How I Fell in Love with Irish Music

This is a post I have been really excited to write about, Irish Music! This is how I fell in love with it, learned about it, and play it today. It started when I was just a kid, a small kid, like a 2nd grader. My mom was involved with our church’s music group. This group not only played at mass on Sundays but also became part of a larger group that played at our church’s Irish party. We’ve had a few Irish priests which is how the tradition of an Irish party every St. Patrick’s day got started. (Sadly we don’t have Irish parties now, because we have a priest from Kenya.)

The group would practice Irish ballads to play at the party. They had the harp, a flute, a Bodhrán, a Mandolin, fiddle, and many guitars. I learned all the songs from hearing my mom sing them and going to the show. I always begged my parents to let me go even though I usually was always one of the youngest. Not many kids went to the party. It was usually the church’s older generation that attended. Some years there was dancing and of course there was always food. The music was the same each year, so those songs became a part of me.

I had always felt a special connection to Ireland. In elementary school I’d tell everyone my middle name was Irish for red eyebrows because everyone was always confused by the name. “Flannery” is a very Irish name but maybe not as well known as other Irish names. Even into high school people would question it. “Flannel?” they’d say. I became very well known for my love for Ireland. I even thought about doing an exchange for high school, but it didn’t feel quite right, which is because things were supposed work out in a different way.

Once I was a freshman in college I immediately searched for a study abroad program to Galway, Ireland. I’m not going to lie. Finding a college with this specific program did play a bit of a role in where I’d go to college. I always knew that I would study abroad there. I also had my heart set on Galway. I would have loved to go to Dublin and see the other towns in Ireland, but I just knew Galway was where I was supposed to live. It could have been the influence of listening to Galway Girl growing up or being told the Flannerys are from Galway, but I knew it was exactly where I was supposed to be.

That summer before my semester abroad I went to the Irish Fair in St. Paul for the first time. It was a cool experience because out of all those people at this fair celebrating their Irish heritage, I was about to be going back to the motherland. I celebrated with fish and chips and Irish music. All that was on my mind is that this was going to be my actual life in 2 weeks.

I eventually made it to Ireland and immediately I knew it was exactly where I was supposed to be. I have never felt like I have belonged anywhere more than I did in Galway, Ireland. My roommates became my family, I made friends with other international student as well as Irish students, and I was living the life I had always wanted to live. Suddenly everyday felt like a weekend, so there was alway something fun happening. I could go to the pub on a weeknight if I wanted to! I was also 19 so I might have got carried away with the drinking, but that was Irish life. The pub with a third space. Every pub in Galway had music every single night of the week. If I needed a little pick me up, to the pub it was.

I also enjoyed all of my classes. I had two Irish history courses, European politics, European women studies, Irish language, and then an Irish culture course. I really wanted to take an Irish music course, but that was not an option that semester so I settled for the Irish culture course which was a mix of Irish literature in English and Irish, and Irish music.

The other thing I really wanted to do was get involved in the societies, which are the clubs in Ireland. I brought my flute from back home and I had hoped to get involved in the Music Soc since I played flute in the band of my college back home. The Music Soc didn’t take place that semester because it was the Fall of 2021 and there were still remnants of Covid. Instead I joined the Trad Soc. Trad music is what they call traditional Irish music in Ireland. I figured I could learn some Irish music on my flute. There was a flute in the Irish music band my mom played with at the Irish parties.

What I learned by joining the Trad Soc is that our Irish band was not a Trad group. Not to say they didn’t play Irish music, but it wasn’t necesarily a traditional Irish group.

First was the style of music. I thought Irish music in Ireland consisted of the songs the band sang. I learned that those are ballads and those are specifically for ballad sessions, which are a usually sang and played by a couple musician later in the night at pubs. The more common Irish music in Ireland is trad music which is instrumental music. These are the jigs and reels that you maybe learned when studying an instrument in lessons. That was the first thing that surprised me because I didn’t know any of the songs or music.

The other difference was the instruments. It turns out there is this thing called an Irish flute. Can you imagine the embarrassment when I brought my flute to the first Trad Soc meeting and we went around saying the instruments we played and I said flute. Then later when it was time to play everyone pulled out wooden flutes. Oops. There is also a lot of instruments I didn’t even know were in an Irish band. Obviously I knew about the tin whistle and Bodhran. I had know idea what Uilleann pipes were or that the Concertina was apart of Irish music. Not only that but everyone had been studying these instruments since they were little. Everyone had all of the tunes memorized. I just sat there and listened. I didn’t even dare grab my classical flute and try to play along.

I did have the most brilliant idea that night though. I was in love with the music they played. The group was much larger than those that played session tunes at the pubs. I was engulfed in the music and decided I needed to be a part of this. The walk home I was on cloud 9 and as I told my friends I would be going into town the next day to buy an Irish flute at the music store. I was going to learn to play and I would play with the Trad Soc before I leave Ireland.

