Irish traditional music has become very popular, both at home in Ireland and abroad. Also called "Irish Folk Music" it uses a variety of stringed, percussion, and wind instruments to perform ballads jigs and reels, depending on the time signature. This site is a short introduction to some of the instruments used in the irish tradition. I hope you can grab a pint and relax while learning a bit about world music coming from the emerald isle. I have made two trips to Ireland personally (to the republic and the north) as well as enjoying the music at home and at local pubs here in California. The links to the left will take you to some pages with information about a few (but definitely not all) instruments used in irish traditional music. Each page includes a photo of each instrument and a short description of its use in traditional music.
There are a number of very popular irish bands doing traditional music, the most popular possibly being "The Chieftains". Others well known include "Planxty", "The Bothy Band" and "The Clancy Brothers". Each of these has brought their own flavor and favorite instruments and traditional songs to the world. Another favorite of mine is "The Pogues" which are are more punk band that uses traditional instruments. I was also pleased to recently see a local irish rock band called "The Fenians" this past St. Patrick's Day.
My family has some irish and scots-irish heritage. In May and June of 2007 I made my second trip to Ireland and took a day trip from Derry in Northern Ireland to see a town called "Limevady" where the song "Danny Boy" was written. The "Roe River" runs through Limevady so I hopped a couple fences and put my feet in. I made it to Donegal next and was pleased to find information about what my last name "Roe" means. It is an anglisized version of the gaelic "Rua" which means 'red'.
I hope you will enjoy learning just a bit about irish folk music
ENJOY!
top of page
top of text |
