2005-2025
ICTMD IRELAND 20TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATING ETHNOMUSICOLOGY IN IRELAND
Tradition and Transformation: Twenty Years of ICTMD Ireland
Traidisiún agus Claochlú: Fiche Bliain de ICTMD Éireann
Rory Gallagher Theatre, MTU Bishopstown, Cork.
Friday, 21 November 2025
Keynote Speaker - Huib Schippers (Zhaoqing University)
ICTMD Ireland is delighted to host a day of talks, performances, and panel discussions at MTU Bishopstown celebrating two decades of ethnomusicological and ethnochoreological research in Ireland. The event features keynote speaker Huib Schippers, a special tribute to Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, and celebration of the work of our members. Showcasing leading scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners, the symposium explores themes of tradition, sustainability, gender, and creativity. Hosted in partnership with MTU Arts Office, this vibrant gathering highlights Ireland’s contribution to the global study of music and dance traditions and marks an exciting milestone for the national committee. This symposium is one of a series of events which mark the twentieth anniversary of ICTMD Ireland in 2025. See schedule below.
Symposium Registration
Book Here
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Lunchtime Concert
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin Remembered
Cormac McCarthy (piano) and Helen Phelan (reflection)
Rory Gallagher Theatre, 1-2pm
Booking: Coming Shortly
Schedule
8.45am-9.15am
Rory Gallagher Theatre, Foyer
9.15am-9.30am
Welcome
Opening performance by traditional music students of MTU CSM and a welcome by Dr Susan Motherway - Chair, ICTMD Ireland & Sarah Morey - Arts Officer, MTU
9.30am-10.30am
Session 1: Locating the Field - Ethnomusicology and Ethnochoreology in Ireland
Chair - Dr Colette Moloney
Thérèse Smith – An Irish Ethnomusicology.
Catherine Foley – Situating Ethnochoreology in Ireland: Its Emergence and Developments.
Aileen Dillane – Popular Music and Social Change: Reflections on Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion in Irish Scholarship and Applied Research.
Ann-Marie Hanlon & Anna Falkenau – Twenty Years of ICTMD Ireland: Inception, Development, and Trajectories, 2005–2025.
10.45am-11.15am
Break and Book Launch
James Barry Gallery
Book Launch - Essays on Music, Politics and Resistance: Sounding Empowerment (CSP). Editors: Adrian Scahill and Helen Lawlor. Introduced by Lónán Ó Briain.
11.15am-12.30pm
Session 2
2a: Critical Perspectives on Tradition, Identity, & Nationalism in Music
Main Theatre
Chair - Ann Marie Hanlon
Caoimhe Ní Riain & Colm Kelly – Reframing Traditions: Irish Musical Identity in a Supracultural Era.
Felix Morgenstern – Intercultural Transactions: Irish Traditional Music, Nationalism, and Nostalgia in German-Speaking Europe.
Kevin McNally & Kelly Boyle – Tiga Tahun Gamelan di UCC / 30 Years of Gamelan at UCC.
2b: Music & Sustainability
The Hive
Chair - Daithi Kearney
Solomon Gwerevende – Performing Indigenous Sustainability in Zimbabwe: Living Heritage and Cultural Policies for Sustainable Development.
Chara Charalambous – Oral Transmission and Cultural Sustainability in the Ethno Programme.
Aoife Ní Laoire – From Archive to Access: Reawakening Irish-Language Songs in the National Folklore Collection.
12.30pm-13.00pm
Lunch
Food Court, Block B
1pm-1.50pm
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin Remembered - Lunchtime Concert
Rory Gallagher Theatre
Helen Phelan – Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin: A Life in Music
Cormac McCarthy – Piano Recital
2pm-3.15pm
Session 3: Keynote
Welcome Address – Alistair Payne, Dean of Arts, MTU
Keynote Address – Huib Schippers
Of Causes and Communities: The Rise of Applied Ethnomusicology.
3.15pm-3.45pm
Coffee Break & Book Launch
James Barry Gallery
Book Launch: Women in Irish Traditional Music by Joanne Cusack (Boydell & Brewer) introduced by Méabh Ní Fhuartháin, Editor Ethnomusicology Ireland.
3.45pm-4.45pm
Panel Discussion
Sustainability of the Traditional Arts in Ireland with Huib Schippers
Chair: Adrian Scahill
Jessica Cawley – Creative Tradition
Deirdre Moynihan – Music Network
Carthach Ó Nuaináin – MTU Cork
Toner Quinn – The Journal of Music
4.45pm-17.00pm
Closing Reflection
Lónán Ó Briain (ICTMD World Committee)
Followed by:
ICTMD Archive Development Announcement
Speakers: Niamh Ní Charra, Anna Falkenau & Ann-Marie Hanlon
Symposium Committee
Dr Susan Motherway, Sarah Morey, Dr. Breda O’Dwyer, Ciara O’Leary Fitzpatrick & Dr. Niamh O’Brien (MTU)
Joint SMI & ICTMD-IE Postgraduate Conference 2026
MTU Cork School of Music
14–15 January 2026
Call for Papers
Deadline - Friday, 7 November 2025
Email - smi.ictmd.2026@gmail.com
The Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI) and the Irish National Committee of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD Ireland) are pleased to announce their annual joint postgraduate conference will take place at MTU Cork School of Music on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 January 2026.
Postgraduate students working in all areas of musical research are warmly invited to submit proposals for 20-minute papers or 30-minute lecture recitals of research conducted under supervision at a thirdlevel institution. Poster presentations are also welcome. Areas of research include, but are not limited to, historical musicology, ethnomusicology, music theory and analysis, dance studies, composition, music technology, music pedagogy, popular music studies, performance studies, musical practice as research, psychology of music, and music and gender. Attendees should convey research findings and professional conclusions honestly and in alignment with established research integrity principles, including those relating specifically to the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The programming committee will strive to include as many presentations as possible within the given capacity constraints.
We are delighted to welcome Dr Joanne Cusack (Maynooth University) to give the 2026 keynote address. The conference will feature the presentation of the SMI Alison Dunlop Graduate Prize. As in previous years, the postgraduate conference will also include a Careers Forum and a dedicated session featuring prize-winners of the annual CHMHE competition for undergraduate dissertations.
Submission Details
To submit a proposal, please send an email attachment (.doc or .docx, not .pdf) to smi.ictmd.2026@gmail.com by 6pm on Friday, 7 November 2025 with the following details:
Title of paper
Abstract (max. 250 words)
Full name, institutional affiliation, and name of supervisor
Short biography (max. 150 words)
Please state whether you are proposing a:
20-minute paper
30-minute lecture-recital
30-minute film, audio, or other media presentation (to include introduction and any commentary)
10-minute presentation (Master’s Students)
Poster presentation
Please submit all information in a single Word document. Proposals will be anonymised prior to peer review and applicants will be notified of the outcome of this process by 8 December 2025. On behalf of SMI and ICTMD Ireland we thank you for your engagement. We are looking forward to welcoming delegates to the MTU Cork School of Music for two days of intellectually and socially enriching scholarly exchange.