In an online lecture that was jointly organised by the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance of University of Limerick, Ireland and UTAR’s Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet) on 16 March 2021 on ZOOM, invited speaker Dr Aileen Dillane spoke about “Global Ireland: Social, Cultural, and Musical Imaginaries”.

The online lecture aimed to educate participants as Dr Aileen took them on a journey to explore key musical texts (written, sounded, performed) in the social, cultural and political context, and to illustrate the centrality of music in the story of Ireland over many centuries. Participants also learnt about the power of music in capturing the origin myths and archaeological evidence, the medieval times of saints and scholars, conquest and colonisation, devastating famine, outward migration, establishment of the Free State and Republic, the rise and fall of Celtic Tiger, and the 21st century of shifting populations and traditions. Her lecture enlightened participants on Ireland’s rich musical traditions, from early bardic harp to contemporary hip-hop that revealed the global flow of people and ideas, outward and inward, which have shaped the nation.

“The ancient instruments of Ireland include the horns, pipes and harps. The harp, especially, is very specific to Ireland. It is an important instrument because Ireland is the only country in the world to have an instrument to show and represent its statehood, for instance on the seal, coins and passport. The harp has a rich history and it is not just a national symbol, but also a trademark in some products. So to what extent is Irish music represented? Gerald of Wales, in historical times, commented that Irish are celebrated in the music aspect,” explained Dr Aileen.

“The history of the harp can also be seen as the history of the nation. In the Bardic era, Irish harpers were part of an old Gaelic order, where along with the poet, they were central to the court. In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I, issued a proclamation to hand Irish harpists and destroy their instruments to prevent insurrection. In the 17th century, the period of the penal laws saw the Irish culture, in general, as oppressed and the harp went into further decline. Moving on to the Plantation era, we see the breakdown of the old Gaelic order and harpers take to the roads and were becoming travelling musicians. In 1792, in order to encourage and preserve the old harping tradition, a festival was held in Belfast and a newspaper advertisement invited all Irish harpers to come, but only 10 harpers came, ranging from 15 to 97 years old,” said Dr Aileen.

The next instrument highlighted was the Uilleann Pipes, which also represents Ireland. It is often associated as the gentlemen pipers, and people who played it were clerics. However, as technology evolved, the pipes were played by people touring the United States of America (USA).

“In the long 19th century in Ireland, we see the rise of cultural nationalism, where it was the Gaelic versus the Celtic. In this period, the ethnic repertoire of Ireland was to be understood as an object of preservation and a source of romantic and political expression. Music became an agent of national determination. It is also in this period, the Gaelic League was founded, and it aimed to promote the Irish language, but later it becomes more obviously political in the promotion of Irish independence. They also wanted to de-anglicise Ireland to get rid of English contaminants, and to form and structure and return to pure Irish forms,” said the speaker.

“Then we enter into the period of the great famine and migration, 1845 to 1849. In this period, potato crops were failing and grain continued to be exported across the British Empire from Ireland. Millions die from starvation and 1 million more migrated to the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. All this history and emotion are captured in songs of the time and are still sung today. So the first migrants to the USA became performers in the minstrelsy and Vaudeville genres. When the Irish arrived, they were seen racially as others. Gradually, as the Irish became more integrated into American society, they were later perceived as white. Later on, Irish were also seen as sentimental and sad, but also hard-working people, deserving of class and mobility,” she said.

“In the late 19th century, the idea of music becoming part of the nation was very important. The political organisation were seeking independence and saw the printing of song sheets as part of the propaganda circulating inflammatory and revolutionary ideas. Then in 1916 was the Easter Rising, when Dublin was bombed and rebels were captured and executed. This event has shifted public opinion. Songs became an even more important vehicle for political messages and this continued into the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. As we move to the section on Global Ireland from 1990 to the present, we see a massive economic boom and is named the Celtic Tiger. There was a sensation of migration, which was the increase of inward migration from all over the world into Ireland. The other things promoted in this period was the renewal of new Celtic identity and one of them was the Riverdance,” said Dr Aileen.

“So in a recap, we see a global celebration in the tourism and culture aspects. Green of the Emerald Isle is the central colour and music is present in all celebrations. Today in Ireland, parades are more inclusive, multicultural and ethnically diverse,” explained the speaker.

The online lecture proceeded with an interactive Q&A session before it ended.