The Chieftains

Ireland was mostly ice-covered and joined by land to Britain and Europe during the last ice age, has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. Stone age inhabitants arrived sometime after 8000 BC, with the culture progressing from Mesolithic to high Neolithic over the course of three or four millennia. The Bronze Age, which began around 2500 BC, saw the production of elaborate gold and bronze ornaments and weapons. The Iron Age in Ireland is associated with people now known as Celts. They are traditionally thought to have colonised Ireland in a ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland. Main articles: History of the Republic of Ireland, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]]See also:

Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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There is no universally agreed flag that represents the island of Ireland. Historically a number of flags were used, including St. Patrick's cross, the flag sometimes used for the Kingdom of Ireland and which represented Ireland on the Union Jack after the Act of Union, a green flag with a harp (used by some radical nationalists in the 19th century and which is also the flag of Leinster), a blue flag with a harp used from the 18th century onwards by many nationalists (now the standard of the President of Ireland), and the Irish tricolour. Ho ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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Politically, Ireland is divided into: The Republic of Ireland, with its capital in Dublin. This state is often simply referred to internally and internationally as "Ireland" in English or "Éire" in Irish. Technically Ireland and Éire are the official names of the state while the "Republic of Ireland" is its official description. Northern Ireland is unofficially known as 'the North', and 'Ulster' (the province of Ulster also includes Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan which are in the Republic). North ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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The Galician folk revival drew on early 20th century performers like Perfecto Feijoo, a gateiro and hurdy-gurdy player. The first commercial recording of Galician music had come in 1904, by a corale called Aires d'a Terra from Pontevedra. The middle of the century saw the rise of Ricardo Portela, who inspired many of the revivalist's performers, and played in influential bands like Milladoiro. During the regime of Francisco Franco, Galician folk music was suppressed, or forced to adopt lyrics with little for most listeners to c ...

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Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - History, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Revival, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Traditional instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Wind instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - String instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Percussion, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Gaita, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Songs, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Dances

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The oldest and best-known form of Galician music is the alalás, a form of chanting that has been associated with Galician nationalism. They share characteristics with Celtic nations as well as Castilian, German, Arab and other Mediterranean-area peoples. Their origin is shrouded in mystery, with some scholars asserting Gregorian chants as a major souce, while others point to Greek or Phoenician rowing songs called alelohuías. Alalás are arhythmic and based on a single, short theme that repeats the melody, separated by instru ...

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Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - History, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Revival, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Traditional instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Wind instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - String instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Percussion, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Gaita, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Songs, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Dances

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Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular sports in Ireland. Along with Camogie, Ladies' Gaelic football, handball and rounders, they make up the national sports of Ireland, collectively known as Gaelic Games. All Gaelic games are governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), with the exception of Ladies' Gaelic Football, which is governed by a separate organisation. The GAA is organised on an all-Ireland basis with all 32 counties competing; traditionally, counties first compete within their province, in the provincial champions ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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Ireland - Literature and the arts. Main articles: Irish literature, and Irish art, and [[{{{3}}}]], and See also:

Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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Personal names in modern Ireland are derived from traditional Gaelic names, anglicised Gaelic names and, more recently, popular American names. The recent years have seen a major decline in most Irish names for babies being born in the Republic. While in the past names such as Patrick, John, Michael, Seamus and others were almost ubiquitous in any family, today they are among the rarer names for children and the same goes for most other Irish names, although there are a few notable exceptions. Jack and Sean, both Irish derivatives of ...

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Irish people, Irish people - Descent, Irish people - Surnames, Irish people - Personal Names forenames, Irish people - Recent history, Irish people - Irish diaspora, Irish people - Notable Irish people selection

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In Northern Ireland almost half of the population are Protestant, whilst a large minority are Roman Catholic at approximately 43.8% (2001). After Ireland became subdued by England in 1603 the English – under James I of England (reigned 1603–25), Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (term 1653–58), William III of England (reigned 1689–1702) and their successors – began the settling of Protestant English and later Scottish colonists into Ireland, where they settled most heavily in the northern province of Ulster. However, they did not intermarry heavily or integrate with the nativ ...

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Irish people, Irish people - Descent, Irish people - Surnames, Irish people - Personal Names forenames, Irish people - Recent history, Irish people - Irish diaspora, Irish people - Notable Irish people selection

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It is common for some Irish surnames to be anglicised, meaning that they were changed to sound more English. This usually occurred with Irish immigrants arriving in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also very common for people of Gaelic origin to have surnames beginning with "O" or "Mc" (less frequently "Mac" and occasionally shortened to just "Ma" at the beginning of the name). "O" comes from Ua (originally hUa), which means "grandson", or "descendant" of a named person. For example, the descendants of ...

