Fintan Vallely

Dr Fintan Vallely is a musician and writer on Traditional music. He was a critic with The Irish Times and The Sunday Tribune, and has been a university lecturer on Traditional music in Ireland and abroad. He compiled the first-ever tutor for the Irish flute in 1986 (new edition in 2013—The Complete Guide to Playing the Irish flute), and in 2008 published Tuned Out—Traditional Music and Identity in Northern Ireland. Among his numerous edited books is the 1999, 2011 and (t.b.p. 2024) encyclopedia Companion to Irish Traditional Music—which has a related touring show and CD, Compánach, and a DVD, Turas. Just completed is Beating time—the story of the Irish bodhrán, a unique, substantial history of the Irish drum. He is an Adjunct Professor with University College Dublin, and in 2023 was awarded the TG4 lifetime achievement award, Gradam Saol. [www.imusic.ie, www.comitm.com]