Music of Ireland

Music plays are a large and very important part of Ireland’s culture. Its not just about Irish traditional music but it’s also folk music, rock, punk and other genres of music. The Irish have a way of telling a story through music which makes it appealing to its listeners. The traditional instruments such as harp and bodhrán are used to make this unique Irish music. Also, the traditional Irish music is played by a variety of instruments such as the bodhran (Irish drum), the fiddle, the flute, the tin whistle and uilleann pipes and guitar among others.

In recent years, traditional music has been used with the help of European and American music in what was known as a Golden Age for traditional music. Irish songs gained wide appeal in Europe in the 19th century, and the music taken to the United States by Irish immigrants became one of the principal sources of traditional American music. Irish traditional musicians such as the Clancy Brothers, Planxty, the Boys of the Lough, Clannad, and the Chieftains have toured much of the world. More urban and working-class-based music and song have been represented by groups such as the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones. Interest in Irish traditional music was greatly boosted by a vogue for Irish pubs that spread across the world. Elements of traditional Irish music also have been appropriated by rock musicians to create a distinctive Irish popular music form with great international appeal. For example, beginning in the 1980s, the postpunk group U2 received international acclaim, and its lead singer, Bono, gained fame for his outspokenness on domestic and global political issues. Other popular music groups and artists have included Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, the Corrs, the Cranberries, Bob Geldof, Sinéad O’Connor, My Bloody Valentine, Mary and Frances Black, Hothouse Flowers, and Damien Rice. Among the artists who came to the forefront in the 21st century was vocalist Sharon Shannon, the traditional group Danú, and the pop duo Jedward.