A  NEED FOR PIED PIPERS? MAKING CONNECTIONS IN A COMMUNITY ARTS SONG-MAKING PROJECT

Daithí Kearney

doi:10.55877/cc.vol25.485

Authors

PhD Daithí Kearney Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol25.485

Keywords:

Community Music, Music and Place, Songwriting, Collaboration, Music Participation

Abstract

Music and musicking are powerful contributors to a sense and awareness of place. A community music project in 2021 focused on the small town of Dunleer on the east coast of Ireland. Overshadowed by the larger towns of Dundalk and Drogheda to the north and south respectively, Dunleer has a rich history and many opportunities for the local community to engage in the arts. However, despite much talent, the groups and individuals involved are largely disconnected from and sometimes unaware of each other. This paper considers how a participatory, arts-based virtual project that sought to encourage collaboration through artistic endeavour highlighted the potential for greater collaboration between stakeholders to achieve increased participation in the arts and the local community. Drawing on the author’s perspective as an artist and lead facilitator, it details the process and critiques the role of various stakeholders in the project, incorporating an autoethnographic approach that focuses on the role of third-party facilitators in community music initiatives.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Attali, J. (1985). Noise: The Political Economy of Music [translated by Brian Massumi]. Minnesota, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Creative Ireland. (2023). Available: https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/ (viewed 13.02.2024.)

DeNora, T. (2011). Music in Everyday Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Eglite, Z. (2023). Collaboration in Creative Industries – From Creative Individuals and Intermediaries to Networks. Culture Crossroads, 23, pp. 102–117.

Frith, S. (1996). Music and Identity. In: S. Hall, P. du Gay [eds]. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: SAGE, pp. 108–128.

Frith, S. (2013). The Social Value of Music [In the Context of European Regeneration Policy]. Live Music Exchange Blog, 9 May 2013. Available: http://livemusicexchange.org/blog/the-social-value-of-music-in-the-context-of-european-regeneration-policy-simon-frith/ (viewed 25.10.2021.)

Higgins, L. (2012). Community music: In theory and in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Inglis, T. (2017). Church and culture in Catholic Ireland. Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 106[421], pp. 21–30.

Kaul, A. (2009). Turning the Tune: Traditional Music, Tourism, and Social Change in an Irish Village. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books.

Kearney, D. (2022). Music in Ireland as Religious and Social Practice: The Experience of Pat Ahern. Musicultures, 49, pp. 187–212.

Kearney, D., Commins, A., and McGuinness, P. (2021). Virtual Musicking During COVID-19: Maintaining a Music Ensemble Community. Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing, 11, pp. 1–20.

Kissane, N. (2017). St Brigid of Kildare: Life, Legend and Cult. Dublin: Four Courts Press.

Lesage, D. (2005). Portrait of the Artist as a Worker. Maska, Performing Arts Journal, XX, no. 5–6 [94–95], pp. 91–92.

Mair, J., and Smith, A. (2021). Events and sustainability: why making events more sustainable is not enough. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29:11–12, pp. 1739–1755. Available: DOI:10.1080/09669582.2021.1942480

Mullen, M. (2022). Return to Fingal: The heritage and practice of Irish traditional music in North County Dublin. Doctoral dissertation, Dundalk Institute of Technology.

Saïd, E. (1991). Musical Elaborations. London: Chatto and Windus Ltd.

Shelemay, K. K. (2022). Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tjarve, B., Kunda, I., & Eglite, Z. (2021). Creative industries in small cities: contributions to sustainability. Economic Science for Rural Development, 55, pp. 1–10. Available: DOI: 10.22616/ESRD.2021.55.015

Wood, N. (2012). Playing with ‘Scottishness’: Musical performance, non-representational thinking and the ‘doings’ of national identity. Cultural Geographies, 19[2], pp. 195–215.

Zemite, I., Freiberga, K., and Medne, N. (2023). Invisible Artists: Recognition And Support For Cultural And Creative Professionals In The Baltics. Culture Crossroads, 23, pp. 28–52.

“Brigid’s Cloak” can be viewed here: http://www.dunleerparish.ie/2021/09/local-song-brigids-cloak/

“Wee Dunleer” can be viewed here: http://www.dunleerparish.ie/2021/09/wee-dunleer/