DkIT Team with Claddagh Records for Exciting New Music Projects

31 May 2021

The Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at DkIT recently completed an exciting project with Claddagh Records on 20th Century Irish composer Frederick May that will pave the way for renewed interest in music scholarship and potential future collaborations. One of the principal founders of Claddagh Records in 1959 was Garech Browne who sadly passed away in 2018. Browne was a leader in terms of the preservation of Irish traditional music collecting material from many notable musicians.

As a patron of the arts and through his work with Claddagh Records he instigated the release of many significant recordings in Irish traditional music including Lew Rowsome, The Chieftains, Tommy Potts, Christy Moore, and Seán Ó Riada. He also worked with poets including Patrick Kavanagh who made records for Claddagh. The wealth of material gathered by Browne is significant but many of his collections remain unreleased.

The current board members are keen to continue his work and make the Claddagh recordings accessible. One of the first initiatives of the board was to prepare May’s String Quartet in C minor for performance. Initially recorded by the Aeolian String Quartet and released by Claddagh Records in 1973 the work is very important in the canon of Irish music as it represents a significant development of Irish modernism. The project involved two postgraduate researchers at Dundalk who worked on a typesetting of the score.

Head of Department Dr Adèle Commins celebrated the potential for future collaborations with Claddagh Records and the value of these experiences for students at DkIT.

Lauren Farquharson, whose research in musicology focuses on repertoire for the piano accordion, said it was

A wonderful experience delving into the intricate notation of Friedrich May's String Quartet

Christina Lynn, whose current research focuses on Country Music in Ireland but who had previously undertaken research on Irish born composer Charles Villiers Stanford noted that she was

Grateful for the opportunity to bring this fascinating music score to life

Projects such as this provide important opportunities for students and researchers to link with industry and demonstrates the value of their research. It is an exciting time for Claddagh Records who recently agreed a licensing deal with Universal.

DkIT offer pathways in music from undergraduate through postgraduate programmes, with several researchers currently funded to support research in music. Further information Claddagh Records is available here - CD | Frederick May | String Quartet in C minor - Claddagh Records