Late Nineteenth Century revival and the Twentieth Century
The revival of interest in Irish traditional culture was closely linked to Nationalist calls for independence and was catalysed by the foundation of the Gaelic League in 1893. This sought to encourage the rediscovery and affirmation of Irish traditional arts by focusing upon the Irish language, but also established an annual competition, the Feis Cheoil, in 1903 as a focus for its activities.
The Gaelic League was often accused of being a largely middle-class organisation and of taking little heed of the interests or enjoyments of those living in rural areas of Ireland; most of the League's meetings were in fact held in London.
Religion also played a role in the re-development of Irish culture. The actual achievement of independence from Britain tallied closely with a new Irish establishment desire to separate Irish culture from the European mainstream, but the new Irish government also paid heed to clerical calls to curtail 'jazz dancing' and other suggestions of a dereliction in Irish morality -- though it was not until 1935 that the Public Dance Halls Act curtailed the right of anyone to hold their own events; from then on, no public musical or dancing events could be held in a public space without a license and most of those were usually only granted to 'suitable' persons - often the parish priest.
Combined with continued emigration, and the priesthood's inevitable zeal in closing down un-licensed events, the upshot was to drive traditional music and dancing back into the cottage where it remained until returning migrants persuaded pub owners to host sessions in the early 1960s.
Pub sessions
Main article: Irish traditional music session, pub session
Pub sessions are now the home for much of Irish traditional music, which takes place at informal gatherings in urban pubs. The first known of these modern pub sessions took place in 1947 in London's Camden Town at a bar called The Devonshire Arms (although some ethnomusicologists believe that Irish immigrants in the United States may have held sessions before this); the practice was only later introduced to Ireland. By the 1960s pubs like O'Donoghues in Dublin were holding their own pub sessions, and the Fleadh Ceoil music festival was sparking increased popular interest in traditional music.
1960s and 70s: Revival...again
Seán Ó Riada's The Chieftains, The Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners, Sweeney's Men and Planxty were in large part responsible for a second wave of revitalization of Irish folk music in the 1960s, followed up by The Bothy Band and Clannad in the 70s.
The 1960s saw a number of innovative performers. Christy Moore and Donal Lunny, for example, first performing as a duo, and later creating two of the most well-known bands of the era, Planxty and Moving Hearts (in the 1980s). The Clancys broke open the field in the US in the early part of the decade, which inspired vocal groups like The Dubliners, while Ceoltóirí Chualann's instrumental music spawned perhaps the best-known Irish traditional band, The Chieftains, which formed in 1963.
By the 70s, bands like Planxty and Clannad had set the stage for a major popular blossoming of Irish music. Formed in 1974, The Bothy Band became the spearcarriers of that movement; their debut album, [1975] (1975), inspired a legion of fans. (One can often find The Bothy Band under "Rock" in some stores.) New groups that appeared in their wake included Moving Hearts formed by Dónal Lunny and Christy Moore and featuring Davy Spillane on uilleann pipes - the first time this had effectively happened in a rock setting.
The 70s saw the beginning of fusions of Irish traditional music with American and British rock and roll, beginning perhaps with the band Horslips. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison is also renowned from the trad-rock scene, and is known for incorporating soul and R&B to great effect. Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher was renowned for his masterful guitar playing. The heavy metal band Thin Lizzy occasionally used Irish musical traditions in their songs. For example, the song Emerald used a jig (6/8) time signature, and a melody that was influenced by traditional Irish music. Also, the song "The Black Rose" contained a traditional Irish reel being played by guitar, bass, and drums. Most famously, their reworking of the traditional folk staple, "Whiskey in the Jar" was a huge hit. Singer and songwriter Phil Lynott is often said to have been a modern incarnation of the Irish poetry tradition.
Late 20th century: Rock and More...
Traditional music, especially sean-nós, played a major part in Irish popular music later in the century, with Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers and Sinéad O'Connor using traditional elements in popular songs. Enya achieved enormous international success with New Age/Celtic fusions. The Pogues, led by Shane MacGowan, helped fuse Irish folk with punk rock to some success beginning in the 1980s, while the Afro-Celt Sound System achieved considerable fame adding West African influences and drum n bass in the 1990s.
