The History and Origin of Irish Music

Ireland has been able to produce some big music names, which include the Script and even U2. If you want to find out more about the traditional origins of Irish music, then simply take a look below.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the main music festival in Ireland. It’s the biggest traditional festival celebration around and it sees 400,000 attendees every single year. There are dozens of nationalities who arrive in Ireland and they all focus on celebrating the 2,000-year tradition. When the tin whistle is whipped out of the bag, you know that there is going to be a fun event and a good night. A lot of people wonder, where did it all start? Paul Murphy who is the director of Murphy of Ireland has traced it all the way back and he has also explained a few of the ancient traditions as well.

Irish Traditional Music

Irish traditional music began as an oral tradition. It has been passed down to generation after generation by learning by ear. The tunes are never formally written down on paper and this makes it even more special. A lot of formal classes give musical notes to students and they print music on a traditional stave, but normally this is not the case. If you go to online casino sites such as Jackpot City, for example, you will soon see that they have tons of games that focus on Irish music.

The Celts

The traditional music that is often played came into the country over 2,000 years ago. The Celts were heavily influenced by the music that came from the East and this is believed to have originated from the Irish harp. Some believe that this may have some ties to Egypt, so it’s all very interesting to say the least. The harp was one of the most popular instruments and harpists quite often played for the chieftains. They wanted to try and create music for nobles and they also wanted to make sure that they were passing their craft down to others as well. This was until 1607 when chieftains ran away to try and escape from the invaders. The harpists were left and had to travel the country to play where they could at the time.

Tunes and Writing

In 1762, tunes were written down officially for the very first time. Collectors then started to travel the country and they compiled music which is still seen today. The tradition of collecting music and then travelling the country with it is still very popular to this day and some of the copies can be seen in the Traditional Music Archive in Dublin. The biggest collection of folk music can be found there, and this is a testament to how far Ireland has come over the years. It was during this time when a huge number of Irish people moved to the US. Of course, things have changed a lot since then but it would seem that Irish music still has a place in most people’s hearts.