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Irish people, Irish people - Descent, Irish people - Surnames, Irish people - Personal Names forenames, Irish people - Recent history, Irish people - Irish diaspora, Irish people - Notable Irish people selection

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Ireland - Transport. Main articles: Transport in Ireland, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], an ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9000 years, although little is known about the neolithic inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existance of dozens of different peoples (Attacotti, Conmaicne, Éoganacht, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few). Over the last 1000 years, there have been influences by the Vikings, who founded several ports, including Dublin, and Normans, with significant admixture to the gene pool. However the greater part of the Irish population descends from the original inhabitants of the islan ...

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Ireland, Ireland - Geography, Ireland - Politics, Ireland - Flag of Ireland, Ireland - History, Ireland - History since partition, Ireland - Irish Independence: The Irish Free State Éire Ireland, Ireland - Northern Ireland, Ireland - Sport, Ireland - Culture, Ireland - Literature and the arts, Ireland - Music and dance, Ireland - Demographics, Ireland - Infrastructure, Ireland - Transport, Ireland - Energy

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In recent times, however, many Galician folk musicians have considered Galician music to be at least partially “Celtic” in origin, and whether or not this is the case much modern Galician folk and folk-rock is strongly influenced by Irish and Scottish traditions. Certainly, Galicia is nowadays a strong player on the international Celtic folk scene; and as a result, elements of the pre-industrial Galician tradition have become integrated into the modern Celtic folk repertoire and style. Many, however, claim that the "Celtic" ...

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Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - History, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Revival, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Traditional instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Wind instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - String instruments, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Percussion, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Gaita, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Songs, Music of Galicia Cantabria and Asturias - Dances

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In Romania Transsylvania Phoenix (known in Romania simply as Phoenix), founded in 1962, introduced significant folk elements into their rock music around 1972 in an unsuccessful attempt to compromise with government repression of rock music. The attempt failed, and they ended up in exiled during much of the Ceauşescu era, but much of their music still retains a folk-rock sound. The present-day bands Spitalul de Urgenţ� ...

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Folk-rock, Folk-rock - The roots of folk-rock, Folk-rock - The original folk-rock impulse, Folk-rock - British and Celtic folk-rock, Folk-rock - Elsewhere in Europe and the Mediterranean, Folk-rock - Folk-rock artists, Folk-rock - Singer-songwriters, Folk-rock - 1960s North American folk-rock vocal groups, Folk-rock - Other U.S. bands of this era, Folk-rock - British and Irish folk-rock, Folk-rock - Other

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Identifying "common characteristics" of Celtic music is problematic. Most of the popular musical forms now thought of as characteristically "Celtic" were once common in many places in Western Europe. Jigs were adapted from Italian music, for example, and polkas have their origin in Czech and Polish tradition. On the other hand, there are musical genres and styles specific to each Celtic country, due in part to the influence of individual song traditions and the characteristics of specific languages. Strathspeys are specific to Highland Scotland, for example, and mimic the rh ...

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Celtic music, Celtic music - Divisions, Celtic music - Definition debate, Celtic music - Forms, Celtic music - Festivals, Celtic music - Modern Adaptations, Celtic music - Musicians, Celtic music - Notes

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Some noteworthy "traditional" Celtic performers include The Chieftains, Silly Wizard, The Bothy Band, and Solas. Celtic Fusion groups include Manau, Emcee Lynx. Martyn Bennett, Dagda, The Pogues, Flogging Molly, Croft No Five, and many others. Celtic music groups offers a more extensive list of Celtic musicians. ...

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Celtic music, Celtic music - Divisions, Celtic music - Definition debate, Celtic music - Forms, Celtic music - Festivals, Celtic music - Modern Adaptations, Celtic music - Musicians, Celtic music - Notes

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At issue is the lack of many common threads uniting the "Celtic" peoples listed above. While the ancient Celts undoubtedly had their own musical styles, these have grown and evolved to the point where considering any modern styles reminiscent of ancient Celtic music is misleading. There is also tremendous variation between Celtic regions. Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany have living traditions of language and music, whereas Cornwall and the Isle of Man have only revivalist movements that have yet to take hold. Galicia has no Celtic lan ...

