Voices of the Feis Ceoil: an Exploration of the Association’s Operational and Choral Networks, 1897–1932

The Feis Ceoil or ‘festival of music’ is a large-scale annual competitive music event. It has provided huge stimulus to all facets of Irish musical life in its almost 130-year lifespan. This study examines the first four decades of the festival which was inaugurated during the Gaelic Revival, a period of cultural nationalism that saw the development and celebration of Irish art, literature, language, and music. As this is the first sustained project centred upon the Feis Ceoil archival collection, detailed excavation of which has not been undertaken before now, it draws on a large amount of previously unexplored primary source material. This study examines the period 1897–1932 and discusses the Feis Ceoil from two distinct points of view, firstly, establishment of Feis Ceoil operational structures and secondly, choral activity within it. Through close engagement with the vast Feis Ceoil archival collection, along with extensive data retrieval from newspaper archives, connections between Feis Ceoil structural and choral networks are demonstrated.