Dr Ann-Marie Hanlon (Chair)
Ann-Marie Hanlon (PhD, Newcastle) is a musicologist with specialisms in cultural theories of music, popular music and French modernism. A Lecturer of Music at the University of Galway, her research in popular music focuses on the area of music and social change, and explores the ways in which music is utilised in a political sense in relation to women’s rights and within queer culture in Ireland and in the U.S..
She was the project lead of Gendered Experiences of the Irish Music Industry (University of Galway, 2023), the first national study on how gender impacts musicians’ day-to-day experiences on the island of Ireland. Her work can be found in a range of publications including in the books The Bloomsbury Handbook to Music and Art (Bloomsbury 2023), Media Narratives in Popular Music (Bloomsbury, 2021), Made in Ireland: Popular Music Studies (Routledge, 2020); and Music, Art and Performance from Liszt to Riot Grrrl (Bloomsbury, 2018).
Dr Daithí Kearney (Secretary)
Ethnomusicologist, geographer and performer Dr Daithí Kearney is a lecturer in music, theatre and tourism and co-director of the Creative Arts Research Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology. A graduate of University College Cork, his research is primarily focused on Irish traditional music and folk theatre but extends to include performance studies, community music, music education, tourism and the connection between music and place. Daithí has toured regularly as a musician, singer and dancer with a number of groups including Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, on whom he has published widely. Recordings include A Louth Lilt (2017), an album of new compositions with Dr Adèle Commins, and Midleton Rare (2012) with John Cronin. Publications include contributions to Musicultures, The International Journal for Traditional Arts, Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, Ethnomusicology Ireland, The Yearbook for Traditional Music, Popular Music, Estudios Irlandeses, and the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Daithí is a recipient of a 2023 Bardic Award from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Current research engages with the expression of connections between music and place in performance and the role of music and theatre in the tourism sector.
Colm Kelly(Treasurer)
Darren Culliney (Education Officer)
Darren Culliney is an Irish Traditional Musician, Composer and PhD Researcher from Ballinamuck, Co. Longford. He is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist with numerous awards and titles. A graduate from Maynooth University (Bachelor’s of Music and Masters in Music Composition), he is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology. A member of the DkIT Creative Arts Research Centre, he is the beneficiary of a TUTF Postgraduate Research Scholarship and is under the joint supervision of Dr Daithí Kearney and Dr Verena Commins (University of Galway). His research examines the button accordion and Irish traditional music in Ulster. He is actively publicising articles, with recent publications in SEMSN and ICTM Ireland’s Spéis. Darren is an active performer and composer, having performed at festivals and sessions across the island of Ireland and throughout Europe. He is continuously composing new Irish traditional tunes as well as new contemporary works. He frequently uploads music videos and is currently uploading a weekly series of music videos across numerous social media platforms. He is also a member of ‘Lasta’, who are currently working on music due to be released this year.
Anthony Cahill (Membership Officer)
Kaylie Streit (Communications Officer)
Kaylie Streit is finishing a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology/Musicology at University College Cork and is the Project Coordinator of Inclusive Dance Cork. She is also a music researcher, teacher, and performer who also holds a Master of Arts from University College Cork for her research on creative practices of cellists performing Irish traditional music. Her current research focuses on creative practices, composition in performance, and the relevance of oral/aural traditions and aesthetics as a tool for meaning-making in performances by instrumentalists in contemporary Irish traditional music performance contexts.
