Ireland High Culture
By: Rebecca Johnston
Traditional Irish Music
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Mainly dance music.
Consisting of melodic lines with many variations.
The only true way to learn an Irish tune is to listen to it.
Several different versions of the same tune
Most tunes consist of two parts
• Part A is usually called the tune and consists of 8 beats and
repeated to consist in a total of 16 beats
• Part B is usually called the turn and also consists of a repeated
set of 8 beats totaling in 16 beats.
Traditional Instruments
• Irish wire-strung harp
• the symbol of the
Irish Republic
• stands about 4 feet
high, and has 34
strings
• opposed to 47
strings on the
modern orchestral
harp
Traditional Instruments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5eY90
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• Bodhrán (pronounced bowrahn)
• Typically made of a round
wooden frame with goatskin
stretched across the top
• Played with a beater,
• Today it is common to be a
wooden rod about 7 inches
long
• During the traditional days it
could have been made from
bone.
Traditional Instruments
• Fiddle
• Strung with steel
string
• Played first during
the 17th century
• Bagpipes,
• features a bladder
made of leather that
is inflated through a
pipe by the breath of
the person playing.
Performing Arts
• Ireland is internationally
known for is music,
acting, singing, dancing,
composing and writing
• The most well known
Irish dance is the
Riverdance.
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=NnTq5
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Irish Writers
• Some of the greatest writers in English
over the last century were Irish:
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W. B. Yeats
George Bernard Shaw
James Joyce
Samuel Beckett
Frank O'Connor,
Seán O'Faoláin,
Seán O'Casey,
Flann O'Brien
Seamus Heaney.
Cultural festivities
• The moat well known, national
holiday in the Republic is Saint
Patrick's Day
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March 17
Marked by parades and festivals in
cities and towns across the island
of Ireland
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In remembrance to Saint Patrick,
the patron saint of Ireland
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Dublin is the host of the largest
parade in Ireland with over 3000
performers and on average
500,000 people attending.
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Pan Celtic Festival
• 1971, aimed to foster better relations
between the Celtic nations of
Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, the Isle
of Mann, Cornwall and Wales.
• today, Celtic culture with parades,
music, dancing and sports
Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival
• Singles festival in Ireland, mix of
music, dance horseracing and BBQ
championships.
Puck Fair
• oldest and most popular festivals,
free family entertainment.
Sources
1. http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hend/VictoryMusic/Iris
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hTraditionalMusic.html
http://www.stmoroky.com/reviews/music/irinst.htm
http://www.yourirish.com/culture/dance/
http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Ireland.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Ireland
http://www.irishtourism.com/festivals-in-ireland/stpatricks-festival/1309
http://www.irelandby.com/events/traditional.htm