A JOURNEY THROUGH IRISH FOLK RADIO SHOW

INTRO MUSIC: NECK, THE PSYCHO CEILIDH MAYHEM SET, 1,10

Over the past 30 years, the world has fallen in love with Irish music. More than

anything else, the nations music grants Ireland a distinct place on the global
stage. But it wasn't always as so. 70 years ago it was largely unheard of abroad

and rather unloved at home. The Irish folk revival tells of Irelands rocky journey
from an impoverished post-colonial upstart to a modern European power. Over
the next half an hour we will explore how the world has been given a sense of
the Emerald Isle through its music and also how it has given Ireland a sense of
itself. (1,00)

INTRODUCE VOX POP

PLAY VOX POP, 0.40

In 1949 Ireland took its final step in its 50 year battle to break free from the
British Empire. The government sought to purge all colonial influences from
society, looking to build a new republic from what was seen as a bedrock of
traditional Irish values. The Gaelic language and its music was to form a

cultural framework while the Catholic Church was entrusted with the nations
moral well being.
Catholicism had been outlawed in Ireland for over 200 years and so made a
potent rallying point for Irish nationalism. But the Irish Catholic church was a
particularly controlling master. Soon it become a Republic of Silence in the

1950s as then President Aemonn Devalera, enshrined the Catholic church and
embedded it in the constitution of independent Ireland.
In post WW2 Europe, many counties were focussed on progress, but Devalera

was more focused on de-anglosising Ireland and looked for the nations future

in its past. Music was a central part of his reckoning. In the early 50s this new

Gaelic utopia saw Irelands music for the first time ever, being sold to the
masses. The hope of this was to enforce Irish pride but the Irish youth was
more preoccupied with the voices of Sinatra and Crosby. Traditional musicians
of an older generation were often on the receiving end of mockery, and there
was a stigma attached to and attempt to revive and maintain the folk tradition.
One of these musicians was the uilleann pipe player, Willie Clancy. In the 50s
he boarded a bot across the Irish Sea to England in search of labour work as a
builder, like many other men of working age. Much to their amazement, they
found a lot more interest in their music there than they had done at home.
Before long there was a blossoming London Irish music scene. (3,10)

PLAY WILLIE CLANCY, CONNERY BROTHERS, 1,10

BACK ANNOUNCE CLANCY

The McPeake family, from my hometown, Belfast were at the forefront of this
folk revival. From London, they were taken across to the United States were
the Irish music scene had by this stage already began to flourish. With the
mass migration of Irish to America post famine, this soon became a very
lucrative music genre.
Michael Corman, a fiddle player from Sligo found his place on the vaudeville
scene of New York. He got noticed by numerous recording companies and soon

rose to fame. His records were being sent back to Ireland much to the nations
astonishment that Irish music was gaining a reputation around the world. This
sparked the inspiration for bands which soon became the accompaniment to
many a drunken Saturday night across the country. (1,10)

INTRODUCE JAMAICA INN CEILIDH SESSION

PLAY JAMAICA INN SESSION, WITH INCLUDED INTERVIEW, 2,40

Ronnie Drew emerged from the fringe of the Dublin pub scene and formed a
ballad group with a few of his drinking pals in the early 60s. When Luke Kelly
returned from his time on the British Irish folk circuit, the group changed their
name to The Dubliners but not many noticed as all eyes and ears were on the
Irish American takeover.
In 1962 the Clancy Brothers played for JFK in the Whitehouse and this was a
definite landmark in the Irish music revolution. Some years earlier, the three

Tipperary men had stepped off the boat onto New Yorks dock in hope of
becoming actors but the soon were drawn into the underground folk scene of
Greenwich Village. It was here they were introduced to a young man by the
name of Bobbie Dylan who was putting a contemporary underground spin on
the Irish classics. At this time, Europe was in the grip on Beatlemania and
change was occurring in Ireland as after 40 years in power, Develera stepped

down. The new leader Sean Lemass had a more pragmatic plan for Irelands

future. Upon the Clancys return to Ireland, their new take on the classics that
had been inspired by Dylan were welcomed by the nation.

INTRODUCE CLANCY BROTHERS, RISING OF THE MOON, 1968

PLAY RISING OF THE MOON, 2.05

Thin Lizzy signified a definite transformation in the Irish music scene. In 1973
they played Whiskey in the Jar on Top of the Pops, bringing a traditional Irish
song into the spotlight of pop culture. Traditional music had completely

captured the imagination of nations youth. This was an unprecedented period

of innovation and popularity for Irish music. (1,30)

PLAY THIN LIZZY, WHISKEY IN THE JAR, 1,30

The Chieftans, with piper Paddy Maloney, 1974 played the Albert Hall stage

which captured the worlds ears. People from across the globe fled to Ireland to
hear the music first hand. Even so, the Catholic church still ruled Ireland with
an iron fist and if change was going to come, the youth had to make their
voices heard.
The Boomtown Rats were certainly intending on doing just this. Geldof was

protesting Irelands criminal government and the countrys seclusion from the
rest of Europe. The beginning of the 80s saw a wave of Irish pop bands leading
the way to this newly imagined Ireland. Relevant cultural folk began to emerge.

