This book is about the history and practice of recording Irish traditional music and dance, and the variety of documents that exist as a result of the activities of collectors both in Ireland and in North America.

Essay topics range from analyses of nineteenth-century printed documents, to the earliest wax cylinder recordings, to famous, rather large collections, and small all but unknown ones. Authors examine the role of the fieldworker/collector, the impact of broadcasting on regional style, the idea of 'Irish'� versus 'American'� style in early uilleann pipe recordings, and the impact of the recording process and marketing on traditional song, amongst other topics. Approaches vary from the analytical—comparing and analysing various settings of tunes and titles—to the personal—reflecting on the impact of one's own collecting and fieldwork on a regional tradition.

Authors also interrogate how music serves to create and articulate identity, how changing contexts and emic and etic perspectives on music can influence a music's evolution. From original manuscripts in the National Library, to printed documents, audio and video recordings, and art work, this book examines the reception history of Irish traditional music and dance.

Contents

Introduction. Footprints in our Sand - Thérése Smith
From Waterford to Berlin and Back to Ireland: Richard Henebry's Wax Cylinder Recordings and the Berlin Phonogramm–Archiv - Susanne Ziegler

Nineteenth-Century Manuscript Collections
Transcriptions of a Mayo Farmer: The Philip Carolan Collection of Irish Music - Angela Buckley
Recording Music in the Nineteenth Century: The Contribution of George Noble Plunkett (1851–1948) - Alison Slattery
Recording a Tradition: The Contribution of Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914) - Lisa Morrissey

Ireland and the Irish Diaspora
Captain O'Neill and the Americans - Paul de Grae
Capturing Diversity Whilst Creating Canon: The Advent of Sound Recording in Irish Traditional Music - Jimmy O'Brien Moran

Audio and Video Recording
The Notion and Process of Collecting, Recording and Representing Irish Traditional Music, Song and Dance: The Muckross House Collection - Catherine Foley
Broadcasting Bailiúchán Bhairbre: Researching and Representing Recordings via Radio - Deirdre Ní Chonghaile
Radio and Regions in Irish Traditional Music - Daithí Kearney

Song
Popularity and Revival: Factors Affecting Harp Reception in the 1950s and 1960s - Helen Lawlor
Sean-Nós Singing: Ideological Perspectives on a Native Art - Róisín Nic Dhonncha
Mediated Music? The Impact of Recording on Irish Traditional Song Performance - Susan Motherway
Irish Music at the Edge of History - Philip V. Bohlman