Irish Music and Culture

What do U2, The Pogues, The Frames, Boyzone, My Bloody Valentine, Van Morrison and Snow Patrol have in common with Enya, The Corrs, The Cranberries, Damien Rice and The Script? They are all Irish!

One of the best reasons to visit Ireland is its amazing scenery and culture. Ireland’s countryside is one of the most beautiful in the world; sometimes sharp and rocky; others tender and soft, but always green. Castles and Fairy tales (the most famous is the Leprechaun, a man sprite who loves mischief and collecting coins in a pot at the end of the rainbow) are abundant in this country full of Celtic folk, co-existing with plenty of music.

Every traveller that embraces the adventure of discovering Ireland soon discovers how much the Irish love their music and how serious it is to them. From the most crowded pub in Dublin to the most secluded in the fields of deep Ireland, music entertains them all.

In Dublin, there isn’t a Friday or Saturday night that Grafton Street isn’t full of young musicians and pop idols wannabes crawling between music and singing pubs, showing off their latest musical offering or vocal ability. As for the rest of Ireland, the evening entertainment is the local pub. Everyone here taps their foot and swings their head to the sound of the Bodhrán, a goatskin circular drum, without which no Irish music can survive. Other essential Irish musical instruments are:

• * Tin Whistles,  simple metal tubes with six holes and a mouthpiece
• * Fiddles, a traditional violin
• * Harps, mostly small and can be played on the knee.
• * Guitars, Mandolins and sometimes, the North-American, Banjo
• * Irish Flute

These are just a few of the typical Irish musical instruments. With such variety and passion, the quantity and quality of Irish musicians doesn’t come as a surprise. Music is one of the main passions of the Irish people, being vibrant and happy folk as a result!

Influences of Irish folk music can be seen amongst its most known artists, such as Sinead O’Connor, U2 and many others. Some of them have admitted that traditional Irish music played a big role in influencing them, for example, in their basslines.

Do you think you can give it a try?

Kaplan school in Dublin is well used to students who want to follow the trail of U2, The Pogues and The Script. At this school you can get the information about the right places to go and help regarding where to buy quality Irish music instruments.

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