creatively engage with the archive, and inspire the public to do the same, continues unabated. With more than 150 artists engaged every year, ITMA’s spend on artists fees has grown exponentially over the course of this Strategy. For example, ITMA spent €211,246 on over 160 artists in 2022.
Our Drawing from the Well series continues to develop and grow. It is shaped by a belief in the process of connecting artists with archival material to inspire new art and new interpretations of the tradition.
Field recording in 2023 saw unprecedented numbers of in-depth interviews. Highlights include over 60 people interviewed as part of an Arts Council of Northern Ireland project documenting the experiences of traditional musicians during the Troubles. Another 20 interviews were conducted with musicians, singers and dancers during Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy in Miltown Malbay, adding to one of our largest audio-visual collections. We continued to collect and lend a platform to minorities within the tradition through projects such as The Thomas McCarthy Song Collecting Project and our partnership in Trad is Amach.
The new feature on Tommy Peoples on our website is part of ITMA’s Portrait of an Artist series, which will be augmented in 2024. It was pleasing to see archival work on Tommy Peoples being curated by his daughter Siobhán with Conor Caldwell and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh. Their work was celebrated on stage as part of a sold-out Drawing from the Well concert with our partners in the National Concert Hall.
The Heritage Council funded a Rights and Permissions project which will unlock potentially thousands of audio recordings. For example, we now have permission to make available all our +500 recordings of Seamus Ennis through the website. This process of engaging with the community of donors, recordists and artists is an onerous but very necessary one as many of the recordings we receive were made by well-meaning enthusiasts in an era where requesting consent to record were not always considered necessary.
All our work is predicated on having sufficient funding to run the archive. We would like to acknowledge the support of all our funders, who have empowered the staff and board to deliver a phenomenal amount of archival work in 2023.
In addition to our main annual funder, The Arts Council, we are very appreciative of the support shown by the Office of Public Works, who have been tremendously supportive of ITMA in not only giving us use of 73 Merrion Square, but actively helping to deliver a new Artist/Archivist-in-Residence Space at the Mews to the rear of the building. The design for the development of the residence is sympathetic to the needs of artists and archivists while also sensitive to the conservation and design aesthetic of the Georgian architectural heritage of Merrion Square. This development is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Shared Island Initiative and should be operational by Q4 2025.
The Challenges Ahead in 2024-28
2024 will see ITMA publish a new Strategy. While much work has already been conducted in scoping out the main elements of the plan, you can expect see it published in Q2 2024.
We see the mission of maximising remote digital access as being crucial. We will be guided by the principles of democratising access to our shared musical heritage.
To do this we need the digital infrastructure to:
We will also explore ways to maximise mutually beneficial synergies to connect local, national and international communities in creating an integrated archive that serves their needs.
As we continuously move towards more digital access, we will seek to empirically quantify the percentage of material we make universally accessible online.
On an artistic and curatorial front, you can expect our flagship programming such as Saothar (new compositions for the tradition), Drawing from the Well, Saoithe (interviews with senior artists offering sage advice) and A Portrait of an Artist series to continue to develop.
ITMA’s film making capacity is becoming more widely recognised and a new source of potential income for the archive. In 2024, TG4 will broadcast a 5-part series Taoscadh ón Tobar, which sees leading artists engage with the archive to present highlights of their research in an engaging way. You can look forward to the premiere of Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s at the Dublin International Film Festival in February 2024. A new film on Seán Keane is due for premiere on 28 January 2024 at the IFI.
We have a huge volume of interviews to make accessible from our field recording work and we look forward to making literally thousands of recordings available as a direct result of the Rights and Permissions work in Q4 2023.
Watch out for very exciting news about Christy Moore’s Archive in 2024…
The ACNI have funded cataloguing work on Cathal and Maura McConnell’s collections which contain exceptional and unique recordings made in the mid/late 20th century.
Ever conscious of the Irish tradition in North America, we are looking forward to Don Meade’s cassette collection of recordings made in New York. This material has been digitised and is being prepared for the next installment of the From the Bridge digital exhibition on our website in June 2024. This digitisation work on New York related materials is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Emigrant Abroad Scheme.
We are delighted and excited to have announced partnerships with Notre Dame and Boston College Universities in 2023, which will develop over the coming years. We will welcome interns from Notre Dame to Merrion Square again this summer. We will also host outstanding fiddle player and BC-graduate Andrew Caden to work in the Archive in 2024.
A milestone project in 2024 will see the publication of a book on Tommie Potts researched and written by Sean Potts. It draws from archival sources to help readers and listeners to get a better understanding of the nuances of one of the most iconic traditional musicians of the 20th century. We are delighted to have contributions from Aoife Ní Bhriain, who is preparing detailed musical transcriptions of previously unheard archival recordings of Tommie, and Aoife Nic Chormaic, who is editing the publication. A special Drawing from the Well concert celebrating Tommie Potts will see the launch of the book on 14 March 2024 at the National Concert Hall.
Challenges for 2024
The two biggest challenges ITMA face in 2024 are insufficient funding for our ambitions and insufficient cataloguing capacity.
As mentioned above, we will receive a standstill grant from the Arts Council for our activities in 2024. The exceptional private donations of over 200k from individuals in 2023 enabled a huge amount of additional work to be undertaken. We cannot be guaranteed that we will be as successful in accessing philanthropy on this scale in 2024, or in the years ahead. We will continue to try to expand our funding streams and to grow our earned income.
The second challenge is to develop new innovative ways of scaling up our cataloguing capacity without compromising on the professional standards. We will need to find engaging ways to harvest the knowledge in the community to scale up our metadata creation in an orderly system. Given that our digitisation capacity has now grown approximately 10-fold YOY, the volume of material we can digitise in 2024 will be huge. However, the rate at which ITMA staff can catalogue and make available newly digitised material is already out of sync. The new digitised files won’t be accessible to the public until this bottleneck is resolved.
The crux of the challenge in 2024 will be to grow our cataloguing capacity to the point that it can outpace our capacity to digitise material. If we can solve that, we will have a clear road-map to becoming the best digital archive of its type in the world by maximising the percentage of the archive that is available outside of the building 24/7.
Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and engagement throughout the year. Looking forward to serving the Irish traditional music, song and dance community’s archival needs in 2024 and beyond.
– Liam O’Connor
Over the course of six nights in December 2023, Andrea Palandri, Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Pádraic Keane and Síle Denvir brought exceptional music, song and dance to six different shows across the country.
ITMA would like to extend a huge thank you to these performers, who not only provided brilliant music but were a pleasure to deal with all along the way. We’d also like to thank all those who came out to show their support during a busy time of year and help make the tour a special one.
Each night of the tour we were lucky to be joined by an outstanding collection of special guest performers, which includes Seán McElwain, Dónal McCague, Michelle, Louise and Mick Mulcahy, Edwina Guckian, Emma Benson, Ava Glancy, Kyle Macaulay, Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine, Iarlaith Mac Gabhann and Conor Connolly.
Finally, we’d like to thank all of the venues and their staff for helping to support live Irish traditional music: Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin; The Westbridge, Miltown Malbay; St John’s Theatre & Arts Centre, Listowel; The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon; UCC and the UCC Trad Soc, Cork; and Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre, Bray.
Please enjoy two sets from the tour below. The first is from our first stop in Dublin, while the second is the final set of the tour on the last stop in Bray.
In 2023 ITMA received Capacity funding from the Heritage Council of Ireland for our project on Rights and Public Access to ITMA online collections.
The aim of the project was to seek permission from rights holders to make non-commercial recordings available to stream online. This work will allow us to increase access to archival material, while respecting donors, recordists, artists and copyright.
As we reach the end of the year, we are delighted to share that in total, contact has been made with over 400 rights holders. 320 of those contacted, have generously granted permission for their recordings to be made available to stream online.
In some cases, rights holders hold rights as a performer and a recordist
The majority of rights holders cleared were Irish (256). In addition, 49 American-based rights holders were cleared and 13 from the United Kingdom.
Of the 320 rights holders who granted permission, 64 of them will be registered under the ‘EUIPO Orphan Works’ database.
Orphan works refer to material for which is still in copyright, but where search work has not resulted in successfully tracking down a rights holder or their family. Throughout the project, we carefully recorded our various attempts to find contact information for these rights holders.
We wish to express our gratitude to each of the rights holders and their families for their generosity and co-operation with us on this project. We also wish to thank the Heritage Council for the invaluable output facilitated by this funding.
We look forward to sharing some of this material in the new year.
Casey, Valerie (singing in English & Irish, fiddle). In the silence of the twilight. [Valerie Casey], 2023. 1 CD + digital download
Conway, Zoë (fiddle), Dónal Lunny , Michelle Mulcahy (harp), Louise Mulcahy (uilleann pipes), Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Máirtín O’Connor (accordion), Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes). Terry Riley’s In C Irish. Louth Contemporary Music Society, 2023. Digital download
The Dublin Trio (instrumental group). The pride of Pimlico. [The Dublin Trio], 2023. Digital download
Garadice (instrumental group, singing in English). Sanctuary. Garadice Music GA 2023, 2023. 1 CD + digital download
James, Jake (fiddle) & Brenda Dowling (flute, singing in English). In reel time. [James & Dowling], 2023. 1 CD + digital download
McCarthy, Johnny (fiddle, flute, singing in English) & Eoin Ó Riabhaigh (uilleann pipes). Under the stairs. McCarthy & Ó Riabhaigh JMCCEORCD1, 2023. 1 CD
Na Cailligh (instrumental group, singing in English). Leonard Ford & Na Cailligh. [Na Cailligh], 2023 Digital download
Ní Bhrollaigh, Nodlaig (singing in Irish & English, harp). Cuimhní Rúnda. Hidden Memories. [Nodlaig Ní Bhrollaigh], 2023. Digital download
O’Dowd, Joe (fiddle). From Knocknaskeagh to Sligo. [Seamie O’Dowd], 2022. 1 CD
O’Kane, Damien (singing in English, banjo). Summer Hill. [Damien O’Kane], 2023. digital download
Réalta (instrumental group). Thing of the earth. Réalta Music, 2023. Digital download
Ryan, Fiona (singing in English). Dreaming my dreams. [Fiona Ryan] FR 001, 2023. 1 CD + digital download
Stewart, Rosie (singing in English). Rosy drops of dew. [Rosie Stewart], 2023. 1 CD reissue
Tulua (instrumental group, singing in English & Irish). No coming no going. Tulua Music, 2023. Digital download
Uisce Dearg (singing in English). Thrawll. [Uisce Dearg], 2023. Digital download
Accardi, Dan. “Turning paper into sound: the O’Keeffe manuscripts.” Fiddler magazine, 32, no. 3 (2023). 40–41.
