Irish Myths and Legends - Irish Country Music***

Throughout history, music has been associated with Ireland. Its people have made a huge impact on the world of music over the decades and genres from Country, Traditional, Soul, Celtic Rock and Pop have been hugely influenced by Irish artists.

Ireland's musical history dates back over 2,000 years. Indeed St Columcille (521-597 AD) one of the twelve apostles of Ireland described the clerics of Ireland as having the ability to "sing like birds". Irish saints are well known by hymnologists for writing some of the earliest known hymns.

Unlike most other European countries who have lost their native country music, the country music of Ireland has become increasing popular.

English: Music
Gaelic: Ceol

Irish Country Music - Country and Irish
A new genre of music is known as 'Country and Irish' and was produced by fusing together American Country Music with Irish Traditional Music. Many Irish emigrated to America and England and brought with them a great love for music. Many of the emigrants were naturally talented and were influenced by the already popular and established American country music songs and artists. Artists such as Big Tom and the Mainliners were very successful 'Country and Irish' performers having previously been successful in showbands.

Irish Country Music - Accordion
The Accordion was invented by Friedrich Buschmann in 1822 in Berlin, Germany and was called the Handäoline. Cyrill Demian (1772–1847) of Vienna created another version of the accordion with buttons in 1829. His patent of the name 'Accordion' was officially granted in May 1829 and many credit Cyril Demian with the invention of the accordion while others give credit to Friedrich Buschmann's invention. Today there are many variations of the accordion, some with buttons and others with keyboards, essentially they are all constructed in a similar manner, two boxes separated by a bellows.

It is a very popular instrument in modern Irish country music and is available in different forms. The two row button accordion as shown in the picture below is popular with traditional Irish country accordion players. There are several types of accordions available, for example the Melodeon and Concertina versions are also popular in Irish traditional music as well as the piano accordion which is often played by marching bands popular all across Ireland. Traditionally the accordion was popular with the lower classes as opposed to the harp which was played more by the upper classes. The accordion comprises three components, these are:

The Bellows. These are squeezed which in turn pushes air through to the reeds
The Keys or Buttons. These are pressed producing the notes
The Reeds. The reeds vibrate inside the body of the accordion and make the sound

Irish Music - Irish Country Music

Irish Music Index

Full Ireland Website

Irish Country Music - Tin Whistle
The tin whistle or metal whistle as shown in the image below is very popular in Irish country music and the whistles are made from a variety of materials including brass, steel and aluminium. Most Irish school children are taught to play the tin whistle, for most it is their first experience of playing a musical instrument.

Irish Cuntry Music - Fiddle
The fiddle is a vital component of Irish country music and it is played in a variety of styles depending on the region of Ireland where the fiddle is played. The regions of Ireland with particular fiddling traditions are Sligo, Donegal, Clare and Sliabh Luachra which is a small area between the counties of Kerry and Cork.

Irish Country Music History - Irish Diaspora
What is diaspora? Diaspora is defined as 'the movement or settlement of people away from their ancestral homeland'. The Irish Diaspora are descendants of the native Irish immigrants forced to move away from their native country for a variety of reasons including conflict and more recently in the 19th century due to the great Famine, known in Gaelic as 'An Gorta Mor'. The Irish diaspora spread all over the world and it is estimated that globally there are more than 80 million Irish Diaspora! Some are second or third generation Irish whilst others are fifth and sixth generation Irish! The Irish Diaspora have kept their culture, heritage and traditions alive through traditional music. St Patrick's day is a celebration of Irish culture and traditional Irish music forms a huge part of this now globally celebrated event.

List of Popular Irish Country Music Singers
Irish country music is famous all over the world and Irish country singers are like 'gods' in their native counties. Daniel O'Donnell from Kincasslagh in Country Donegal even has his own museum in the local town of Dungloe, County Donegal. Fans arrive everyday from England and America hoping to catch a glimpse of one of Donegal's most famous sons. The following list of country music singers is from this popular music genre:

Big Tom
Larry Cunningham
Mike Denver
Joe Dolan
Sean Dunphy
Mick Flavin
James Kilbane
Johnny Loughrey
Margo
Frankie McBride
Philomena Begley
Seamus Moore
Daniel O'Donnell