The Globalization of Irish Traditional Song Performance by Susan H. Motherway (review)

Susan H. Motherway has authored a comprehensive text that exhaustively examines the complex nature of Irish traditional song performance within a globalized context. Motherway demonstrates a deep understanding of Irish traditional music and provides a welcomed perspective on Irish traditional song traditions. The introduction clearly outlines the central methodological practices and theoretical scholarship that informs this work, which examines the well-worn concept of “globalization” from cultural, political and economic standpoints. The text features eight chapters that explore local and global relationship within Irish traditional music practices.

Motherway examines the historical development of Irish traditional song performance—and with it, introduces issues of authenticity, tradition, and transformation—by looking at significant academic and artistic contributions, ranging from the song collections of Edward Bunting and George Petrie in the nineteenth century, to the rise of Irish country and western music, to the emergence of Celtic music—to name just a few. Motherway provides numerous examples of song repertoire, performance practices, and the cultural significance and function of Irish traditional song.

Motherway’s well-balanced presentation of Irish traditional song performance lead her to include the history and interpretation of the obscure linguistic and musical traditions of Shelta (from the Travellers) and Yola (a dialect of Wexford) within the broader Irish traditional song canon. Continuing along this path of linguistic interconnections, she also explores Ulster Scots songs and language at length. Motherway considers the origins and importance of sean-nós singing, as well as the popular rise of ballad singing during the mid-twentieth century to the present.

Surprisingly, given that it is a book about globalization, Motherway commits to exploring the music cultures of the Irish diaspora in only a limited fashion—for instance, by comparing those in Newfoundland. As a key concept in the study is that globalization decentralizes music from its geographic origins (in this case, Ireland), looking at the spread of Irish song outside of Ireland would only strengthen her discussion. Diasporic Irish song traditions naturally lend themselves to discussions concerning the role of nationalism and the function of Irish song traditions in the collective imagining of what constitutes Irishness. Motherway’s concluding thoughts concerning Irish traditional songs in global context might have been better developed, with a deeper exploration of Irish song traditions of the Irish diaspora, particularly in North America and Australia. She does, however discuss the nature of global market forces that spread and alter song traditions. The powerful impact of the entertainment and tourism industries play significant, and growing, roles in both the continuation and transformation of these song traditions.

The Globalization of Irish Traditional Song Performance is a significant contribution to the body of ethnomusicological texts exploring Irish traditional music practices, and Motherway’s focus upon Irish traditional song practices in relation to linguistic traditions provides an enriched perspective on this topic.