Carolan, Nicholas. “Traditional music in county Louth” In Louth history and society: interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county, ed. William Nolan, 655–671. Dublin: Geography Publications, 2023. ISBN: 9780906602867 (pbk).
De Gallaí, Breandán. “Performed identity: a case study in Irish dance” In The Routledge companion to the anthropology of performance, ed. Lauren Miller and David Syring. New York: Routledge, 2023. Online book.
Dibble, Jeremy. Charles Villiers Stanford: man and musician. [S.l.]: Boydell and Brewer, 2024. 704 pp. ISBN 9781805432449.
Duffy, Philip. On the night: Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann – musicians and senior ceilí band winners. Sligo: Philip Duffy, 2023. xv+977 pp. ISBN 9781399957113 (hbk + 2 CDs).
Emoghene, Sinclair Ogaga, and Kathleen A. Spanos. Dancing in the world: revealing cultural confluences. London and New York: Routledge, 2024. ix + 139 pp. ISBN 9781032138114 (hbk).
Holt, Kathryn. “Dancing enriched whiteness: race and gender in commercial Irish dance performance from Riverdance to the Trump inaugural ball.” Irish Studies Review 31, no. 4 (2023). Online article.
Kelly, Mary C. Review of The Beat Cop: Chicago’s Chief O’Neill and the creation of Irish music, by Michael O’Malley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022). Journal of Social History (7 November 2023). Online article.
Mac Aoidh, Caoimhín. “The hidden note: a hare raising reel.” Fiddler magazine 32, no. 3 (2023). 28–29.
McIntyre, Noel. RíRá Mullingar, a Fleadh Cheoil chronicle. [S.l.]: [Noel McIntyre], 2023. 136 pp. ISBN 9781399965774 (hbk).
Mollenhauer, Jeanette. “Catholicism, cultural nationalism and traditional dance in the Irish and Croatian communities in Australia.” Culture and Religion (13 November 2023). Online article.
Morrissey, James. Real to Reel: Garech Browne & Claddagh Records. Dublin: Claddagh records, 2023. [220] pp. ISBN 9781911711001 (hbk + 1 LP).
Ní Shíocháin, Tríona. Review of The Forde collection: Irish traditional music from the William Forde manuscripts, edited by Nicholas Carolan and Caitlín Uí Éigeartaigh (Dublin: Irish Traditional Music Archive, 2021). Studia Hibernica 49 (2023): 187–191.
Purcell, Sandie. New songs from old stories: two piping pieces and fourteen airs in traditional styles. Dublin: Craft Recordings, 2023. viii + 67 pp. ISBN 9780955311222 (pbk + 1 CD).
Scahill, Adrian. “A tribute to a transformative artist.” [Review of Tommy Peoples Concert, National Concert Hall]. Journal of music (2 November 2023). Online article.
Sutcliffe, David. Cecil Sharp and the quest for folk song and dance: a new biography. London: The Ballad Partners, 2023. xiii+497 pp. ISBN 9781916142473 (pbk).
First minute book of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) Co. Sligo Executive Committee and the Ballymote CCÉ Branch, 1956–1966. Donated by Muireann Banks, granddaughter of original owner Alphie Banks (1924–2017).
Helen Brennan Collection. 18 VHS recordings & three 8mm films depicting traditional Irish dance recorded in various locations in Ireland, 1976–1992. Donated by Helen Brennan
1 CDR recording of an interview and recital with Eamon Flynn from the Patrick O’Keefe Music Festival, Castleisland, Co. Kerry, 2023. Donated by Aidan Connolly.
Tommie Cullen & Maurice O’Connell Collection of Irish Dance. Photographs, concert and festival programmes, posters, newspaper clippings and artefacts relating to Irish dance in Cork and London at the beginning of the 20th century. Donated by Patrick & Maurice O’Connell per Dr John Cullinane.
James Fraher Collection. 3 boxes containing DAT tapes, cassettes, MiniDV tapes, and CDs featuring Kevin Henry, Liz Carroll, Joanie Madden, and others. The collection also includes photographs, original poems, ephemera, newspaper clippings, promotional materials and correspondence, 1980s–2000s. Donated by James Fraher.
David Hammond Collection. 7 boxes of reel-to-reel tape recordings made by David Hammond primarily between 1980–1990. Musicians and singers featured on the recordings include Vincent Campbell, Sarah Makem, Joe Holmes, as well as recordings made in West Donegal. Donated by Catherine Gifford & Conor Hammond.
“The piper and the horseman” an etching of uilleann piper Liam O’Flynn by David Rooney, commissioned by Christy & Valerie Moore, 2023. Donated by Christy & Valerie Moore.
Ann O’Donnell Collection. 3 reel-to-reel tape recordings made by Sister Angela Ryan of the St Joseph’s Céilí Band, Convent of Mercy, Longford and off-air dubs of broadcasts on Radio Éireann, 1960–1968. Donated by Ann O’Donnell.
Pádraig O’Keeffe music manuscript page written in O’Keeffe’s tablature system, 18 January 1950. Donated by Denis & Con Curtin.
Mary O’Riordan Collection. Digital copies of Pádraig O’Keeffe & Tom Billy Murphy music manuscripts, 1950–1959. Loaned for copying by Colin Kadis, grandson of Mary O’Riordan.
ITMA would also like to acknowledge donations of materials (CDs, printed items, visual items, etc.), and other help and information from the following people and organisations: Jim Coen, Reg Hall, Nuala Kennedy, Terry Moylan, Páraic Ó Ceannabháin, Néillidh Ó Maolagáin, Steve Roud, Helena Rowsome and Vincent Woods.
Chaith foireann ITMA seachtain i gCorca Dhuibhne ag taifeadadh le ceoltóirí, rinceoirí agus amhránaithe ón ndúthaigh. Beimid ag súil le clár a chuireann an obair seo in iúl sa bhliain úr. Ár mbuíochas le Foras na Gaeilge as a gcuid tacaíochta, Dónal Glackin, agus Clíodhna & Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich a dhein na hagallaimh ar fad.
ITMA’s field recording team spent a week in Corca Dhuibhne recording local singers, musicians, and dancers. We look forward to a short documentary highlighting this important work which will be produced in the next year. Our thanks to Foras na Gaeilge for their support of this project, Dónal Glackin, and our interviewers/presenters Clíodhna and Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich.
ITMA was delighted to welcome Patrick and Maurice O’Connell to the Archive recently. Patrick travelled from London to donate his father’s collection of Irish dance related materials to the Irish Traditional Music Archive at Dr John Cullinane’s suggestion.
Maurice O’Connell (1921–2001), born in Cork, was taught Irish dancing along with his sister Maureen by their uncle Tommie Cullen (1909–1976). The material donated to ITMA includes a scrapbook compiled by Tommie Cullen in Cork as well as Irish dancing medals won by him. The O’Connell family moved to London in the late 1920s where Maurice started his own Irish dance school at the age of 17. Much of the material in this collection relates to the Irish dancing scene in London in the first half of the 20th century and includes photographs, concert and festival programmes, posters, newspaper clippings and artefacts.
Nell, Tommie Cullen and Maurice O'Connell, 1934
ITMA would like to thank the O’Connell family and Dr John Cullinane for this wonderful donation of Irish Dance materials to ITMA.
In February 2023, ITMA was awarded funding from The Heritage Council of Ireland for its project “Jigs and Audio Reels: Preserving Ireland’s Cultural Heritage through Audio Digitisation.”
This project supports Ireland’s intangible cultural heritage by obtaining a state-of-the-art reel-to-reel machine. This will allow the playback & digitisation of 1,000s of open reel recordings in ITMA.
Learn more about ITMA’s new machine.
On the 7th of September, ITMA was delighted to launch the Cullinane Archive Collection at a special event held in the Reading Room of No. 73 Merrion Square.
It was a wonderful coming together of dancers, organisations and individuals who wanted to acknowledge and applaud the trojan work that Dr John Cullinane has done in creating this important collection of Irish dance materials. Guests included An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) Chair Sandra Connick, Conradh na Gaeilge president, Paula Melvin and Phil Denmead from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
Speakers on the night included ITMA Director Liam O’Connor, CLRG Chair Sandra Connick and Dr John Cullinane himself. Liam acknowledged the role that Máire Mhic Aogáin, Gráinne Ní Chonchubhair, James McCutcheon and Francis Curley played in securing a home in ITMA for the Cullinane Archive Collection.
Those in attendance were treated to a master class from John. The dancers among the guests where taught a step called the “Lion’s Claw Jig”. This step was written down c. 1911 and appears in pages given to John Cullinane by J. O’Mahony, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork and which now form part of the Cullinane Archive Collection.
Lion's claw jig c. 1911 from the J. O'Mahony manuscript in the Cullinane Archive Collection
The Cullinane Archive Collection is an extensive multimedia collection of material relating to the history of Irish dance compiled by Dr John Cullinane over his lifetime. In July 2021 Dr Cullinane donated his collection to CLRG. In an agreement reached between ITMA and CLRG this unique collection has been placed on deposit in ITMA where it will be preserved, organised and made available on behalf of CLRG.
Arkins, Conor & Paul Clesham (fiddle, concertina). The morning thrush. 2023. 1 CD + digital download.
Fitzgerald, Brian (banjo). Turning hay with a crowbar. Brian Fitzgerald. 1 CD + digital download.
Gibson, Seamus, Ciaran Curran & Ciaran O’Kane (fiddle, cittern, guitar). The dropper bell. Seamus Gibson. 1 CD.
Gibson, Seamus & Dermot Toland (fiddle, guitar). Fly by night. Seamus Gibson. 1 CD.
Grosse Isle (instrumental music, singing in French). Le bonhomme sept heures = The Bonesetter. Cie du Nord, CIE 006, 2021. 1 CD + digital download.
Keane, Pádraic, Páraic Mac Donnchadha & Macdara Ó Faoláin (uilleann pipes, banjo, bouzouki). Beo. Keane, Mac Donnchadha & Ó Faoláin, 2023. 1 CD + digital download.
Moore, Christy (singing in English). Flying into mystery. Columbia / Sony Music, 2021. 1 CD
Ruth, Erin (singing in English). Erin Ruth. Erin Ruth, 2020 digital download.
Scanlin, Maura Shawn (instrumental music, singing in English). Maura Shawn Scanlin. Nine Athens Music, MSS01CD, 2023. 1 CD + digital download.
Sophie & Fiachra & André Marchand (instrumental music, singing in French). Portraits. SLFOR 003, 2018. 1 CD + digital download.
Various (singing in English, singing in Irish). A collection of songs in the traditional & sean-nós style. Nyahh Records, NYAHH101, 2023. 1 CD + digital download.
Denieffe, Mick. M Denieffe compositions: 32 tunes. 2023. Online book.
