Return to Fingal: The heritage and practice of Irish traditional music in North County Dublin

Mullen, Maurice (2022) Return to Fingal: The heritage and practice of Irish traditional music in North County Dublin. Doctoral thesis, Dundalk Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

This dissertation presents a critical examination of the heritage and practice of Irish traditional music today in North County Dublin, a local government administrative county also known as Fingal. The area has experienced much population growth and demographic change in recent years. This research critically examines the practice of the music within local community settings with a focus on recreational musicians and how they engage with the music, including learning and performing. An ecosystem approach is adopted in the examination, involving the application of a five-domain analytical framework developed by Schippers and Grant (2016), to comprehend an array of actors, physical and social factors, wider community and commercial influences and, not least, official actions at national and local levels that impact now on the practice of Irish traditional music in Fingal. The research identifies an increase in interest in playing Irish traditional music in Fingal between circa 1980 and 2010. The increase was associated with particular locations within the county, while in many other areas the music continued to have limited visibility and that remains the position today. Engagement with the music has also weakened in some areas over the past decade. To understand why that should be so despite public investment and plans supporting traditional music being in place, the research examines national and local policies and actions to foster the music at county level. The methodology included undertaking interviews with 52 individuals drawn from across the community demographic. The dissertation presents detailed accounts of how ten individuals personally engage with traditional music and recognises a need for the development of a new vision and official measures to encourage and support recreational musicians engaging in participatory performance in their communities.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Fingal; Irish traditional music; North County Dublin.
Subjects:	Arts and Humanities Arts and Humanities > Music
Research Centres:	Centre for Creative Arts, Media & Music
Depositing User:	David Kearney
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2022 08:44
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2022 11:41
License:	Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0
URI:	https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/794

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