Largely due to the Great Famine, Ireland experienced a significant loss of culture—due to the millions of death and emigrants. For the first half of the twenty-first century, traditional Irish folk music and dance struggled. Without anyone to pass on the knowledge and enthusiasm for Irish song, people quickly lost interest in the Celtic heritage. Practically the only help the folk culture received was anything played in the United States and secretly in homes in Ireland. Irish Musicians kept their hobby a secret in fear of community ridicule and rejection. They mainly played in homes and pubs in the countryside, and primarily for dancing. Not until the mid-1900s did a revival suddenly begin. During the revival, not only can one see Irish music becoming popular again, but its continual evolvement as well. Many events and people contributed to the sudden love for folk music again, but only a few can be pinpointed to have directly touched the rebirth: the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Sean O’Riada, and the music’s rise to popularity in the United States.
In January 1951, a group of people from the Thomas Street Pipers’ Club and music enthusiasts from County Westmeath met in Mullingar. The two ideas discussed were already ideals both groups had talked of with one another. The collective agreed to find an organization whose main purpose is promoting traditional Irish music and agreed the organization should host an annual festival to celebrate Irish music, song, and dance (Comhaltas: History).
A month later, the group met again and decided a Fleadh Cheoil was to be held once a year, with the first in May 1951 over the Whit weekend. The Fleadh Cheoil aim was to promote traditional music and to stop its decline in popularity. The first Fl...
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The ancient mythology of Ireland is one of its’ greatest assets. The glorious, poetic tales of battles, super humans, demigods and heroes ranks among the best of ancient literature. The book of the Dun Cow, (Lebor na huidre), was written around 1100 and contains stories from the eighth and ninth centuries. The Book of Invasions, (Lebor Gabala), tells how the mythical ancestors of the Irish, the God-like Tuatha Dé Danann, wrestled Ireland (or Erin) from misshapen Fir Bolg in fantastic battles. The Fir Bolg were traditionally linked to Gaul and Britain so the analogy between them and the invading English was complete.
Charles Ives is known in our day as the “Father of American Music,” but in his day, he was known just like everyone else- an ordinary man living his life. He was born in Danbury, Connecticut on October 20, 1894 (Stanley 1) to his mother, Sarah Hotchkiss Wilcox Ives and father, George White Ives (A Life With Music, Swafford 4). His father was renowned for being the Union’s youngest bandmaster and having the best band in the Army (The Man His Life, Swafford 1). Little Charles was influenced early in his life by his father who had libertarian ideas about music (Stanley 1). Although Danbury prided itself as “the most musical town in Connecticut”, the people did not give the musical profession respect or understanding (The Man His Life, Swafford 1). One day, his father commented on a stonemason’s off-key singing by saying, “Look into his face and hear the music of the ages. Do not pay too much attention to the sounds—for if you do you may miss the music. You won’t get a wild, heroic ride to heaven on pretty little sounds” (The Man His Life, Swafford 2). Thus was young Charles’ introduction to music.
"Crude with a tang of the Indian wilderness, strong with the strength of the mountains, yet, in a way, mellowed with the flavor of Chaucer's time--surely this is folk-song of a high order. May it not one day give birth to a music that shall take a high place among the world's great schools of expression?" (47)
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Walsh’s, Ford’s and Toibin’s works help influence the way Ireland is perceived nowadays. Despite what some people may think, Ireland and it’s people lives do not revolve around Pubs and alcohol. The country relies heavily on their culture and customs. Religion, music and food are three ways my family celebrates our Irish heritage. Those three parts of the Irish culture are only a small portion of what it means to be Irish.
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Foster, R.F.,ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press: Oxford, New York, 1989.
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).
From the Folk songs passed down from father to son, to the literature and tradition, Ireland is held as one of the richest countries in terms of cultural prominence. Ireland has many distinct regional cultures, whereas most places only tend to have one or two, the lives of people living in the city vary immensely to those who live on the country side. Although wherever they may be the Irish keep a lively and upbeat folk culture. The Irish Pub is considered the main focal point of most towns. Where men and women gather to sing songs, tell folk stories or share in the occasional joke or two. While this country is portrayed in the theater as the “loud and obnoxious drunk bunch” it is one rich with culture and a history of warriors as far as the eye can see. Ireland is the place of music and bagpipes, the place where you can hear a good story and share in a laugh with a stranger you just met. A land rich with cultures, traditions and a strong sense of family and pride for