Taking Irish traditional music to the world

27 Feb 2025

UCC’s Music Department has held a central place in the history of Irish Traditional Music since its first Professor of Irish Traditional Music, Carl Hardebeck, was appointed in 1922.

Dr Annie Patterson, who followed him, was the first woman in Ireland or Britain to be awarded a non-honorary doctorate in music. As an outspoken proponent of the development of Irish music and language side-by-side, she was instrumental in the foundation of The Feis Ceoil and Oireachtas na Gaeilge, two of the most important institutions in Ireland for traditional music. Some of the greatest names in the tradition, including Seán Ó Riada and Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, have held lecturing posts in the Department, while a remarkable number of its current lecturers, researchers and instrumental and singing teachers are world-renowned exponents of the genre. Every year, the Department hosts the UCC/Arts Council Traditional Artist in Residence, the first of which was the celebrated sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird (The Gloaming).

For St Patrick’s Day, UCC music students will perform in the Irish Embassies in Tanzania and Denmark, and at celebrations in Prague

UCC launched its first master’s in Irish Traditional Music this academic year, providing a practical and theoretical immersion in Irish Traditional Music practice and scholarship. Students of UCC include an amazing number of Ireland’s most talented traditional musicians, many of whom attend the University supported by Quercus and Excellence Scholarships. They act as the core of the University’s traditional music society, TradSoc, which routinely sends musicians abroad. Last year, TradSoc performed in the Philippines, South Africa, Mozambique, Malaysia and Hong Kong and appeared on CNN Malaysia in the run up to Patrick’s Day 2024. This year, UCC music students are travelling in March to perform in the Irish Embassies in Tanzania and Denmark at official events, and at the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Prague.