In the 1980s, major bands included De Dannan, Altan, Arcady, Dervish and Patrick Street. Punk rock entered Ireland in full in the late 1970s, and flowered in the following decade with performers like Gavin Friday, Bob Geldof, while the Belfast scene inspired a legion of punk bands from Northern Ireland, of whom Stiff Little Fingers are the most well-known. Later in the 80s and into the 90s, Irish punk, like the scene in the UK, US and elsewhere, fractured into new styles of alternative rock, which included the critically acclaimed That Petrol Emotion, the renowned underground band My Bloody Valentine and the popular punk sound of Ash.
The 80s also saw the rise of Irish international stars. The biggest Irish musical performer of any kind is undoubtedly U2, who entered the mainstream beginning in 1980 with Boy, and continuing to incorporate a number of styles on later albums into the next century. Other rock bands of the era included The Undertones, Energy Orchard and The Boomtown Rats. A growing interest in Irish music at this time helped many artistes gain more recognition abroad, including Mary Black, Andy White, Sharon Shannon, Hothouse Flowers and others. The BBC screened a documentary series about the influence of Irish music called Bringing it all Back Home (a reference to both the Bob Dylan folk song and the way in which Irish traditional music has travelled, especially in the New World following the Irish diaspora, which in turn has come back to influence modern Irish rock music). This series also helped to raise the profile of many artistes relatively little known outside Ireland. The fashionability of Irish folk music at this time may be judged from the huge success that non-Irish band The Waterboys enjoyed with their albums Fisherman's Blues and Room to Roam, both of which are full of Irish folk influences. Meanwhile, Sinéad O'Connor's confrontational style won her a legion of fans as well as controversy.
Country and Western music from the United States, which was influenced indirectly by Irish music, returned back over the ocean and is immensely popular in Ireland.
In the 1990s, pop bands like the Corrs, B*Witched, Boyzone and the somewhat rockier The Cranberries also became internationally renowned. Ireland had developed the Celtic metal scene, part of the black metal style which was common throughout much of Europe, and soon evolved into Celtic battle metal, Celtic doom metal and Celtic pagan metal. Artists included Waylander, Bran Barr, Cruachan and Geasa.
In 1998, a crew called Exile Eye released the Optic Nerve EP, which generated a great deal of interest in hip hop and inspired a number of newer hip hop crews, though Exile Eye was not the first Irish hip hop performers, as Scary Éire and others came first. These included Homebrew, Third Eye Surfers and Creative Controle.
In the 2000's Danú and Teada are among the youngest major instrumental bands of largely a traditional bent. The London Fleadh music festival was an annual event until 2003 and regularly showcased Irish music. It is now defunct.
New bands that promote the pub ballads and raucous instrumentals so familiar to Irish music fans include Flogging Molly, the Dropkick Murphys, and the LeperKhanz. There are many other Irish bands developing fusions of local and Irish music such as Skelpin, Flook, Kila, Bad Haggis, and Altan, and these bands are no longer formed exclusively in Ireland.
Classical Music in Ireland
While Irish traditional music, and more recently rock music, have gained such an international following, Irish classical music has had a long struggle to become accepted. Some music comes from the world between popular and classical music. One well-known example is the internationally renowned choir Anuna, with its unique and unusual sound and stage show, The West Ocean String Quartet, The Musicians of Prey, The Crash Ensemble and the young vocal group Bulraga.
Despite the enormous international successes of Irish performers in the fields of traditional and rock music, classical Irish music has struggled hard over the last 100 years to gain a strong and secure foothold in the psyche of the Irish people. Music education at school level is not a core subject, and in recent years the Leaving Certificate [Ireland's final year exams at secondary level] has introduced a more populist curriculum in Musicianship.
Groups such as Anuna, Camerata Ireland, Opera Theatre Company and the Irish Chamber Orchestra have had considerable international success. There is a National Symphony Orchestra of very good quality [managed and run by RTÉ the Irish National broadcaster], a classical music radio station Lyric FM, but beyond this Irish classical artists have to struggle for any recognition in their own country. Many of them seek education and work beyond the boundaries of Ireland.