Fitzgerald, Seán. Ballad tours Dublin. [Dublin]: Ballad Tours Dublin, 2023. 23 pp. (pbk).
Gryson, Fiona. “A road to PhD research as an artist and reflective practitioner.” Harp perspectives (August 2023). Online article.
Houlihan, Con. “The history of the Cullen Pipe Band.” Dúchas: Iris Staire Dhúiche Ealla / The Duhallow Historical Journal I (2022): 23–37
Kader, Emily. “‘Rose Connolly’ revisited: reimagining the Irish in Southern Appalachia.” The journal of American folklore 127, no. 506 (2014): 425–447.
Kelly, Michael. The Irishtown piper: the life & musical world of Michael Carney (1872-1938) of Brooklyn. Mayo: Irishtown Heritage Group, 2023. (pbk).
Masten, April. “Music and meaning in early America: partners in time: dancers, musicians, and Negro jigs in early Irish America.” Commonplace: the journal of early American life 13, no. 2 (2013). Online article.
[Mulvihill, Brendan]. Martin Mulvihill collection of traditional Irish music: volumes one and two: original complete and unedited. Limerick: Inis Cathaigh Publishers, 2023. xxi + [24], 311, [48] pp. ISBN 9780988682122 (pbk).
Na Píobairí Uilleann. “Wilbert Garvin.” An píobaire 19, no. 3 (2023): 14–17.
Na Píobairí Uilleann. “The Schools Collection, part 2: County Cavan.” An píobaire 19, no. 3 (2023): 32–39.
O’Keeffe, Jamie. “Liam Walsh.” An píobaire 19, no. 3 (2023): 40–45.
Sumner, Natasha, and Aidan Doyle, eds. North American Gaels: speech, story and song in the diaspora. Montreal & Kingston, London and Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020. xiii,[ii] + 511 pp.
ISBN 9780228003793 (pbk).
Contents include:
Cullinane Archive Collection. Sixth transfer of an extensive multimedia collection relating to Irish dance. Deposit by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha per Dr John Cullinane.
Tomás Ó Canainn Collection. Further transfer of multimedia collection belonging to the uilleann piper Tomás Ó Canainn. Donated by the Ó Canainn Family.
ITMA would also like to acknowledge donations of materials (CDs, printed items, visual items, etc.), and other help and information from the following people and organisations: Conor Caldwell, Liz Carroll, Mick Denieffe, Seán Fitzgerald, Des Gallagher, Michael Kelly, Christy Moore, Terry Moylan, Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, Siobhán Peoples and Margaret Vetare.
On Friday, 22 September, ITMA welcomed Culture Night visitors for a night of live traditional music, song and dance in the library at 73 Merrion Square.
ITMA presented six separate concerts throughout the night, featuring a rotating group of special guests performing alongside ITMA staff members.
Dancer Caoimhe Ní Mhaolagáin, concertina and flute player Nicole Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine, singer Lisa Lambe, fiddle players Claire Sherry and Conor McEvoy, and accordion player Conor Connolly performed on the night along with ITMA staff members Seán Potts, Seán Ó Broin, Sophie Ryan, Kyle Macaulay, Iarlaith Mac Gabhann and Seán Hughes.
#CultureNightDublin is underway at ITMA! Ft. Caoimhe Ní Mhaolagáin, dance ; Seán Potts, uilleann pipes ; Seán Ó Broin, flute pic.twitter.com/1ehrjzLqnh
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
Concert 2 is a wrap, ft. Sophie Ryan, harp ; Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine, flute ; Kyle Macaulay, bouzouki pic.twitter.com/EGt0e4JqwF
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
@LambeLisa and Claire Sherry finish their set with Gartan mother’s lullaby. But the night is still young! Three more concerts to go. #CultureNightDublin pic.twitter.com/cHP4kNFHmd
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
Seán Potts and Seán Ó Broin are back on stage for concert #4, this time joined by special guest Conor McEvoy #CultureNightDublin pic.twitter.com/c8hqM0TRWU
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
The rookery ; Old Tipperary
Special guest Conor Connolly joins Iarlaith Mac Gabhann for our fifth #CultureNightDublin concert. pic.twitter.com/yTL1RtOxVt
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
Our sixth and final concert of the night is underway, featuring Conor Connolly, accordion ; Iarlaith Mac Gabhann, flute ; Seán Hughes, fiddle ; Kyle Macaulay, guitar pic.twitter.com/f5lkNbOXOC
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) September 22, 2023
ITMA was awarded €1 million in Shared Island Arts Investment funding Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin announced Tuesday, 26 September.
ITMA was one of five projects selected for funding, with a total allocation of €7.4 million from the government’s Shared Island Fund. The projects were brought forward by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and approved by Government in July 2022, subject to finalisation of each project proposal. The five projects will be delivered by Arts partners, North and South, to provide new facilities and opportunity for artistic exchange, curation, and audience engagement across the island.
The €1 million in funding going to ITMA will be used to develop a new residential studio space and enhance digitisation capacity to promote all-island Artist and Archivist collaborations.
ITMA will restore the OPW’s two-bedroom mews at the rear of the Archive on Merrion Square to establish an artist/archivist-in-residence site. Along with this, ITMA will use the funding to further develop digitisation capacity for all-island and international artist/archivist collaborations.
Said ITMA Director Liam O’Connor of Tuesday’s announcement:
This Shared Island funding will see the Irish Traditional Music Archive become an archival and creative hub for a diverse range of artists, archivists and community representatives. It will connect local communities with ITMA’s national collection while also benefiting a growing international online audience.
Building residence studio spaces will create new opportunities for artists and archivists from Northern Ireland and border counties to more easily engage with ITMA’s existing collections. It will enable better access to new state-of-the art digitisation resources, which can be shared with volunteers and community groups, and benefit smaller regional archives. By investing in ITMA’s digital infrastructure, the Government of Ireland are paving the way for new research into—and a better understanding of—our shared music, song and dance traditions. Enhancing ITMA’s digitisation and archiving capabilities will enable researchers and artists to bring cultural archival materials to ITMA for digitisation and return the files to their local communities. Artists will spend creative time with ITMA’s archival collections to create new works inspired by our shared cultural inheritance.
ITMA believes in celebrating the diversity of traditions within our shared traditional music culture and are excited about playing a special role in raising awareness of the centuries-old processes with melodies, songs and dances moving North, South, East and West bridging all social, political or physical barriers. ITMA aims to be a living archive serving a living tradition, and this funding heralds an important milestone in our development as custodians of the largest collection of its type in the world.
Said ITMA Board Chair Áine Hensey:
This announcement from the Shared Island Funds is great news indeed for ITMA and it will support our ambitious development plans for the organisation. The significant enhancement of our digitisation capacity will help to ensure that at-risk material can be safely preserved, catalogued and made available to the music community. The development of the mews as a self-contained studio space for artists, archivists and researchers will provide a much-needed facility in the capital.
This project would not be possible without the cooperation and support of many stakeholders. ITMA would like to especially thank and acknowledge The Department of An Taoiseach and The Shared Island Unit, The Arts Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Minister Catherine Martin and The Department TCAGSM and The Office of Public Works. Read the government’s full announcement here.
On 25 August, 2023, ITMA and the University of Notre Dame Dublin Global Gateway presented a concert of Irish traditional music, song and dance in Dublin’s historic Pepper Canister Church.
The occasion also marked the announcement of a new partnership between the University of Notre Dame and ITMA. Going forward, Notre Dame and ITMA will collaborate in areas of mutual interest; education, research, archival collections of Irish music, song and dance, contemporary analysis of the Irish tradition and reciprocal residencies to enable scholars/students/ artists to develop their studies/practice.
With a large number of Notre Dame alumni in town for the NCAA football match being played in Dublin on 26 August, the concert was an opportunity to showcase the Irish musical tradition to a mainly American audience.
The church was filled to capacity, and the audience of nearly 300 people was treated to performances from Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff of The Chieftains, dancer Edwina Guckian, fiddle player and ITMA Director Liam O’Connor, uilleann piper and ITMA Office Manager Seán Potts, Eimear Clowry Delaney and acclaimed actor Stephen Rea.
Our concert with @unddublin at the Pepper Canister church is underway.@EdwinaGuckian is getting the show started with Kevin Conneff on the bodhrán, Matt Molloy, flute, and ITMA Director Liam O’Connor, fiddle. pic.twitter.com/CdRvObQg4i
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) August 25, 2023
ITMA were pleased to host two events at this year’s Smithfield Fleadh by Dublin City Council.
The Smithfield Fleadh was a free, two-day outdoor summer event in Dublin city that celebrated Irish traditional music. From 26-27 August, the event showcased the diversity of traditional Irish music across generations from legacy to emerging artists, with a programme that included singing, dancing, discussions and workshops.
On day one of the Fleadh, singer and bodhrán player Kevin Conneff sat down with ITMA manager Seán Potts to reflect on a life in music, covering everything from his musical influences to his many years touring as a member of The Chieftains.
Kevin Conneff and Seán Potts
On day two, singer and actor Lisa Lambe reflected on her recent work in the traditional canon in conversation with ITMA Artist Liaison Officer Alan Woods.
Alan Woods, @LambeLisa and Claire Sherry in conversation and performance for ITMA at Puball na hÉigse as part of #SmithfieldFleadh @DubCityCouncil pic.twitter.com/S7ThKjbNRf
— ITMA (@ITMADublin) August 27, 2023
ITMA is delighted to announce the appointment of Sophie Ryan and Rónán Galvin as part of its Rights and Public Access Project. ITMA Digitisation and Digital Access Officer Brian Doyle has been seconded to work on the project.
In May 2023, ITMA was awarded Capacity Heritage funding from The Heritage Council of Ireland for its project on Rights and Public Access to ITMA online collections.
The first phase of this project, led by Rights Consultant Barry Lynn, focused on developing a process around the clearance of rights to ITMA audio collections in order to maximise online public access. Barry was the Rights Officer for the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage Project (UOSH) for National Museums Northern Ireland. He is passionate and meticulous about rights-clearance work and is knowledgeable about traditional music and its performers.
The second phase of the project, now underway, sees the employment for a period of four months of Sophie and Rónán as Rights and Public Access Officers. Sophie and Rónán have begun the work of clearing rights in ITMA collections for online dissemination. A rights database will be maintained in order to document and manage evidence of the due diligence process undertaken and to ensure any access restrictions are reflected accurately in collection metadata and in archival systems.
Originally from Laois, Sophie obtained her Bachelor of Music from University College Cork in 2023. A talented harpist, Sophie was president of the UCC Trad Society in 2022.