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Celtic music, Celtic music - Divisions, Celtic music - Definition debate, Celtic music - Forms, Celtic music - Festivals, Celtic music - Modern Adaptations, Celtic music - Musicians, Celtic music - Notes

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Even among aficionados, it is recognized that bagpipes, bagpipers, and bagpipe music can all be legitimate sources of humour. A typical gentle-jab at the field is exemplified by the following jokes: The music of the pipes is best appreciated when heard over a body of water. The width of the Atlantic Ocean is usually considered to be sufficient. and Q. Why do bagpipers walk as they play? A. They're trying to get away from the noise. and Q. What do you call 10 bagpipes under the oc ...

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Bagpipes, Bagpipes - Overview, Bagpipes - History, Bagpipes - Types, Bagpipes - The great highland bagpipe, Bagpipes - The Irish Uilleann bagpipe, Bagpipes - The Northumbrian smallpipe, Bagpipes - The Scottish smallpipe, Bagpipes - The biniou, Bagpipes - French and Occitan bagpipes, Bagpipes - The border pipe, Bagpipes - The gaita, Bagpipes - The Brian Boru bagpipe, Bagpipes - Categories, Bagpipes - Other types, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in non-traditional forms of music, Bagpipes - Classical works featuring bagpipes, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in jazz, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in rock, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in other forms of music, Bagpipes - Bagpipe aphorisms, Bagpipes - Bagpipe humour, Bagpipes - Notes

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Bagpipes - Classical works featuring bagpipes. Ur Og and Aji, for 4 bagpipes, bass clarinet & tabla by Canadian composer Michael O'Neill. An Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise (1984) by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies Sinfonia Concertante for Six Solo Instruments and Orchestra by P.D.Q. Bach features bagpipes as one of the six instruments. Bagpipes - Bagpipes in jazz. U.S. musician Rufus Harley (b. 1936) was the first jazz perform ...

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Bagpipes, Bagpipes - Overview, Bagpipes - History, Bagpipes - Types, Bagpipes - The great highland bagpipe, Bagpipes - The Irish Uilleann bagpipe, Bagpipes - The Northumbrian smallpipe, Bagpipes - The Scottish smallpipe, Bagpipes - The biniou, Bagpipes - French and Occitan bagpipes, Bagpipes - The border pipe, Bagpipes - The gaita, Bagpipes - The Brian Boru bagpipe, Bagpipes - Categories, Bagpipes - Other types, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in non-traditional forms of music, Bagpipes - Classical works featuring bagpipes, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in jazz, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in rock, Bagpipes - Bagpipes in other forms of music, Bagpipes - Bagpipe aphorisms, Bagpipes - Bagpipe humour, Bagpipes - Notes

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Main article: Early British popular music Beginning in the 16th century, printed broadside ballads were the first genre of British popular music. These were lyrics transcribed and eventually printed (after the invention of the printing press) and meant to be sung to some well-known tune. They were popular until the early 20th century, when a combination of newspapers and recording technology made them obsolete. After the industrial revolution, bars that provided musical entertainment arose, fuelling demand for popu ...

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Music of the United Kingdom, Music of the United Kingdom - Folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - English folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Irish folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Scottish folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Welsh folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Early British popular music, Music of the United Kingdom - 1950s and 60s: Importation and Exportation, Music of the United Kingdom - 1970s: Rock splinters Jamaican and Indian music, Music of the United Kingdom - 1980s, Music of the United Kingdom - 1990s: Britpop and techno, Music of the United Kingdom - Samples

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Main article: Music of the United Kingdom (1950s and 60s) The 1950s saw most of the world that had access to records listening to American rock and roll, especially the country-rock hybrid rockabilly, exemplified by superstars like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley. Though most countries soon developed their own rock traditions, it was the United Kingdom that evolved its own distinctive scene, making American traditions into distinctively British ones such as Skiffle and Trad jazz, and eventually adding influences from English, Scot ...

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Music of the United Kingdom, Music of the United Kingdom - Folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - English folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Irish folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Scottish folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Welsh folk music, Music of the United Kingdom - Early British popular music, Music of the United Kingdom - 1950s and 60s: Importation and Exportation, Music of the United Kingdom - 1970s: Rock splinters Jamaican and Indian music, Music of the United Kingdom - 1980s, Music of the United Kingdom - 1990s: Britpop and techno, Music of the United Kingdom - Samples

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