On 9 May 2025, I gave the keynote talk at ‘Cruinniú na Ceirde: Unravelling an identity for Irish Craft’, a gathering of the Irish craft community in Dublin. The title of my talk was ‘What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music’. The event was hosted by the RDS and a report on the day has now been published, with the following comments:
“People were deeply engaged with Toner’s concepts. There was electricity in the room. There was a sense of something being unlocked during the presentation, many sensations and recognisable emotional connections aligned with the making of craft. Echoes of identity that are shared with creating music and creating objects with our hands and minds, moved through the crowd. There was a recognition in how our practice is so firmly embedded in our lives, that when it is misused or exploited, it affects us profoundly. There were moments of connection, learning and mutual respect during this presentation.
“The presentation, in the words of outgoing arts committee chair, Marie Bourke, ‘was a revelation and an inspiration’. It challenged the community to think deeply about the correlations with craft and Irish music. When issues of renewing or protecting cultural heritage are discussed, the inevitable question of power and ownership arises: Who determines what heritage should be protected and what should be renewed?
Toner Quinn 