Conor Caldwell

The Oxford Handbook of Irish Song, 1100-1850, is a landmark publication, encompassing the work of more than thirty experts on various aspects of singing culture in Ireland from the middle-ages to the dawn of the recording era. Rather than focusing myopically on one tradition or style, the book contains perspectives on the way that singers, songs and composers developed in multiple socio-economic and linguistic settings. The book builds a rounded picture of the way in which elite and proletarian culture interacted with each other in Ireland throughout the long eighteenth century. Important perspectives on the sean nós singing tradition are brought to the fore with the inclusion of work from a significant number of noted experts in this field.

This book will become a core teaching text in universities with Irish studies and represents a new standard in the bringing together of original research from key scholars of their generation. Beyond encyclopaedias, a reader of this scale and depth has never been published before in the field of Irish music and it will stand as a sector leading publication for some time to come. I am a co-editor of this book and am responsible for guiding it from conception, in  2013, through to its online publication at present and forthcoming physical publication. In addition, I have two research essays in the book which at the time of writing this application have passed the review stage and will be published before the final portfolio submission in March 2024. I am also a co-writer of the introduction which will be the last piece of writing published in the book.

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