I will just say that never happened, because learning in 2 months what others had learned in 10 year was not easy. I guess I thought that I could easily start playing the Irish flute because I play flute. It doesn’t work like that. After a call to my mom about how I was going to spend a bit of money on an Irish flute and I didn’t need to think about it because I had to do it, I bought an Irish flute the next day. One of my friends came with me to the store to look at instruments. The store clerk was really nice and I don’t think he thought he would sell me so quickly. I knew what I wanted. He showed me all the different options and I went for the cheapest, a basic open holed rosewood Irish flute for about 250 euros. It definitely was not as nice as the ones they were play in the Trad Soc, but I didn’t really have a ton of extra money to spare. The guy selling me the instrument could tell I wasn’t from there for sure. At this point in the semester I had kind of accepted my American accent and that it was ok to be a foreigner in Ireland. He gave me some cork wax since the humidity in Ireland makes the wood expand and difficult to put together. He said since its going to a different climate I probably won’t need it though.

I immediately tried to start playing the flute at my apartment using my book of how to play the Irish flute and tunes that I bought at the store. I was bad. Very very bad. I have always been pretty gifted in my musical abilities. I have never been the best flute player in the world, but I can say I was a pretty good flute player since I had been taking flute lessons in college. I did not think it would have been this difficult, but the switch from pads to open holes was very difficult for me. It also tired my lips a lot quicker, which might have been because of the slightly different hole and lack of a lip plate.

I spent the next couple months trying to get better at this so I could learn some tunes and play with the Trad Soc. Spoiler alert it did not happen. I fell behind in practicing, too distracted by other things like school work, travel, and spending time with friends. Even if I were to get a better sound out of the instrument, I would never be able to get the tunes memorized. I didn’t even know what tunes they played because they would just start playing something and everyone would know it in the group. I was not raised in Ireland though and I was not raised on the Irish flute. There was so much to learn aside from getting sound out and learning the songs. Its also just played differently than a regular flute, so their were techniques and ornamentations I didn’t know how to do, like cuts and half covered holes for sharps and flats.

I did enjoy playing in my apartment though. I learned a couple songs from my book and even played one when I did my study abroad instagram takeover on Irish music. So while it was kind of a fail I the sense that I never got to play with the Trad Soc, it was a win in other senses. It inspired me in so many ways. I kept going to the Trad Soc’s sessions at the Crane, one of the local pubs. My friends and I were kind of their groupies. It also gave me something to feel connected to Ireland, like I was honoring my Irish ancestors by trying to learn the Irish flute while I was studying abroad. It gave me something to stay focused on when I returned as well. I could practice my flute when I missed Ireland and now it is what I used to share my love for the country, which I will get into in a bit, but first I have to talk about the tin whistle.

As my semester was coming to an end and my Irish culture class was switched to virtual classes for the music section, I still hadn’t bought a tin whistle. I remember as a kid, my mom kept her tin whistle, all beaten up, on top of the fridge. It didn’t sound very good, but it was the forbidden instrument none of us kids could reach. I thought it must be real special then. It turns out in Ireland you can buy one of those for 5 euros. I felt very betrayed when I found that out. So I made it my goal to buy a tin whistle to keep in the whistle slots of my Irish flute case, because true Irish musicians play a tin whistle along with their regular instrument.

Lucky for me I didn’t even have to buy it for myself. For Secret Santa Honoria got me a tin whistle so we could play screeching tin whistle duets together before I left. It was actually a pretty easy instrument to pick up. The fingerings were the same as the Irish flute and I could get much better sound out of it, most of the time.

Eventually I had to return home. Upon my return the obsession with Irish music grew. I told my flute instructor about my Irish flute and she coached me on it a little bit using her knowledge of a baroque flute. I then did a show and tell at our flute studio and even put together a piece on it for our recital. I continued practicing it and the next year learned a few other songs to show my fellow flute players. For Christmas I got some Irish spoons, so my collection of Irish instruments grew until I became the local expert on Irish music. Did I mention I have a banjo? That last year of college I planned a study abroad event for St. Patrick’s day and I worked really hard to get some Irish musicians. Sadly it wasn’t in our budget, so I settled for my Irish music playlist.

I stuck with practicing it for a few years. I never formally took lessons so I still lack in Irish music techniques and ornamentations, but I can make a much better sound on it. I feel much more comfortable playing for people now, although I still wouldn’t call myself a trad musician quite yet.

I really got to share this passion when I starting my 2 month position as a long term substitute for music. I would incorporate my flute and Irish musical instruments in when I could. My favorite thing I planned though was for my last day with the 3rd graders who got a bit exposure to Irish music with one of their previous classroom teachers. A couple of them had tin whistles so they brought those in. One of them even had a harp. I brought in my flutes and taught them the differences. We played tunes on the tin whistles. I let them play my banjo and spoons while I played the guitar. I got out some hand drums to mimic the Bodhran. It was a full circle moment for me. Now I know why some people become teachers. I loved sharing this passion of mine with them and they loved it as well. (Kids really like any opportunity to play an instrument.) I got to tell them all about my love for Ireland and its music. I even had a trip planned for a couple weeks after that, so they all were in awe when I told them I would be going back. So this is what I mean when I say my goal for learning Irish music didn’t quite pan out in Ireland, but it almost got to be something greater. These kiddos will remember that day. I know I always will and somehow that feels like an even greater accomplishment then playing in a trad group in Ireland.

I will keep practicing and someday I will be able to play with a trad group. Sometimes you just have to take things one step at a time. Until then I will keep spreading my love for the music and teach others what I can about it. Irish music is not defined by its location. Irish music is a feeling and it is something that becomes a part of you. I am convinced that this is why not every one likes the music, because it is not apart of them. It will always be a part of me no matter where I am. It signifies my home, my land, and my love.