A fiddle player from Dublin with strong connections to Donegal through both his parents, Rónán was awarded an MLitt in Irish Folklore from UCD in 2010, where he also lectured in traditional music for four years
Clark, Patricia (fiddle, viola, piano). Restored. Patricia Clark, 2023. 1 CD.
Costello, Sorcha (fiddle). The primrose lass. Sorcha Costello, 2023. 1 CD.
Cotter, Geraldine (piano). Ré ógra. Raelach Records, 2023. 1 CD + 1 digital download.
Denvir, Síle (singing in Irish). Anamnesis. Síle Denvir, 2023. 1 CD.
Faulkner, John (singing in English, guitar, bouzouki). Storm in my heart. John Faulkner, 2022. 1 CD.
Greenshine (instrumental music). New moon on Friday. Tigerdog Records, 2023. 1 CD.
Hernon, P.J. (melodeon). Ar ais ar mo dhúchas. Back to my roots. Hernon, [2023]. 1 CD.
Kennedy, Nuala (singing in English, flute). Shorelines. Nuala Kennedy, 2023. 1 CD + 1 digital download.
Le Brun, Charlie and Ryan Molloy (singing in Breton, flute, piano). Breton: Celtic music from Brittany & Ireland. Charlie Le Brun, [2023]. 1 CD.
Linnane, Tony (fiddle). Ceol na fidle. Raelach Records, 2023. 1 CD.
McGuire, Manus (fiddle). The copperplate sessions. Manus McGuire, 2018. 1 CD.
Mulcahy, Michelle (harp). Lady on the island. Michelle Mulcahy, 2023. 1 CD.
Ó Meachair, Diarmuid (melodeon). Melodeon medleys. [Diarmuid Ó Meachair], 2023. 1 CD.
O’Regan, Fiachra (uilleann pipes). Na beanna beola. Fiachra O’Regan, 2023. 1 digital download
Rouse, Jason (uilleann pipes). Fieldish recordings. [Jason Rouse], 2021. 1 CD.
Scanlin, Maura Shawn (fiddle, singing in English). Maura Shawn Scanlin. Maura Shawn Scanlin, 2023. 1 CD + 1 digital download
Various (instrumental music). A family tradition: traditional Irish music from the Kelly family. The Kelly Family, 2023. 1 CD.
Various (instrumental music). Album 1854: songs and piano music by William Vincent Wallace. RTÉ lyric fm, 2012. 1 CD.
Various (uilleann pipes). Mná na píob uilleann. Vol. 1. NPU, 2023. 1 CD.
Various (instrumental music). Taobh na mara. Taobh na Mara Céilí Band, 2023. 1 CD.
Vaughan, Edel (singing in English, singing in Irish). Chapter 22. Edel Vaughan, 2023. 1 CD.
Accardi, Dan. “Irish fiddling: an ecstatic memorial: the fiddle music of the Raineys.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 2 (2023): 34–35.
Caldwell, Conor, Moyra Haslett, and Lillis Ó Laoire, eds. Oxford handbook of Irish song, 1100–1850. London: Oxford University Press, 2021. ISBN 9780190859701 (online) [new chapter added in July 2023]:
Connolly, Séamus, and Elizabeth Sweeney, ed. The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish music. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College, 2022. x+429 pp. (hbk).
Dorgan, Theo. Ériu and Amergin: a poet of the Tuatha Dé Danann and a poet of the Milesians. Dublin: Wave Train Press, 2022. 53 pp. ISBN 9781913108731 (pbk).
Duffy, Rachel. “Competing Ideologies: the Feis Ceoil and the promotion of Irish harping 1897–1917.” Harp perspectives (July 2023). Online article.
Fiddler magazine. Obituary of Seán Keane. Fiddler magazine 30, no. 2 (2023): 13.
Gaffney, Matty, and Martin Gaffney, ed. Life recorded. Killeshandra and Dublin: The Gaffney Family, 2009. 140 pp. ISBN 9780956218100 (pbk).
Kenny, Ailbhe, and Katie Young. “’The house of the Irish’: African migrant musicians and the creation of diasporic space at night.” Ethnomusicology forum 31, no. 3 (2022): 332–353.
Mac Aoidh, Caoimhín. “The hidden note: the miracle machine.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 2 (2023): 24–25.
Mac Peaircín, Liam. “Nioclás Breathnach: cín lae.” An linn bhuí: iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise 26 (2021): 125–73.
Ní Chéileachair, Máire & Eilís Ní Shúilleabháin, in eagar. Acadamh fódhla. Dáimh amhránaíochta: Saothar amhrán. Eagrán 2: 2021: ag ceiliuradh fiche bliain ar an bhfód. [S.l.]: Acadamh Fódhla, 2021. 101 pp. (hbk).
Ó Gríobhtháin, Nioclás. “An tAth. Seosamh Ó Breacáin sa Rinn, 1946–1952.”An linn bhuí: iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise 26 (2021): 83–5.
Ó Gríobhtháin, Nioclás. “An tórramh Meiriceánach deireanach sa Charraigín.” An linn bhuí: iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise 26 (2021): 266–69.
Ó Macháin, Pádraig. “Amhrán a chum Tomás Ó hIceadha ar thoghchán na nDéise 1826.” An linn bhuí: iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise 26 (2021): 232–50.
Ó Riada, Peadar. Ceol rinnce Gaelach nua: new Irish dance music. Leabhair 1 = Book 1. Cúil Aodha: Peadar Ó Riada, 2022. 157, [2] pp. (hbk).
Ó Riain, Liam “Rúnscríbhinn an Niallaigh.” An linn bhuí: iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise 26 (2021): 174–77.
Ó Seachnasaigh, Pól, ed. Amhráin Anna John Chiot = The songs of Anna John Chiot. [Dublin]: Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann, 2023. xxxii+266 pp. ISBN 9781526209672 (pbk).
Sanger, Keith. “Harping on the past.” Harp perspectives (July 2023). Online article.
Tickell, Kathryn. Folk tunes from the women. London: Faber Music, 2023. 124, [24] pp. ISBN 9780571542871 (pbk).
Turley, Pádraig, Terry Moylan [and] Laurel Grube. The complete poems of John De Jean Frazer: the workman poet from Birr. Tullamore: Esker Press, 2022. (pbk).
Ungar, Jan. “Waltzes and airs: give me your hand.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 2 (2023): 29–31.
Six metal sheets used for printing sheet music by Waltons Musical Galleries. Discovered in the house where Joseph M. Crofts once lived, 1950s. Donated by Douglas Carson
Margaret Lunn née Cunningham (1903–1994) music manuscript, Caherconlish, Co. Limerick, 1920s. Donated by Valerie Walsh Lunn
ITMA would also like to acknowledge donations of materials (CDs, printed items, visual items, etc.), and other help and information from the following people and organisations: John Faulkner, Martin Gaffney, Theo Dorgan, Aoife Kelly, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Diarmuid Ó Meachair, Peadar Ó Riada and Fr John Quinn.
ITMA would like to thank Jack Kavanagh and Niamh Galligan for the work done during their summer internship in the archive.
Over the course of their internships, Jack and Niamh worked closely on three collections: Bailiúchán Phádrigín Ní Uallacháin, the Len Graham Collection, and the ITMA Ephemera Collection.
Jack and Niamh were responsible for creating detailed lists, re-packaging items and cataloguing the collections with new archival location information.
Interns Jack Kavanagh and Niamh Galligan hard at work!
ITMA was delighted to take delivery of Bailiúchán Phádrigín Ní Uallacháin in December 2022. The collection contains manuscripts, ephemera (posters, flyers, programmes etc.), printed material, photographs, sound recordings, including reel-to-reel tapes and correspondence. The materials relate to Pádraigín’s life and work as a professional singer, researcher, song writer, author and composer.
The Len Graham Collection includes photographs, ephemera (posters, programmes, flyers, etc), printed material (periodicals) relating to band Skylark, John Campbell and Cathal McConnell.
It was another busy year for ITMA at Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy 2023 in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
Throughout the week, ITMA’s staff was busy conducting field recordings for the archive.
ITMA had one team stationed at the hall in the Miltown Malbay Community Centre, where they recorded recitals, lectures, and concerts taking place throughout the week. At the same time, another team was based out of Queally’s pub, recording interviews with a variety of artists in the traditional music, song, and dance community.
Over the course of the week, ITMA recorded five lectures, five recitals, nine concerts and interviewed 21 artists.
ITMA would like to thank everyone at Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy and Arts Council Ireland
ITMA is delighted to announce the appointment of Iarlaith Mac Gabhann to the new role of Audio Digitisation Assistant at ITMA.
Originally from Churchtown, Co.Dublin, Iarlaith Mac Gabhann is a flute player, having recorded on albums such as “Dén Díobháil” with the band Nuadán. Iarlaith also regularly teaches at festivals both in Ireland and abroad. He has also toured extensively, including most recently a tour of Central Europe with Accordion player Conor Connolly. Iarlaith was awarded the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown “Emerging Musician in Residence” award in 2021.
In 2019 Iarlaith obtained his BSc in Genetics from University College Dublin before moving to Cork where he completed his MSc in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. Iarlaith has experience within a variety of scientific team settings, including research institutes and biotech companies.
In his new role as Audio Digitisation Assistant , Iarlaith will look to utilise both his in-depth knowledge of Irish traditional music, and his scientific & technological training to help ITMA grow its audio digitisation capacity.
Said Iarlaith:
“Tá sé mar pribhléid agam a bheith i mo bhall forne anseo sa taisce. Táim ag súil go mór le cur leis an sár-obair atá ar bun lenár gceol, ár amhránaíocht agus ár rincí dúchasacha a chaomhnú agus a chur ar fáil don phobal.”
A new film exploring local singers and songs from the Inishowen region of North Donegal, utilising materials from ITMA’s collections, will premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh on 15 July, 2023.
It’s a Fine Thing to Sing is the debut feature documentary from director Bob Gallagher. The film explores 40 years of local singers and songs from Inishowen, and features new performances from artists Ian Lynch (Lankum), Ye Vagabonds and The Henry Girls, who were invited to create their own interpretations of songs from the Inishowen Song Project, a collaborative project between the Inishowen Traditional Singers’ Circle (ITSC) and the Irish Traditional Music Archive published in 2013. The film also utilises atmospheric archival recordings and interviews with key community figures to demonstrate how songs pass from singer to singer, while also asking the question of why we sing.
ITMA would like to congratulate Bob Gallagher, Grace Toland, Brian Doyle, and all involved in the film, which is a great example of utilising archived sources to capture the living tradition.
The film will play in the Galway Film Fleadh on Saturday 15th July, 15:30 at Pálás Screen 1.
It’s a Fine Thing to Sing Trailer from Bob Gallagher on Vimeo.