1981 saw Christie Moores political folk speaking volumes but this was also

the year of the IRA prisoners hunger strike. Folk music allowed for the
expression of national woe and trauma. (1,30)

PLAY CHRISTIE MOORE, RIDE ON, 2,10

FLOWS INTO THE POGUES,DIRTY OLD TOWN, 3,00

BACK ANNOUNCE BOTH OF THE ABOVE -The Pogues: Dirty Old Town was
written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 and was made famous by the Dubliners. It
was on The Pogues second album Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.
London Irish punk band The Pogues saw Irish music under another new
interpretation. Shane Magowan's sophisticated writing disguised by this rogue
rocker appearance liberated Irish music from the political hangups of the past.
He became the unlikely hero of the under 25s. His liberation meant that now
anyone now could stake a claim to the sound of Ireland.
The mid 80s saw the popularisation of Celtic Ireland springing from the north

west of the country. Clannads Harrys Game is a fusion music that conjured up
a mythical imagery of Ireland that has since become a trademark of the
country, despite its lack of authenticity. (1,30)

PLAY CLANNAD, HARRYS GAME, 2,20

BACK ANNOUNCE CLANNAD- Clannad: Theme from Harrys Game, British TV

program about The Troubles in Northern Ireland but grew far more successful. It
hit number 5 on the UK chart list and to this day is the only hit single in the UK
to ever have been sung in Irish Gaelic.
Whilst this sound appealed globally it was rejected by the home youth. U2 had

become the worlds biggest rock band and money started to flow in from
Europe. Ireland was back in the good times, with liberation taking over the
hearts of the country. Music and culture laid the path for the Celtic Tiger, and
economic boom that would define modern Ireland. (1,00)

PLAY U2, MOLLY MALONE & BAD, 2,30

BACK ANNOUNCE U2-U2: Molly Malone sang at the end of bad in a 2001
performance in the States, the song that electrified the crowd of the 1985
LiveAid.

In 1990, Mary Robinson, a feminist and divorce campaigner was elected the
first female president. The female voice exploded out of Ireland, as if in

celebration in the form of Sinead OConnor. Mary Black amongst other Irish

female artists recorded A Womans Heart, Irelands best selling folk album of all
time. This second cultural revolution saw the public exposure of corruption both
in the government and the church. This along with the Good Friday Agreement
in the North meant Ireland was a great place to be. Riverdance became a
public celebration of why it is great to be Irish and the world welcomed it with
open arms.

INTRODUCE OCONNOR- Sinead OConnor: She Moved Through the Fair at Sult
in 1997. This heart reaching song was written in 1909 but the tune goes back
further. Song collector, Herbert Hughes came across the melody while
travelling through Donegal and commissioned composer Padric Colum to write
a song based around the melody. The melody has been used in various film
soundtracks including Braveheart. (2,10)

PLAY OCONNOR, SHE MOVES THROUGH THE FAIR, 2,10

OVER THE TOP OF OCONNORThe Ireland however that has been promoted to
the world in the past 20 years does convey a false sense of the nation. From
Bewitched to Boyzone, the Celtic Tiger created a theme park packaged version
of a country burdened with a painful past. The raw, protesting sound of the 50s
has been marginalised once again.

I hope you've been a fan of a lot of the music you've heard today. I feel like Ive
been transported right back home to Ireland! Thanks so much for listening and
I leave you The Kilkennys and Galway Girl. (0.30)

PLAY KILKENNYS, GALWAY GIRL, PLAY UNTIL FADE1,00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyo-H7zHDPU&spfreload=10

DISCOGRAPHY

Neck
Psycho Ceilidh Mayhem Set
Sod 'em and Begorrah
Bad Dog Records
2004
1,10

Willie Clancy
The Connerys
Setting Sail
Gael Lin
2007
1,10

Clancy Brothers
Rising of the Moon
Irish Songs of Rebellion
Laser Light Digital
1972
2,05

Thin Lizzy
Whiskey in the Jar
Live on Top of the Pops, BBC
1973
1,30

The Pogues
Dirty Old Town
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
Elvis Costello
Stiff
1985
3,00

Clannad
Harrys Game
Clannad, The Collection
K-Tel
1987
2,20

U2
Molly Malone & Bad
Live performance
YouTube
2001
2,30

Sinead OConnor
She Moves Through the Fair
The Lion &The Cobra
Ensign
1987
2,10

The Kilkennys
Galway Girl
Musical Gatherings and Homecomings
YouTube
2013
1,00

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ONeill Francis, Irish Folk Music, Regan Print House, 1910

OFlynn John, Music and Identity in Ireland and Beyond, Ashgate, 2014

Smyth Gerry, Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music, Cork
University Press, 2005
irishmusicmagazine.com

irishtraditionalmusicarchive.com