Irishness of Irish Music

Dr John O'Flynn is Senior Lecturer and Head of Music at St Patrick's College, Dublin City University, Ireland.

• Contents: Irishness and music: towards an interpretive framework; A brief and recent history of Irish music; Mapping the field; Snapshots; Ireland in music?; Irishness and music in a changing society; The music; Authenticity and Irish music; Conclusion: Irishness and music 'inside out'; Bibliography; Discography; Filmography; Index.

'The importance of music as an index of Ireland's changing cultural condition throughout the modern era is finally starting to be acknowledged. After much theoretical speculation in recent years as to the "Irishness" of Irish music, what was needed was a proper scholarly analysis of the subject - a painstaking, informed study of the factors that bear upon a general understanding of the nature, role and representation of music in modern Ireland. John O'Flynn's book provides exactly that. On the one hand, The Irishness of Irish Music makes a compelling contribution to a developing field. At the same time, it provides insights into the role of cultural experience in the negotiation of identity which demands the attention of anyone interested in modern Ireland.' Gerry Smyth, Liverpool John Moores University, UK O'Flynn takes an academically-accented approach to unravelling musical, cultural and political identities across a multitude of genres but has much to say about how music in and from Ireland acquires its 'Irishness.' ...As valuable for the questions it leaves unanswered as for the conclusions it reaches. R2 - Rock'n'Reel The authors dissection of myths and exposure of often under-acknowledged aspects of musical life in Ireland make[s] [...] a welcome addition to the study of a small musical island caught in the rising tide of globalisation. His chapterMapping the Field should be essential reading for students and stakeholders of the Irish music industry. Popular Music A timely contribution to the fields of ethnomusicology, musicology, folklore, Irish and European studies, The Irishness of Irish Music offers the reader unique insight into the relations between production and consumption practices and larger socio-cultural discourses of authenticity and national identity formation in the Irish Republic. ... O Flynn [...] greatly expand[s] our understanding of often under-acknowledged aspects of musical practice in Ireland. Jou