Review by Kara Shea O’Brien, University of Limerick, in Ethnomusicology Ireland, Issue 10, 2025. https://www.ictmd.ie/ethnomusicology-ireland-10

What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music
Toner Quinn
The Journal of Music, 2024
ISBN: 9781739577407 (HB)

Writer, publisher, and fiddle player Toner Quinn has long championed the Irish music industry, leading and facilitating discussion through his creation and editorialship of the Journal of Music. In his new book, Quinn brings together selections of his own writing in the Journal from 2000–2023. The essays cover a wide variety of topics from performance reviews to obituaries and to thoughtful opinion pieces that shed light on many aspects of Irish music over the last two decades. The book offers a unique retrospective on a tumultuous period in Irish music history: a thoughtful, critical, wide-ranging exploration that will serve both as a primary source for future historians and, hopefully, as a starting point for further discussion.

The book is divided into four chronological sections. In the first section, “Starting a Debate, 2000–2010”, Quinn revisits the foundations of the Journal of Music and its commitment to creating a place for debate and discussion of Irish music as a whole, rather than any one aspect or genre. He explores the predecessors to the Journal of Music and the history of publications dedicated to cultural debate in Ireland–and more specifically the lack of them. He champions the importance of spaces to discuss and debate culture, and explores themes of tradition, change, and the status of Irish music in the wake of the Celtic Tiger. The second section, “A New Irish Musical World, 2014–2020”, explores the changing face of Irish music, the musicians that have carried it along, and the challenges that the music faces–economic, cultural, and those of their own making. He explores how music and musicians act as harbingers of change in societal trends and economic issues, and how they can lead the way in searching for solutions as well. The third section, “A Pandemic Diary, 2020–2021” offers an excellent reminder of, and reflection on, the enormous changes and challenges that the Irish (and global) music scene experienced as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the resilience of the musicians who rose to the occasion with online concerts and events which connected us all from our living rooms, to the shattering economic reality of performers who suddenly lost their only income as live music events were banned, and the glacial, deeply flawed reopening that completely ignored the realities of the music industry Quinn’s essays record it all. His long experience and willingness to challenge the decision-makers make the essays a testament to the severity of the moment, and a reminder that better solutions are possible should a similar event occur in the future. The final section of the book, “Impossible Ideas, 2022–2023”, gives a glimpse of more recent events, the resolution of the pandemic, and the challenges that have remained the same throughout the twenty-three years covered by the book. The title essay of this section lays out ten “impossible ideas” for improving long-term career prospects and the wellbeing of traditional musicians in Ireland, neatly tying together several of the themes from the book and setting out a manifesto for forward momentum that might well reshape the music industry in Ireland.

Throughout, the book is punctuated by events in the Irish music scene: reviews of concerts, experimental music festivals, reflections on new books and albums, and memorials of the passing of so many great artists including Liam O’Flynn, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Sinéad O’Connor, and more. It is a compelling view of Irish music as a cultural force, continually returning to questions of Ireland, its people, its government, its music, and how they continue to change and define and redefine themselves. Reflecting Quinn’s decision to establish The Journal of Music–a space to discuss all aspects of the music industry–the book’s contents shift from philosophical queries about the place of music in Irish society, to point-blank raillery against the economic hardship faced by many in the creative industries. It is a snapshot of Quinn’s experience of a vibrant, ever-changing music ecosystem. Although the decision to publish mainly existing works from The Journal of Music means that the book has a very immediate tone–which will doubtless make it a valuable source for understanding Ireland’s music scene since the turn of the century– Quinn perhaps missed an opportunity to dive deeper into the themes which run throughout the book. Over and over, the essays return to fascinating questions: the place and value of music within Ireland and the Irish psyche; the thorny debate of what makes music “Irish” and whether it can ever escape tropes of Irishness; and the never-ending dialogue surrounding histories, hierarchies and definitions of traditional, classical, and avant-garde music. Each one of these could be a book by itself. The same is true of Quinn’s thoughts on the economic realities of Irish musicians and ways in which they can be improved to address the troubles facing music in communities. One senses that Quinn has more to say on all of these topics, and one comes away from the book wishing that he had expanded on these arguments in a longer format and given himself the space to explore any one of them in the depth they deserve.

The title essay, “What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music” is a case in point. It is a remarkably astute piece which explores the characteristics of Irish music and musical culture. He notes that the Irish music tradition rests on “…a communal philosophy of music and it has served Ireland well, not just musically but culturally, economically and socially” (78) and asks, “…might other places around the world who want to strengthen informal music making in their communities be able to use those insights too, and come to enjoy all the social, economic and cultural benefits that it brings?” (ibid.). In this short piece he neatly describes a huge amount of what makes the traditional Irish music scene so unique and vibrant, and hints at its cultural and even economic importance. Yet he does not go further, to demonstrate the “social, economic and cultural benefits” he mentions, nor does he discuss the ways in which Ireland is already teaching the world these things such as the enormous success of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which has branches all around the world, or the thousands of traditional Irish music sessions that take place internationally every day, or the many other ways in which Irish musicians make themselves and their traditions felt globally. Perhaps these examples are subtly different to what Quinn means, or perhaps he is chiefly interested in trying to get more governmental attention brought to support traditional arts, but either way, a book such as this might have offered more scope for such a discussion. It is clear that Toner Quinn would be well placed to lead these discussions, and one hopes that further volumes will give more scope for his ideas. For now, however, this book offers a much-needed contribution to the discussion of Irish music, and one that Quinn will hopefully continue his work in print.

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