On 11 June, the National Concert Hall (NCH), together with the Arts Council of Ireland and ITMA, presented Reflecting Migrations – a special one-off concert as part of NCH’s annual Tradition Now Series.
Reflecting Migrations was a celebration of the living tradition and the migration of music, people and traditions. The concert featured performances by Nava, Moxie, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, John Blake & Brían MacGloinn & Jesse Smith, Steve Cooney, Thomas McCarthy, Paul Dooley & Kseniya Rusnak, Esosa Ighodaro , Jackie, Bernadette, Marianne and Tommy McCarthy, Eimear McGeown & Libby McCrohan, Órlaith McAuliffe, and Cuthbert Tura Arutura.
Áine Hensey, a Board member in ITMA since 2018, has worked in broadcasting since 1979, beginning with RTÉ Radio 2 (now 2FM). She spent a period in Radio 1 and Clare FM before joining Raidió na Gaeltachta in 1995.
Áine has been a broadcaster since 1979. She began her career with RTÉ Radio 2 (now 2FM), and worked with Radio 1 and Clare FM before joining Raidió na Gaeltachta in 1995. Best known as a presenter and producer of traditional Irish music programmes (Heather Breeze, Sunday Folk, the Mist-Covered Mountain, Mind the Dresser, Béal Maidine, An Ghaoth Aniar, the Late Session, Binneas Béil, An Ghealach Ghorm and more) she has also been involved in the production of current affairs, sport, and history shows at both local and national levels. Most recently, she produced the flagship Raidió na Gaeltachta series of debates on the legacy of 1916. She is a regular contributor to programmes on TG4 and has acted as a script consultant on Geantraí, Gradaim Ceoil TG4 and other productions. She was a member of the selection panel for the Gradam Ceoil awards.
Áine has many years of experience in the field of arts administration and public relations, having worked with the renowned youth festival, Slógadh, from the late 1970s. She has been musical director of Éigse Mrs Crotty in Kilrush, project animator with Oidhreacht an Chláir, and, since 2014, co-director of Consairtín, the national concertina convention. She has previously served as cathaoirleach of Gael-Linn and is currently a member of the steering group of Music Generation Clare. She was awarded a PhD in early modern history from Maynooth University in 2012.
Commenting on her new role, she said: “I am deeply honoured to be taking up the position of chairperson of the Irish Traditional Music Archive. ITMA plays a hugely important role in serving the traditional arts community in Ireland and around the world. Access to the important collections and materials housed in ITMA is intrinsic to the health of a living tradition and I am hugely excited by the significant developments taking place in terms of increased in-house digitisation, accessibility through a new website and engagement with the broader arts community. ITMA is no longer the preserve of those fortunate enough to be present in Merrion Square, the Archive is being taken to the world digitally,which helps underpin the transmission of the tradition.
“I’d like to thank outgoing chair Brian Montague who has overseen a period of rapid change within ITMA, particularly in terms of internal structures and processes along with the implementation of ITMA’s ambitious 2019-2023 five-year strategy.
“I’d also like to thank the Arts Council for its unstinting support for ITMA and its activities since 1987 and to our other funders and supporters, the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Heritage Council, the OPW, Foras na Gaeilge and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Also to our partners in TG4, RTÉ and the National Concert Hall.”
Outgoing chairperson Brian Montague said: “It was a particular privilege for me personally to have served ITMA both as a Board member since 2014 and as Chair since 2018 and to see the positive developments in the organisation as a critical resource for the community of Irish music, song and dance.
“The appointment of Director Liam O’Connor in 2019 was, I believe, a significant milestone for ITMA. His vision for the future of the Archive, the process of transferring the physical to digital, the democratisation of access to the rich materials we hold, the development of ITMA’s artistic programming and the planned restructuring of ITMA’s home as a fit-for-purpose public-facing resource for the traditional arts are enormously encouraging.
“I was delighted to play a part in supporting this process and I wish Áine the very best in her new role. I would also like to thank the Board members who served alongside me during my tenure and the ITMA staff who continue to realise the organisation’s strategic goals. And a particular thanks to the musicians and collectors who contribute so much to the collective health of our great tradition.”
Said ITMA Director Liam O’Connor: “On behalf of ITMA staff and the community we serve, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Brian Montague who gave so generously of his time, organisational expertise, and leadership skills during his tenure as Chair. By any barometer, Brian led the Board and organisation through a period of very significant growth, success and development. Brian is a passionate traditional musician whose business and governance acumen and experience contributed greatly to the shaping and successful delivery of ITMA’s Strategy 2019-23. Brian will forever occupy a very important place in the history of the Archive.
“Bá mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl do Áine Hensey a thofadh mar Chathaoirleach nua TCDÉ. Is duine fíor-cumasach í le réimse leathain taithí ar ghnéithe éagsúla de na healaíon traidisiúnta. Áine is widely recognised and respected as a highly skilled leader and advocate for the traditional arts community. I look forward to working closely with her to ensure that the organisation goes from strength to strength in the coming years.”
On 8 June 2023, ITMA partnered with TU Dublin Conservatoire for the Irish-American Music Cultures Symposium.
The symposium explored the rich history of musical exchanges between Ireland and the USA. ITMA Director Liam O’Connor presented an overview of the Archive’s Irish-American holdings, including a selection of his favourite recordings.
The keynote address, delivered by Don Meade and Dan Neely, celebrated Irish music in America and the legacy of the late Mick Moloney.
ITMA would like to thank Lucie Laigle for her contributions to the archive during her internship, which ended this month.
Lucie, a terrific hurdy gurdy player from France, spent much of her time in the Archive helping with the operations of the ITMA shop. Along with this, Lucie was trained in the use of ITMA’s new state-of-the-art specialised large format archival scanning system. She worked on the scanning of music and song manuscript materials from the Nellie Walsh Collection; a collection of manuscripts, sheet music, books and correspondence of the Wexford singer and song columnist of Ireland’s Own, which was bequeathed to ITMA by Nellie Walsh in 1998.
To celebrate Lucie’s internship, we held a session in the ITMA library to send her off. Here’s a tune Lucie shared with us on her hurdy gurdy.
ITMA is extremely grateful to the Heritage Council who provided funding for the purchase of the new scanning system in 2022 as part of the Community Heritage Fund.
ITMA archivist Maeve Gebruers and ITMA Digital Archivist Adam Girard were delighted to attend the Digital Preservation Collation’s (DPC) Annual Members Unconference and Networking Event recently in London. The two day conference took place in JISC’s central London office on Fetter Lane and was the first face-to-face meeting of DPC members since before the pandemic. ITMA staff met and networked with other members of the Coalition, exchange ideas and updates on ITMA’s digital preservation work and contributed to shaping the DPC’s own activities for the coming year.
ITMA is delighted to announce the awarding of Capacity Heritage funding from The Heritage Council of Ireland for its project on Rights and Public Access to ITMA online collections.
In January 2023 ITMA applied to the Heritage Council of Ireland for funding under their Capacity Heritage Grant Scheme. “This scheme aims to build the capacity of non-governmental organisations working in the heritage sector in Ireland by providing funding towards their core costs:
The first phase of the project will focus on developing a process around the clearance of rights to ITMA audio collections in order to maximise online public access. It is hoped that by the end of the project ITMA will have developed a centralised resource for rights and public access for use into the future.
ITMA is delighted to have engaged Barry Lynn (pictured above) to work on the first phase of this project. Barry was the Rights Officer for the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage Project (UOSH) for National Museums Northern Ireland. He is passionate and meticulous about rights-clearance work and is knowledgeable about traditional music and its performers.
The second phase of the project will see the employment for a period of four months of two Rights and Public Access Officers. These officers will begin the work of clearing rights in ITMA collections for online dissemination. A rights database will be maintained in order to document and manage evidence of the due diligence process undertaken and to ensure any access restrictions are reflected accurately in collection metadata and in archival systems.
This year Heritage week will run from the 12 August – 20 August 2023. We look forward to working on this project in the coming weeks and months.
For more information on this, and other projects at ITMA, please stay in touch by signing up to our monthly newsletter.
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Abarta, Joey (uilleann pipes), King of the blind. Joey Abarta and Nathan Gourley, 2023. 1 CD.
Connolly, Adrian (fiddle, accordion, piano, flute, guitar, composer), Adrian Connolly. Adrian Connolly, 2022. 1 CD + digital download.
Jimmy & Scots Folkband (composer, instrumental group), Seven Irish nights. Maxy Sound, 2023. 1 CD.
The London Lasses (instrumental group), LL25. 2023. 1 CD + digital download.
Lyons, Liam (flute, singing in English, instrumental group, composer). Paddy in the van. 2022. 1 CD.
McElroy, Kevin (singing in English, instrumental music), Better late than never. Kevin McElroy, 1994. Re-release. Digital download
Ní Bheaglaíoch, Sesoaimhín (singing in Irish, singing in English), Charlie Piggott (accordion), Gerry Harrington (fiddle), Peter Browne (pipes), The lark on the strand. 2022. 1 CD + digital download.
Ó Súilleabháin, Diarmuid (singing in Irish), Diarmuidín. Éigse Dhiarmuid Uí Shúilleabháin, 2022. 1 CD.
Various (instrumental group), Tigh Choilm: Ceol na gCualáin. Cló Iar-Chonnacht, CICD210, 2023. 1 CD.
Accardi, Dan. “Irish fiddling: “this thing can’t be written”: the music of Neilidh Boyle.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 1 (2023): 39–41.
Anick, Peter. “Kevin Burke: the tar road from Sligo: traditional Irish music’s journey from farmhouse to concert hall.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 1 (2023): 13–16.
Bushe, Paddy. “Two poems in honour of Sean Garvey.” Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 117– 119.
Dowling, Martin. “A traditional fiddler in the modern world: exploring the music of Paddy Canny.” Review of No better boy: listening to Paddy Canny, by Helen O’Shea (Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2023). Journal of music,
11 May 2023. Online article.
The Economist. “Irish folk music is enjoying a revival.” The Economist, 3rd April 2023. Online article.
Falzett, Tiber. Review of Colm Ó Caodháin: an Irish singer and his world, by Ríonach uí Ógáin (Cork: Cork University Press, 2021). Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 122–130.
Goan, Cathal. “Róisín Dubh: the circulation of a song.” Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 1– 26.
Granville, Aoife. Review of The Forde Collection: Irish traditional music from William Forde manuscripts, edited by Nicholas Carolan and Caitlín Uí Éigeartaigh (Dublin: Irish Traditional Music Archive, 2021). Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 130–132.
Groce, Nancy, and Stephen Winick. “Mick Moloney (1944–2022).” Journal of American folklore 136, no. 540 (2023): Online article.
Harkin, Treasa. “Saothar: new compositions for the tradition.” Irish Traditional Music Archive. Posted 30 April 2023. Online article.
