Irish Folk Music

Ireland is rich in literature that understands a soul's yearnings, and dancing that understands a happy heart. - Margaret Jackson

Every country has an interesting history of music. Every country has some or the other way contributed to music in the world. As a result, the different types of music have made place in today's cultures. There are some notable countries who have contributed significantly to the music of the world, out of which Ireland is a prominent one. This genre of music developed many hundreds of years ago, but there are records only from the 18th century.

History

It is believed that this was due to the fact that the land of Ireland was not a part of any of the world wars. Another possibility musicologists claim is that the economy of this country was largely dependent on agriculture. Folk music of Ireland was not given much importance till the late 1950s from the time the second world war ended. It was due to the encouragement of the Irish traditional music association 'Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann' and the music festival 'Fleadh Cheoil' that Irish musicians was given significance to.

Traditional English music associations also encouraged the music of Ireland and its musicians. Irish folk music came into a good picture after the success of the music group 'The Clancy Brothers' in the USA in the year 1959. This is when the music started to be noticed by people around the world. It has been considered that folk music of Ireland has been a great influence for the development of the music in the USA.

Instruments

There is a wide range of musical instruments which were and are used in the traditional music of Ireland. Traditional Irish music consists primarily of instruments like the bodhrán, banjo, saxophone, harp, accordion, concertina, fiddle, flute, bouzouki, and harmonica. Note that some of these instruments entered the Irish music scene after the development, whereas others played a major part from the origination itself. Instruments such as the accordion, guitar, and bouzouki were included in the music in the 1960s. The songs and tunes of Irish traditional music depend largely upon the time frame of the music composed and the instruments used. There can be songs with a prominent fiddle playing, guitar plucking, a fast dancing rhythm, minor keys, or other variations.

Artists

• Reeltime
• Brian Hughes
• De Danann
• The Tulla Ceili Band
• Sean Ryan
• Seosaimhin Ni Bheaglaoich
• Moving Cloud
• Kevin Burke's Open House
• Cherish The Ladies
• Oige
• Jackie Daly
• Craobh Rua
• Dropkick Murphys
• Flogging Molly
• Padraigin Ni Uallachain
• Deanta
• Aoife Ne Fhearraigh
• Colm Murphy
• Declan Masterson
• Sean Tyrrell
• Paddy Glackin

Best Irish Folk Music

• Rocky road to Dublin - The Dubliners
• The Spanish cloak - Finbar & Eddie Furey
• The handsome cabin boy - Sweeney's Men
• Leitram fancy - Mick Maloney
• Limerick is beautiful - The Glenside Ceilidh Band
• The frog's wedding - The Johnstons
• Don't cry in your sleep - Mick Maloney
• Henry Joy - The Grehan Sisters
• The Spanish lady - The Johnstons
• The Killarney boys of pleasure - Dave Swarbrick

With electronic instruments and advanced sound equipment being introduced in the music industry, musicians can experiment with different sounds and variations of Irish folk music. Irish drinking songs are also popular all over the world, and are usually played during drinking sessions. Two of the most famous Irish drinking songs are Glass Of Beer by Le Ceoltóiri Cultúrlainne and Streams Of Whiskey by The Pogues.