Dundalk IT researchers present at prestigious musicology conference

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) researchers, Dr Adèle Commins and Dr Daithí Kearney recently presented at the 23rd Annual Plenary of the Society for Musicology in Ireland hosted by the School of Music, University College Dublin.

Dr Adèle Commins, Head of Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at DkIT, examined the link between poetry and compositional practice in the work of Irish-born composer Charles Villiers Stanford.

Her paper focused in particular on the influence of the Italian poet Dante, whose work continues to influence popular culture from the novels of Dan Brown, films like The Pirates of the Caribbean, and video games like Dante’s Inferno. In this paper, she presented an analysis of Stanford’s music to demonstrate the role of poetry in inspiring the creative process.

Dr Daithí Kearney, Co-Director of the Creative Arts Research Centre at DkIT, presented an examination of Spanish themes in Irish music, focusing in particular on composer Bill Whelan and the internationally renowned band The Chieftains. Whelan, who celebrates his 75th birthday this year, is best know for Riverdance but, two years prior to that seminal moment in Irish musical history he composed The Seville Suite, which brought together Irish and Spanish musicians and dancers for a special performance at Expo’92.

A few years later, The Chieftains released their Grammy-award winning album Santiago, which drew on the music of the Iberian Peninsula and its diaspora. Kearney notes the various interpretations of Spanish national and regional culture and how this has been developed by Irish musicians.

Read also: Two Louth projects shortlisted for 2025 Planning Awards

The conference included a wide range of speakers from Ireland and internationally, exploring a range of aspects on musicological research including new approaches to Opera, music and migration, democracy and social engagement. The keynote address delivered by Professor Esteban Buch (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris) explored the relationship between music and politics, which proved very topical in the current global context.