Irish Traditional Music Archive.
“Seán Keane 1946–2023.” Irish Traditional Music Archive.
Posted 8 May 2023. Online article.
Mac Aoidh, Caoimhín. “The hidden note: the business of banshees.” Fiddler magazine 30, no. 1 (2023): 33–35.
Mangaoang, Áine. “(Be)longing: Irish musicking and place-making in Oslo, Norway” In Sonic Signatures: music, migration and the city at night ed. Derek Pardue, Ailbhe Kenny, and Katie Young. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023. ISBN 9781789386974 (ebook).
Maye, Brian. “Taking note – Brian Maye on pioneering traditional music scholar Donal O’Sullivan.” Irish Times, 8 April 2023. Online article.
McNamara, John ‘Twin’. Oileán m’aislingí = Island of my dreams: a unique collection of 18 songs across two CDs reflecting Achill’s rich cultural heritage. [Co. Mayo]: [s.n.], 2023. 71 pp. (pbk + 2 CDs).
Mullen, Maurice. Review of Staged folklore: the National Folk Theatre of Ireland 1968–1999, edited by Susan Motherway and John O’Connell (Cork: Cork University Press, 2022). Ethnomusicology forum. (13 April 2023). Online article.
Mullen, Maurice. “Return to Fingal: the heritage and practice of Irish traditional music in North County Dublin.” MA thesis, Dundalk Institute of Technology, 2022. Online thesis.
Ní Fhuartháin, Méabh . Review of The beat cop: Chicago’s Chief O’Neill and the creation of Irish music, by Michael O’Malley (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2022). Estudios Irlandeses 18 (2023): 293-297.
Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí. Review of Collecting music in the Aran Islands: a century of history and practice, by Deirdre Ní Chonghaile (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 2021). Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 136–139.
O’Donnell, Mary Louise.
“The collector as coloniser?” Review of The beat cop: Chicago’s Chief O’Neill and the creation of Irish music, by Michael O’Malley (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2022). Journal of music, 6 December 2022. Online article.
O’Keeffe, Máire. Review of
The new demesne: field recordings made by Alan Lomax in Ireland, 1951,
notes by Nicholas Carolan. (Dublin: Irish Traditional Music Archive, 2021). Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 141–143.
O’Shea, Helen. No better boy: listening to Paddy Canny. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2023. xi + 180 pp. ISBN 9781843518655 (pbk).
Sheehan, Jack. “The sounds of Internment: an LP of recordings smuggled out of Long Kesh turns fifty.” The Baffler, 16 August 2022. Online article.
uí Ógáin, Ríonach. Obituary of Seán Garvey. Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 115–117.
uí Ógáin, Ríonach. Review of Port na bpucaí/The lament of the pooka. (An Daingean, Co. Chiarraí: Poncpress,
2021). Béaloideas: the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society.
90 (2022): 147.
Video recording of the Gradam Ceoil TG4 2023. Donated by TG4
Two non-commercial 78 rpm discs featuring Peter Keegan, uilleann pipes and Denis Keegan, accordion, c. 1940s. Donated by Donncha Keegan
ITMA would also like to acknowledge donations of materials (CDs, printed items, visual items, etc.), and other help and information from the following people and organisations: Joey Abarta, John ‘Twin’ McNamara, Morrigan Books, Maurice Mullen, Mick O’Connor, Helen O’Shea, Fr John Quinn, Jackie O’Riley and Erin Ruth Thompson.
Over the last number of months ITMA has been working with Dr John Cullinane and An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) to secure a home for the Cullinane Archive Collection (CAC). In July 2021 Dr John Cullinane donated his collection to CLRG. In an agreement reached between ITMA and CLRG this unique collection of Irish dance related materials is now being placed on deposit in ITMA where it will be preserved, organised and made available on behalf of CLRG.
The CAC will be a wonderful addition to ITMA’s collections and an invaluable resource for local, national and international Irish traditional dance communities. I have very much enjoyed working with John on the logistics of the safe transfer of materials to ITMA and look forward to continued support from both John and CLRG in the processing of this unique collection.
Maeve Gebruers, ITMA Archivist
CAC is an extensive multimedia collection of material relating to the history of Irish dance compiled by Dr John Cullinane over his lifetime. The collection includes: published books and periodicals, academic theses, non-commercial sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, historical documents, newspaper clippings, ephemera (event programmes, posters, flyers etc.) and artefacts (including costume items, medals, etc.). The collection is currently located in Cork city.
A champion dancer, John has devoted his life to collecting and documenting Irish dancing initially in Ireland but subsequently throughout the world. On his own initiative and with boundless energy, he interviewed dance teachers and pupils all over the globe in the days before the mass popularity of Irish dancing due to Riverdance. John shared his knowledge and meticulous research on Irish dancing published through many scholarly articles and books. He is rightly regarded as a leading authority in this area and the dancing community is privileged to have his encyclopaedic knowledge of diverse facets of Irish dancing.
As Director of ITMA, I am honoured and delighted that Dr Cullinane and CLRG have entrusted this collection, which is of national and international importance, to our care. By processing this archival collection in line with international best standards, this wonderful material will be made accessible to the public free of charge. I am very excited to see what scholars, researchers, dancers, musicians and historians produce from engaging with John’s archive in the future. It is truly John’s gift to the public. ITMA in partnership with CLRG will ensure that his life’s work will be accessible to present and future generations. Míle buíochas a Sheáin. Táimid fíor-bhuíoch duit agus táimid fíor-bhuíoch do Bhord CLRG.
Liam O’Connor, September 2021
The first transfer of materials from the CAC took place earlier this month and ITMA looks forward to receiving more transfers in the coming months.
Carolan, Nicholas, ‘Robert Emmet and Songs of Rebellion’. The Sir John T. Gilbert Commemorative Lecture 2003. Dublin City Public Libraries & Irish Traditional Music Archive, Dublin, 2004. 24 pp. ISBN 0 946841 69 1. With CD
Clár Ceoil: Catalóg den Cheol atá Foilsithe ag an Gúm. An Gúm, Dublin, 2004. 52 pp.
Gedutis, Susan, See You at the Hall: Boston’s Golden Era of Irish Music and Dance. Northeastern University Press, Boston, 2004. xix+252 pp. ISBN 1 55553 610 7
Góilín as Leitir Fhinín le Pádraig Ó Maolruaidh, Marcas Ó Flanagáin & Pádraig (Pake) Ó Flanagáin. Dreolín Community Arts, Achadh Mór, Co Mayo, 2004. 48 pp. With CD
Hast, Dorothea E., & Stanley Scott, Music in Ireland: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 2004. xix+153 pp. ISBN 0 19 514555 0. With CD
Hegarty, Neil, Waking Up in Dublin: A Musical Tour of the Celtic Capital. Sanctuary Publishing, London, 2004. 259 pp. ISBN 1 86074 591 1
Lange, Moritz Wulf, Handbuch für Bodhránspieler. Schell Music, Hamburg, 2004. 40 pp. ISMN 700114 28 2. With CD
Larsen, Grey, The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox. Mel Bay, Pacific, MO., 2004 192 pp. ISBN 0 7866 6891 1. With CD
Ní Mhearraí, Eilís, ed., Rince Céilí: Céilí Dancing 2004. Cairde Rince Céilí na hÉireann, Dublin, 2004. 110 pp. ISBN 0 9531960 1 X
Spreadbury, Claire, ed., Irish Dancing Directory 2004. Franx Publishing, Bristol, 2004. 200 pp. ISSN 01742 3554. With CD
Stokes, Niall, ed., Hot Press Yearbook 2004. Hot Press, Dublin, 2004. 240 pp. ISBN 0 9545516 4 8
Vallely, Fintan, ‘From Fifth Column to Pillar of Society – Observations on the Political Implications of Popular Revival and Education in Irish Traditional Music in Modern Ireland’. Ó Riada Memorial Lecture 14. UCC Traditional Music Society, Cork, 2004. 40 pp.
Williams, Sean, ‘Melodic Ornamentation in the Connemara Sean-nós Singing of Joe Heaney’, New Hibernia Review vol. 8, no 1, (2004) pp. 122-45. St Paul MN. ISSN 1092 3977
Hurley, Olive, dancing & instrumental, Irish Dancing Step by Step vol. 1, Hurley DVD 001; vol. 2, Hurley DVD 002. Reissue of videos
Planxty, vocal & instrumental group, Planxty Live 2004, Columbia Sony Music 202534 9 ( DVD, video)
Various, vocal & instrumental, Gael Force, Union Square Pictures USPDVD007 (DVD). Reissue of video
Various, dancing & instrumental, Beirt Eile. Físeán Rincí Beirte/ A Video of Two-Hand Dances, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann n.n.
