Irish Music

I started dancing when I was 8 years old with the Shanahan School of Irish Dance in Columbus, Ohio. Peggy Shanahan, my first teacher her son played baseball with my brother, so when my she and my parents became friends and she asked if I wanted to start dance lessons, free for boys for a year, my response was Dzsure!dzI had at the time absolutely no knowledge of what Irish dance was, and at the time questioned it as to how or why it was even a thing. My first class, I heard Peggy shout out DzGood Myles that’s itdz while we learned skip 2, 3s. I didn’t even know I was doing all that good, but hearing Peggy say that made me know I wanted to never stop hearing that from anybody in any situation. Over the years I would have two boys with me in class, both older and both at different stages of my dance career. They weren’t really

Over several centuries Scotland has not only been famously known for their landscape and culture, but also for their love of music. The most recognisable form of musical instrument in Scotland is the bagpipes and is the best known instrument around the world, to which several prodigy players took the music of the bagpipe to a higher scale. However a majority of Scotland’s population had a certain fear over the pipers thinking that they were of supernatural entity and were trying to connect with the devil. This led to the people believing that they had occult knowledge or were the form of Gnosticism. To get a clear indication as to wither people believed that pipe players in particular the MacCrimmons were of occult knowledge, the result of

The world folk music gained a lot of popularity across the globe in the recent years, with a wide range of styles and music forms. However, no music style matches the popularity and uniqueness of the Celtic music.

The Irish began immigrating to North America in the 1820s, when the lack of jobs and poverty forced them to seek better opportunities elsewhere after the end of the major European wars. When the Europeans could finally stop depending on the Irish for food during war, the investment in Irish agricultural products reduced and the boom was over. After an economic boom, there comes a bust and unemployment was the result. Two-thirds of the people of Ireland depended on potato harvests as a main source of income and, more importantly, food. Then between the years of 1845 and 1847, a terrible disease struck the potato crops. The plague left acre after acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot. The failure of the

Psychologist Ph.D. Diana Baumrind studied specific techniques of parenting at length and came to the conclusion that “spirited give and take within the home… may teach the child how to express aggression in self-serving and prosocial causes,” however, Sophie’s household has not quite mastered this “give and take”. Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish?” highlights the adverse effects of early exposure to conflicting parenting styles through a detailed narrative of the daily life of a young girl named Sophie and her mother, father, and grandmother.  The interpersonal relationship between Sophie and each of these parental figures embody three different parenting techniques: authoritarian, indulgent, and authoritative. Rising tensions between the techniques give rise to Sophie's confusion and eventual rebellion against her home life, which Gish Jen masterfully displays through her changing actions and, even, her physical appearance.

Even with the advantage of knowing English, the famine-era Irish had much going against them in America. They had few marketable skills, little education, and no money. Substantial social disorganization, poverty, crime, disease, alcoholism, and family dissolution – accompanied their resettlement in America (241).

Before the famine in the mid-1800s, “many English politicians and social reformers began to think that Ireland was a nation in need of transformation, that it’s people now needed to be yanked into the modern world by tossing out the old Gaelic traditions” (The History Place-Before the Famine). The English reformers wanted to end Ireland’s “cycle” of poverty and misfortune because in the “1800s poverty was thought to be caused by bad moral character” (The History Place- Before the Famine). The English politicians and social reformers also wanted to change the laid-back lifestyle of the Irish peasants. “ They professed the virtues of hard work, thrift and self-reliance and regarded the Irish as totally lacking in these qualities, a point of view also shared by many British officials and politicians” (The History Place-Before the Famine).

Irish songs not only reflect Irish history, but take record of it. Whether it is a rough new beginning or a gruesome battle being recorded, care is always given to portray the emotions of the event. Though the music varies in instrumentation and complexity, the purpose is always served.

In my opinion, the potato famine was one of the biggest causes for the Irish to immigrate. A fungus infected the potato crops, causing them to shrivel up and turn black. Since, potatoes were what their main diet consisted on, most moved to America. If they hadnt, they may not have been able to survive with their few

In my introduction chapter (chapter one), as well as the aforementioned introduction to my topic, I present an historical overview. This chapter gives the reader a clear picture of my goals in writing this dissertation and of the history of Irish immigration and their involvement in the American music industry. In Chapter Two, I look at the literature surrounding my research questions and take into consideration the research of other scholars. Chapter Three presents my personal research. I have included two interviews, one with fiddler, John Carty and the other with fiddler, Frank Gavin from the band, De Danann. Following the interviews, I present an ethnography taken from a gig performed by John Carty and his band, At the Racket. This ethnography

There they would adopt several Irish believes, such as their gods and important religious sites. When compared to the population of Ireland at the time the Galeic people were only a minority, but they held the best land in Ireland, which granted them the most power. The Gaels used a monarchical system of government that would spread throughout Ireland. This form of government was mainly localized, so around Ireland during this time there were around 100 small kingdoms. The 100 kingdoms were grouped into 5 major provinces, which are very similar to the current provinces. Each proveniences would have it’s own ruler, who would try to bring multiple provinces together, but there would be no High King of

Celtic music has been around for a long time, but the way that it came about is nothing short of unique. Many music styles have a particularly clear beginning, but the same cannot be said for Celtic music. “Irish traditional music began as an oral tradition, passed on from

The Irish have played a large role in American life starting all the way back in the colonial days. The earliest Irish to come to the U.S. were Presbyterian Protestants and some belonged to the church of ireland. most immigrants came to the U.S. in search of a better standard of living. The majority of the Irish immigrants were Artisans or Farmers.

Irish traditional music first developed in Ireland, and its blooming period was the late 19th century to the 1920s. There was mixing and influence from Scotland, England, and French-Canadian communities’ music that was blended with Irish music before its big blooming period. However, due to the potato famine forcing the migration of Irish people there was a decline in Irish music in the 1930s until the 1960s. This migration led to a large number of Irish people living in New York, which is why New York was the center of the Irish music

The history of American music begins with a fundamental process of exchange through all different social lines, where diverse cultures meet, and mix. Music has and always will be defined as sounds that are arranged in a particular pattern that are played to be meaningful and pleasurable. The chronology of music began in the Medieval period, when chanting was introduced into the Church. Music has then moved its way through many stages: renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and leading up to 20th century American music. American 20th century music is made up of a diverse number of styles that are reflected by cultural traditions and the era’s of the past. Immigrants from Spain, France, England, Germany and Ireland all contributed and brought their own unique styles to the forefront, hence creating American music. African Americans created influential musical traditions that include rhythm and improvisation that were later combined with European traditions and other indigenous music.