No Longer Second Fiddle: Due Recognition for Josephine Keegan

Kearney, Daithi No Longer Second Fiddle: Due Recognition for Josephine Keegan. In: Women in Music in Ireland. Boydell and Brewer, Dundalk.

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Abstract

Until recently, the history and study of Irish traditional music has been dominated by men, creating an impression that female musicians are not as important in the tradition. Josephine Keegan (b.1935), a fiddle and piano player as well as a composer, now living in Mullaghbawn (or Mullaghbane) in south Armagh, exemplifies the different roles played and challenges faced by female Irish traditional musicians in the twentieth century. Keegan’s musical life and output highlight the role and influence of women in the tradition, knowledge of which contributes to a fuller understanding of the tradition. As Keegan has been overshadowed by the attention paid to her contemporaries and collaborators, including Seán McGuire (1927–2005) and Joe Burke (1939–2021), this chapter considers her multiple achievements: as piano accompanist to male soloists, fiddle soloist of note in her own right, collector and composer of Irish traditional music, and pedagogue. She was an innovator in the context of her solo recordings and corresponded widely with her contemporaries. The male dominance of the tradition, particularly in the past, may be explained by social and cultural norms including attitudes to appropriate behaviour and the presence of women in pubs, attitudes that Keegan challenged and overcame as a pioneering female performer in a male-dominated society. Informed by debates in musicological discourse and music journalism, this chapter recognises changing attitudes in recent years towards a greater appreciation of female performers and composers in Irish traditional music.

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	Arts and Humanities Arts and Humanities > Music Social Sciences
Research Centres:	Centre for Creative Arts, Media & Music
Depositing User:	David Kearney
Date Deposited:	23 Apr 2024 13:06
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2024 13:06
License:	Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0
URI:	https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/836

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