Various, dancing & instrumental, Rince Céilí: Céilí Dancing 2004, Cairde Rince Céilí na hÉireann n.n. (video)
Arcanadh, vocal & instrumental group, Soundings, Wren WRCD401, 2004
Black Family, The, singing in English, Our Time Together, Dara Records TORCD163, 2004
Border Collies, The, instrumental & vocal group, Unleashed!, Border Collies BC001, 2004
Geraldine MacGowan Band, instrumental & vocal group, Somewhere Along the Road, Geraldine MacGowan Band GER 014, 2004
Grasso, Eliot, uilleann pipes, Standing Room Only, Grasso n.n., n.d. [2004]
Heather Breeze Ceili Band, instrumental group, Music in the Glen, Heather Breeze HBCD02, n.d. [2004]
Hill, Noel, concertina, & Tony MacMahon, accordion, I gCnoc na Graí, Gael Linn CEFCD114, 2004. Reissue of LP
Iontach, instrumental group, The Half-Gate, Iontach IONCD176, 2004
Kane Sisters, The, fiddles, Under the Diamond, Dawross Music DM002, 2004
Keegan, Kevin, accordion, The Music of Kevin Keegan, Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD156, 2004
Kelly, James, fiddle, Melodic Journeys, Kelly JKM0147, 2004
Macalla, instrumental & vocal group, Mná na hÉireann, Gael Linn CEFCD110, 2004. Reissue of LP
Mac Farland, Jim, singing in English, A Taste of Tradition: Mountain Streams, Jo-Sem Recordings JSCD01, 2004
McGrath, John, accordion, John McGrath’s Ceili Accordion, Chart CHCD094, n.d. [2004]
McKeown, Susan, singing in English & Irish, Sweet Liberty, World Village 468029, 2004
MacMahon, Tony, accordion, Tony MacMahon, Gael Linn CEFCD033, 2004. Reissue of LP
McPartlan, Mary, singing in English, The Holland Handkerchief, Mac P Productions MCPRCD001, 2004
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, instrumental, Mise Éire, Gael Linn CEFCD080, 2004. Reissue of LP of film music of Seán Ó Riada
O’Connor, Gerry (Louth), fiddle, Journeyman, Lughnasa Music LUGCD962, 2004
O’Connor, Gerry (Tipperary), banjo, fiddle, No Place like Home, O’Connor/ Myriad Media MMCD002, 2004
Ó Catháin, Darach, singing in Irish, Darach Ó Catháin, Gael Linn CEF CD 040, 2004. Reissue of LP
Ó Scanláin, Muiris (Mossie), singing in English and Irish, Teanam Ort!, Ó Scanláin DCMS0103, n.d. [2004]
Rig the Jig, instrumental & vocal group, Passing Through, Toucan Cove Entertainment/ Madacy MLG 2 50668, n.d. [2004]
Seán Ó Riada, Seán Ó Sé & Ceoltóirí Cualann, instrumental & vocal group, Ó Riada sa Gaiety, Gael Linn CEF CD027, 2004. Reissue of LP
Skara Brae, singing in Irish, Skara Brae, Gael Linn CEFCD031, 2004. Reissue of LP
Stocktons Wing, instrumental & vocal group, Very Best of Irish Jigs, Reels & Song, Tara BCD502, 2004. (3 CDs)
Ua Duinnín, Mícheál, singing in Irish, An Duinníneach: Amhráin Sean-Nóis, Comhchoiste Ghaeltacht Uibh Rathaigh n.n., 2004
Various, instrumental, Foinn Seisiún 1, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann CL61, 2004. (2 CDs, accompanying book published 2001)
Various, instrumental & vocal, Drops of Spring Water, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann CL 62, 2004
Various, instrumental & vocal, Live from the Katherine Cornell Theater, KCT Concerts KCT1, 2004. (2 CDs)
Various, vocal, The Hardy Sons of Dan: Football, Hunting and Other Traditional Songs from around Lough Erne’s Shore. Musical Traditions MTCD329-0, 2004. (2 CDs with booklet)
Various, The World Pipe Band Championships Qualifying Heat 2004, Monarch Recordings CDMON858, 2004
Various, The World Pipe Band Championships 2004 volume 1, Monarch Recordings CDMON859, 2004
Various, The World Pipe Band Championships 2004 volume 2, Monarch Recordings CDMON860, 2004
Walsh, Garry, flute, low whistle, whistle, Uncovered, Ossian OSSCD134, n.d. [2004]
West Ocean String Quartet, instrumental group, Unwrapping Dreams, Wren WRCD402, 2004
Brennan, Helen, The Story of Irish Dance. Brandon, Dingle, 2004. 188 pp. ISBN 0 86322 328 1. Pb. [paperback] reissue of 1999 hb. [hardback]
Farrell, Hazel, ‘Minimalism in Irish Contemporary Composition: Eric Sweeney’s String Quartet (1996)’, in Barra Boydell, ed., Proceedings of the 1st Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland NUI Maynooth, 2-3 May 2003, Society for Musicology in Ireland, Maynooth, 2003. pp. 143-50
Friel, Mary, Dancing as a Social Pastime in the South-East of Ireland, 1800-1897 (Maynooth Studies in Local History no 54). Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2004. Pb. 58 pp. ISBN 1 85182 815 X
Harper, Colin, & Trevor Hodgett, Irish Folk, Trad & Blues: A Secret History. Collins Press, Cork, 2004. Hb. x+422 pp. ISBN 1 903464 45 5
Ní Mhunghaile, Lesa, ‘An Lucht Cinsil in Éirinn san Ochtú hAois Déag: Joseph Cooper Walker mar Bhall Lárnach den Chiorcal Liteartha’, in Ruairí Ó hUiginn & Liam Mac Cóil, eds, Bliainiris 2003. Carbad, Ráth Cairn, 2003. pp. 154-74
Ó Canainn, Tomás, Seán Ó Riada: His Life and Work. Collins Press, Cork, 2004. 214 pp. ISBN 1903464404. First pb. reprint
Towards a Policy for the Traditional Arts/ I dTreo Bheartas um na hEalaíona Traidisiúnta. The Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Dublin/ Baile Átha Cliath, 2004. Pb. 76 pp. ISBN 1 904291 09 0
Vallely, Fintan, ‘Scenting the Paper Rose: The Ulster-Scots Quest for Music as Identity’, in Barra Boydell, ed., Proceedings of the 1st Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland [as at Farrell above], pp. 131-36
Vallely, Fintan, ed., The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. Cork University Press, Cork, 2004. xviii+478 pp. ISBN 1 85918 148 1. Pb. reissue of 1999 hb.
Benedict Koehler, Cillian Ó Briain, Andreas Rogge, Geoff Wooff, The Heart of the Instrument: Reedmaking Masterclass, Na Píobairí Uilleann NPUDVD004 (2 DVDs)
Various, instrumental & vocal, Ragús, Celtic Music DVD6805, n.d. [2004]. Reissue of video
Various, instrumental & vocal, Rhythm of the Dance, Celtic Music 6803, n.d. [2004]. Reissue of video
Anúna, vocal group, Deep Dead Blue, Danú 020, 2004. Reissue of CD with new catalogue no
Armstrong, Siobhán, harp, Cláirseach na hÉireann: The Harp of Ireland, Maya Recordings MCD0401, 2004
Barnes, Philippe, flute, whistle, An Feochán, LongMan Records 031CD, n.d. [2004]
Beoga, instrumental group, A Lovely Madness, Beoga n.n., 2004
Bridies, The, fiddles, singing in English, 4 and 9, The Bridies n.n., n.d. [2004]
Brock McGuire Band, instrumental group, Brock McGuire Band, Ferndale Promotions FPL102, 2004
Casey, Yvonne, fiddle, Yvonne Casey, Casey YCCD001, n.d. [2004]
Ceol gan Amhras, vocal & instrumental group, Ceol gan Amhras, Ceol gan Amhras n.n., n.d. [2004]
Clannad, vocal & instrumental group, The Celtic Voice, Celtic Music 6811, n.d. [2004]. Reissued from LPs
Connolly, Johnny, melodeon, An Mileoidean Scaoilte, Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD157, 2004
Cór Ban Chúil Aodha, singing in Irish, & Peadar Ó Riada, piano, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire le Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, Ac Fodhla 001, 2003
Crotty, Elizabeth, concertina, Concertina Music from West Clare, RTÉ RTECD254, 2004. Reissue of CD
Derrane, Joe, accordion, Seamus Connolly, fiddle, & John McGann, guitar, The Boston Edge, Mapleshade Records 103322, 2004
Dooley, Paul, harp, Music from the Robert ap Huw Manuscript Volume 1, Dooley PDCD002, 2004
Doyle, Sean, singing in English, The Light and the Half-Light, Compass Records 73872, 2004
Dufourd, Christian, guitar, mandolin, 50 Piéces Folkloriques Irlandaises et Écossaises, Dufourd CD040101, 2004
Ennis, Séamus, uilleann pipes, The Return from Fingal, RTÉ RTECD199, 2004. Reissue of CD
Harte, Frank, singing in English, Dublin Street Songs. Through Dublin City, Hummingbird Records HDCD0042, n.d.. Reissue of 2 LPs
Kelly, Luke, singing in English, The Best of Luke Kelly, Celtic Airs CACD0201, n.d. [2004] (2 CDs). Part-reissued from LPs
Kenny, Emer, singing in English, Irish, Breton, Parting Glass, Tryloka/ Artemis Records/ Rykodisc TRICD82042, 2004
McGrath, Jim, accordion, Melodious Accord: New Music and Airs Inspired by the Irish and Scottish Traditions, McGrath n.n., 2004
McKillop, Jim, fiddle, From the Parlour, OnLine Music School OLMSCD45, 2004
Maloney, Darren, banjo, mandolin, Who?, Maloney CD001, 2004
Monks of Glenstal Abbey, singing in Irish, English, Latin, Biscantorat: Sound of the Spirit from Glenstal Abbey, Hummingbird Records HDBCD0038, 2004
Murphy, Briege, singing in English, From Now On, Murphy SCEOLANGCD1, n.d.
