About the Author

Fintan Vallely is course co-ordinator and lecturer in Traditional Music in Dundalk Institute of Technology and is the author of Tuned Out: Traditional Music and Identity in Northern Ireland

Reviews

"[The book] will be appreciated for many years to come and provide valuable and authoritative insights into Irish music."

"Packaged in an impressively organized and laid out A-Z format, there is a wealth of information readily available to the scholar musician or the casual devotee who wishes to sharpen their I.Q. about traditional music....This is a book you will want to hold in your and refer to over and over again. You will get your money's worth very quickly once you add it to your library."

"The "Companion To Irish Traditional Music (Second Edition)" is a complete, compact encyclopedia to the vast field of Irish traditional music in over 800 pages, heavily researched, documented, and cleverly organized with alphabetical indices, a list of abbreviations, plus introductory guide to using the "Companion" to find desired information. In addition to 761 pages of alphabetically arranged information entries regarding individuals, bands, performers, styles, critics, areas specialties, related literature, and much more, there is a Chronology or Timeline of Irish Music in History that spans from 5935 BC to 2011, and a list of Published Material Relating to Traditional Music, containing useful publications and resources on specific traditional instruments, collections, studies, ethnographies, overviews, popular music, song collections, and more. Filled with both black and white illustrations and succinct summaries of an unimaginable wealth of detailed information on modern and historical applications of Irish traditional music, the "Companion To Irish Traditional Music" presents a tapestry of glittering song lore in a carefully organized format. The list of contributors and acknowledgments is vast and impressive, as might be expected. Useful to the traditional Irish music student, teacher, or beneficiary ("fan"), the "Companion to Irish Traditional Music (Second Edition)" is an essential component of any music library and many private connoisseurs' collections. Many thanks are due to editor Fintan Vallely and all his contributors for this much appreciated edition."

"Vallely introduces several improvements to the second edition of his definitive reference. Most notably, this iteration of the "Companion" features over twice as many topics as the earlier edition, includes a comprehensive index, and is supported by a website that points readers to related content www.companion.ie. In his introduction, Vallely points out that much of the content from the original edition has been revised and expanded by means of reader and professional input... Indispensable for scholars, players, and listeners of Irish traditional music, this illustrated, alphabetically arranged work is also an intensive resource for Irish history and culture. Summing Up: Highly Recommended."