Irish Music Forever

Song of the week
Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh’s masterpiece – who was the mystery girl who broke his heart?

Singers
Articles and interviews with some of Ireland’s best performers.

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Song writers
The unsung writers who gave us some of Ireland’s greatest songs

Showcase
We focus on some of the best new talent performing Irish and Celtic music.

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Free articles about Irish music that you can put on your website.
St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Dublin Fair City.
Great Irish inventors who helped to change the world.
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Love Stories
Ireland’s troubled history has produced several heart rending love stories.

Irish History
Connolly’s part of the 1916 Easter Rising, which shaped Irish history.

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Irish music – a rich and diverse heritage

Irish Music Forever celebrates the richness and diversity of Ireland’s musical heritage.

Here you will find lots of information about all your favourite Irish songs together with all the singers and bands that perform them. We also run competitions with albums by top bands as prizes.

An endless stream of great Irish songs

Ireland has produced an endless stream of marvelous songs that have become classics all across the world.

Songs like Danny Boy, The Wild Rover, The Water is Wide, Whiskey in the Jar, Galway Bay, Molly Malone have sold millions in countries far beyond Irish shores.

The stories behind the songs

Many of these great songs have fascinating histories that few people know about. We look at the history behind the songs and how they became to be written.

We look at what the songs tell us about Irish life and culture, and in many cases, its all too tragic history.

Who wrote all this marvellous music?

We believe the people who wrote some of these great Irish songs like Danny Boy and Carrickfergus can stand comparison with any of the world’s great composers, whether it be Bach, Beethoven or the Beatles.

Yet most of them are largely forgotten. Irish Music Forever tries to find out more about them and how they came to write such classics.

Great Irish singers and musicians

From the classic Irish harpists to major modern rock bands, Ireland has always produced a wealth of musical talent.

We look at the lives and the work of these great musicians from the great harpists like O’Carolan – the composer behind much of The Chieftains music – to the great singers like John McCormack, and the great bands of the folk revival such as The Dubliners,  The Fureys and The Clancy Brothers.

The influence of Irish music across the world

Irish music has had an enormous influence across the world, particularly in America.

The millions of Irish emigrants who fled the famines of the nineteenth century not only took their skills and ambitions with them to the New World; they also took their music.

The roots of American folk, country and bluegrass

The songs and fiddle tunes those emigrants brought with them went on to become the basis of several forms of American music including folk, country and bluegrass.

Major American artists like Johnny Cash and Joan Baez were heavily influenced by Irish music and incorporated Irish songs in their repertoire.

Bob Dylan listened constantly to Irish folk music in his formative years and incorporated the story telling techniques of Irish ballads into his own songs.

Role of Irish history in Irish music

The story of Irish music is intertwined with its history. It was an occupied country for nearly a thousand years and it fought back in two ways: one was in battle, the other was in song.

Irish music is heavily influenced by the country’s political struggle. We look at the battles and incidents behind great Irish songs like Boulavogue and The Wearing of the Green.

Don’t forget the Irish Music Forever blog

It’s always worth checking Pat Kehoe’s Irish Music Forever blog. He provides more information and insights about great Irish songs and performers.

We don’t always agree with what he says but he’s worth a read.

Keep listening to Irish music. Find out more about its rich history. No matter how much you think you know, there is always something new to discover.