Irish Music | IrishCentral

Rock and Roll Hall concerts bring together the greats

Mike Farragher: The highlights in the pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concerts that took place at Madison Square Garden last week were too numerous to mention, and since this is an Irish newspaper let’s focus on the Irish highlights, shall we? FULL STORY >

Cathie Ryan brings "Danny Boy" to Life

Paul Keating: Hearing "Danny Boy" last Saturday evening as the closing encore by songstress Cathie Ryan at the Irish Arts Center was a thing of beauty. The song, when performed in the right place at the right time, has a simple eloquence and sentiment can steal your heart away. FULL STORY >

"Helping Hands," Jerry Holland's final CD

Paul Keating: It was as if Jerry Holland came back from the grave to say he was in a better place now and that he had one more gift for those he left behind. With the release of a new CD last week, 'Helping Hands,' his sizeable legacy will have one more fantastic chapter. FULL STORY >

Irish folk music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire island of Ireland. Collections of Irish folk music date from the 18th century, but ballad printers were not established in Dublin until the 19th century. By the mid-20th century, Irish folk music had fallen out fashion. Festivals such as the Fleadh Cheoil exposed people to folk. The English folk music scene also gave Irish musicians the chance to find new audiences. With the success of the Clancy Brothers in the US in 1959, it became trendy again to listen to Irish music. Later, the international success of the Chieftains made the folk music of Ireland a global brand. In the 1980s, the Pogues helped fuse Irish folk with punk rock, giving a whole new audience a chance to listen to songs influenced by the folk tradition. Enya achieved international success with New Age/Celtic fusions. Irish music also contributed a subgenre of folk metal known as Celtic metal with exponents of the genre including Cruachan, Geasa and Waylander. Audiences do not just listen to Irish music in concert halls or arenas, but in much more informal settings as well. In recent decades, patrons can listen to Irish folk musicians at pub sessions. Many fans don’t just listen to Irish music &emdash; they dance to it at weddings and saint’s days. When you listen to Irish folk music, one instrument you are likely to hear is the fiddle. The fiddling tradition of Sligo is perhaps most recognizable to outsiders, due to the popularity of American-based performers like Lad O'Beirne, Michael Coleman, John McGrath, James Morrison and Paddy Killoran. Other instruments to listen for include the flute, tin whistle and Uilleann pipes.