Nollaig [Brolly], singing in English, Under a Pale Moon, Wren Records WRCD1403, 2004
Ó Cadhla, Labhrás, singing in Irish, Amhráin ó Shliabh gCua, RTÉ RTECD234, 2004. Reissue of CD
O’Connell, John, singing in English, The Maid of Ballingarry and Other Songs from the Múscraí Tradition, Éigse Dhiarmuidín ED001, 2004
Sheridan, Christy, mandolin, banjo, Silver Notes, Sheridan n.n., n.d. [2004]
Siúcra, vocal & instrumental group, A Place I Know, ESL Records ESLCD002, n.d. [2004]
Smith, Ian, singing in English, & Stephen Campbell, fiddle, Keadue Bar/ Oitir an Chéidigh, Smith & Campbell KB001, n.d. [2004]
Trad Lads, instrumental & vocal group, Trad Lads are Here Again, Radium Folk 1-04, 2004
Trasna Ceilidh Band, instrumental group, Irish and Scottish Dance Music, Glens Music GMCD021, 2004
Various, instrumental & vocal, 50 Years of Comhaltas in Ballinasloe (1954-2004), Ballinasloe CCÉ n.n., n.d. [2004]
Various, singing in English, Around the Hills of Clare: Songs and a Recitation from the Jim Carroll & Pat Mackenzie Collection, Musical Traditions MTCD331-2 & Góilín 005-6 (2 CDs), 2004
Various, instrumental & vocal, Drops of Spring Water: Comhaltas Concert Tour of North America 2004, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann CL62, 2004
Various, flute, The Flute Players of Roscommon Volume 1, Feadóg Mór Music n.n., 2004
Various, instrumental, The Independence Suite: Traditional Music from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton, Celtic Crossings CC2004, 2004. Reissued tracks from ‘independent’ labels
Various, instrumental, Ireland, I Love You, Music Waves MW022, 2002. Reissued from LPs
Various, instrumental & vocal, Ragús, Celtic Music 6806, n.d. [2004]. Reissue of CD
Various, instrumental & vocal, Rhythm of the Dance, Celtic Music 6804, n.d. [2004]. Reissue of CD
Various, flute, Wooden Flute Obsession Volume 2, International Traditional Music Society ITMSCD0401, 2004. (2 CDs)
Audley, Brian, ‘Some Missing Items of the Bunting Collection, Rediscovered’, in Ulster Folklife vol. 49 (2004) Holywood, Co Down, pp. 1-5
Boyle, Finbar, reviews of From Puck to Appleby. Songs of Irish Travellers in England. (Musical Traditions MTCD 325-6) and Whisht… Irish Traveller Folktales and Songs. The Cassidys 1967 (Pavee Point Travellers Centre, Dublin) in Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society vol. 72, Dublin, 2004, pp. 268-70
Cuthbert, Sheila Larchet, The Irish Harp Book: A Tutor and Companion. Carysfort Press, Dublin, 2004. 248 pp. ISBN 1 904505 08 2. Third pb. reprint
Girardeau, Marie, L’Uilleann Pipes, Cornemuse Irlandaise: Caractéristiques de Jeu et Répertoire. Université de Poitiers (September 2004) Pb. 215 pp. MA thesis
Gregory, E. David, ‘Roving Out: Peter Kennedy and the BBC Folk Music and Dialect Recording Scheme 1952-1957’, in Ian Russell & David Atkinson ed., Folk Song: Traditional, Revival, and Re-Creation, Elphinstone Institute, Aberdeen, 2004, pp.218-40. Has Irish content
Hast, Dorothea E., review of Colette Moloney, The Irish Music Manuscripts of Edward Bunting: An Introduction and Catalogue. (Irish Traditional Music Archive, Dublin 2000) in Ethnomusicology vol. 48, no 3 (2004), Indiana, pp. 447-450
Keegan, Josephine, ed., A Drop in the Ocean. Keegan, Armagh, 2004. Pb. 220 pp. Tune book
Mac Gabhann, Fiachra, review of Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, A Hidden Ulster: People, Songs and Traditions of Oriel. (Four Courts Press, Dublin 2003) in Béaloideas, as at Boyle above, pp. 243-7
Mac Lochlainn, Gearóid, & John B. Vallely, Rakish Paddy Blues: A Macaronic Song. Open House Traditional Arts Festival, Bangor, 2004. Pb. 108 pp. ISBN 0 9548436 0 6. With CD. Poems and paintings
Munnelly, Tom, ‘Collectors of English-Language Songs for the Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970’, in Ian Russell & David Atkinson ed., as at Gregory above, pp. 210-17
Ó Canainn, Tomás, Dornán Dánta. Coiscéim, Dublin, 2004. Pb. 47 pp. Poems
O’Dwyer, Simon, Prehistoric Music of Ireland. Tempus, Stroud, Gloucestersire, 2004. Pb. 160 pp. ISBN 0 7524 3129 3
Taaffe, Brendan, ‘Séan Ryan: The Quiet Corner’, in Fiddler Magazine vol. 11, no 4 (Winter 2004), North Sydney, N.S., Canada, pp. 10-12
Titley, Alan, ‘An Scéal agus an Fhilíocht’, in Breandán Ó Conaire, ed., Aistí ag Iompar Scéil: In Ómós do Shéamus P. Ó Mórdha. An Clóchomhar, Dublin, 2004, pp. 133-52
Heather Breeze Ceili Band, Waltz of the Bells, Heather Breeze Ceili Band HBCD0042, 2005
Kunugi, Takehiro, fiddle, The Man, The Fiddler, Hats Unlimited HUCD10008, 2004
Kelliher, Dessie, banjo, Banjoed, Kelliher DK 001, n.d. [2005]
Mac Diarmada, Oisín, fiddle, whistle, Ar an bhFidil, Green Linnet GLCD1227, 2004
Ní Uallacháin, Pádraigín, singing in Irish, A Stór is a Stóirín, Gael Linn CEFCD166, 2004. (2 CDs, reissued from 1 CD)
O’Connell, Tony, concertina, & Andy Morrow, fiddle, Tony O’Connell and Andy Morrow, O’Connell & Morrow TOCAM001, 2005
O’Rourke, Jason, concertina, & Ruadhraí O’Kane, fiddle, Roguery Road, Wren WRCD1404, 2005
O’Sullivan, Jerry, uilleann pipes, O’Sullivan Meets O’Farrell, Volume 1, Jerry O’Sullivan Music n.n., 2005 [the nineteenth-century uilleann piper and publisher Mr O’Farrell]
Rafferty, Mike, flute, uilleann pipes, Speed 78, Larraga MOR1302, 2004
Various, instrumental & vocal, The Best of the Gathering 2003-2004, Gathering Records GRCD001, 2004 [from Co Kerry festival]
Various, instrumental & vocal, Irish Celebration: Pub Songs, Reels, and Tunes from the Emerald Isle, Tradition/ Rykodisc TCD1094, 2004 [includes Seamus Ennis, uilleann pipes; Joe Tunney, accordion, etc.]
Waterford Institute of Technology Irish Traditional Music Group, instrumental & vocal, Siansa 2, WIT Irish Traditional Music Society n.n., 2004
Donnelly, Sean, ‘The Famousest Man in the World for the Irish Harp’ in Dublin Historical Record vol. 57, no 1, Dublin, Spring 2004, pp. 38-49 [the 18th-century harper Mr Murphy]
Donnelly, Sean, ‘The Origin of the “Humours of Bandon”’ in Bandon Historical Journal no 21, Bandon, Co Cork, 2005, pp. 14-24 [history of a melody]
Garvey, Seán, ‘An Fheadóg Mhór’ in Blaiseadh: An Béal Binn, Coiscéim, Howth, Co Dublin, 2004, pp. 10-17 [the Irish concert flute]
Lowth, Cormac F., review of Tomás Ó Canainn, Seán Ó Riada: His Life and Work (Collins Press, 2004) in Dublin Historical Record vol. 57, no 1, Dublin, Spring 2004, pp. 123-4
Mac an tSíthigh, Seán, ed., Amhráin Uíbh Ráthaigh: Éigse na Brídeoige 2004, Coiscéim, Howth, Co Dublin, 2005. 118 pp. Contains essays ‘Éigse na Brídeoige’ by Pádraig de Buis, ‘Tomás Rua i Seanchas Béil Uíbh Ráthaigh’ by Ríonach uí Ógáin, ‘Aistear Amhránaíochta tríd Uíbh Ráthach’ by Tim Dennehy, ‘The Archaeology of Music in Iveragh’ by John Sheehan, ‘Amhráin agus Filíocht na nDaoine in Uíbh Ráthach sa 19ú Aois’ by
Seán Mac an tSíthigh, ‘The Bonny Bunch of Roses and the Iveragh Connection’ by Seán Garvey, ‘Seán Jur Ó Móráin, Bun an Bhaile, Seanchaí agus Amhránaí’ by Brian Ó Móráin [south Co Kerry song and instrumental music]
Meek, Donald E., ‘The Scottish Tradition of Fian Ballads in the Middle Ages’ in Cathal Ó Háinle and Donald E. Meek, eds, Unity in Diversity: Studies in Irish and Scottish Gaelic Language, Literature and History, School of Irish, Trinity College Dublin, 2004, pp. 9-23 [with reference to Irish tradition of Fian ballads]
Ó Laoire, Lillis, ‘Irish Music’, in Joe Cleary & Claire Connelly, eds, The Cambridge Companion to Modern Irish Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, etc., 2005, pp. 267-84. ISBN 0 521 82009 X (hb.), 0 521 52629 9 (pb.)
Boyce, Jackie, ed., Songs of the County Down, Ballyhay Books, Donaghadee, Co Down, 2004. 285 pp. ISBN 1 900935 44 9 (pb.)
Buckley, Ann, ‘Music in Prehistoric and Medieval Ireland’ in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, ed., A New History of Ireland 1. Prehistoric and Early Ireland, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 744-811. ISBN 0 19 821737 4 (hb.)
Doherty, Liz, ed., Dinny McLaughlin. From Barefoot Days: A Life of Music, Song and Dance in Inishowen, Druid Publications Letterkenny, Co Donegal, 2005. 202 pp. ISBN 0 9536525 4 8 (pb.)
Garvey, Máire McDonnell, ed., Collection of Traditional Irish Dance Music Edited and Bowed Scientifically for the Violin also 26 Original Compositions… Arranged for Piano or Violin by P.J. Giblin, facsimile edition of third ed. (1933), Garvey, Dublin, 2005. iv+84 pp (pb.)
Gleason, Angela, articles on ‘Entertainment’ (pp. 154-5) and ‘Music’ (pp. 346-8) in Seán Duffy, ed., Medieval Ireland. An Encyclopedia, Routledge, New York & London, 2005. ISBN 0 415 94052 4 (hb.)
Hanly, Mick, Wish Me Well: Notes on My Sleeve, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 2005. 198 pp. ISBN 0 7171 3890 9 (pb.). Musical autobiography
Herlihy, John, Footsteps, Fiddles, Flagstones & Fun, Comhaltas Craobh Chill Chuimín, Killarney, Co Kerry, 2004. 219 pp. ISBN 0 9549299 0 X (pb.). Description of local music
Sands, Tommy, The Songman. A Journey in Irish Music, Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2005. xiv + 266 pp. ISBN 1 84351 063 4 (pb.). Musical autobiography
Taaffe, Brendan, ‘Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh: Music at a Local Level’, in Fiddler Magazine vol. 12, no 2 (N.S., Canada, Spring 2005), pp.22-5. Interview with Dublin fiddle etc. player
Burke, Kevin, and others as Celtic Fiddle Festival, fiddles, guitar, Play on…, Green Linnet GLCD1230, 2005
Chieftains, The, instrumental & vocal group, Live from Dublin: A Tribute to Derek Bell, RCA Victor/ Sony/ BMG 82876671372, 2005
Daniels, Luke, accordion, Secret Sessions, Wren Records WRCD1405, 2005
Fianna, Na, instrumental & vocal group, Musica y Canciones de Irlanda: Music and Songs from Ireland, Tradition CDTR090502, 2005. From Argentina
Ní Bheaglaoich, Seosaimhín & Caitlín, singing in Irish, some English, Suáilcí Sona: Songs from a Gaeltacht Childhood, Ní Bheaglaoich SCB2005, 2005
Ó Riada, Seán, Ceoltóirí Chualann, Seán Ó Sé, instrumental & vocal group, Ó Riada sa Gaiety, Gael Linn ORIADACD01, 2005. Reissue of LP with extra tracks
O’Connor, Paudie, accordion, Different State, Push Button Records PBCD1975, 2005
O’Shaughnessy, Paul, & Harry Bradley, fiddle & flute, …Born for Sport, O’Shaughnessy & Bradley BFS001, 2005
Power, David, uilleann pipes, My Love is in America, Claddagh Records CCF37CD, 2005
Providence, instrumental & vocal group, Providence III, Rolling River Productions RoRi003, 2005
Shannon, Sharon, Frankie Gavin, Michael McGoldrick & Jim Murray, accordion, fiddle, flute & guitar, Tunes, The Daisy Label DLCD011, 2005
Solas, instrumental & vocal group, Waiting for an Echo, Shanachie 78060, 2005
Various, instrumental & vocal, Beginner’s Guide to Ireland, Nascente NSBOX012, 2005. (3 CD box set)
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