{"id":7240,"date":"2026-06-15T09:03:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T08:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/?p=7240"},"modified":"2026-06-15T09:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T08:03:22","slug":"irish-music-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/irish-music-courses","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate World Music Day with Free Traditional Irish Music Lessons from Award-Winning Musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As World Music Day approaches on 21 June, learners around the globe are being invited to celebrate one of the world&#8217;s richest musical traditions through Alison&#8217;s free Traditional Irish Music Hub.<\/p>\n<p>Whether based in Boston, Belfast, Brisbane or beyond, anyone can access expert-led Traditional Irish music courses completely free of charge. Created in partnership with Irish musician, podcaster and television presenter Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in, Alison&#8217;s Traditional Irish Music Hub has connected thousands of learners worldwide to Ireland&#8217;s living musical heritage through expert-led lessons and downloadable practice materials.<\/p>\n<h2>A Living Tradition: The Oral Heritage of Irish Music<\/h2>\n<p>In Irish tradition, music is rarely taught through rigid academic theory. Instead, it is a learn-by-doing craft, passed down from one generation to the next through families, communities and shared musical experiences.<\/p>\n<p>The project is a deeply personal one for Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in. Her maternal grandfather was the legendary composer Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Riada, widely credited with sparking the major 20th-century revival of traditional Irish music.<\/p>\n<h2>Bringing Heritage to a Global Audience<\/h2>\n<p>Head of Publishing at Alison, Catriona Cramp, said: &#8220;As a native Irish speaker, I know firsthand how deeply our language, stories and music are woven together. Traditional Irish music has a unique power to connect people, and we are incredibly proud to open the doors of this heritage to the world. We are making world-class musical education accessible to anyone, anywhere, completely free of charge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Flexible Pathways from Beginner to Master<\/h2>\n<p>The hub features certified courses across three levels of progression: Beginner, Beginner 2 and Intermediate. More experienced players can also use the lessons to expand their repertoire with authentic traditional tunes. Every course includes free downloadable practice notes and an assessment leading to a certificate.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/traditional-irish-music\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7241 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Celebrate-World-Music-Day_Learn-Traditional-Irish-Music-blog-banner.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"663\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Celebrate-World-Music-Day_Learn-Traditional-Irish-Music-blog-banner.png 663w, https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Celebrate-World-Music-Day_Learn-Traditional-Irish-Music-blog-banner-300x144.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Meet Your Tutors: Award-Winning Masters of the Craft<\/h2>\n<p>The tutor lineup features award-winning artists and All-Ireland solo or group champions, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Sean-n\u00f3s Singing with Nell N\u00ed Chr\u00f3in\u00edn<\/strong>: Learn the distinctive unaccompanied traditional Irish vocal style from the lead vocalist of the world-renowned group Dan\u00fa.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Bodhr\u00e1n with Dermot Sheedy<\/strong>: Master Ireland&#8217;s iconic handheld drum with the drummer from leading folk-rock band Hermitage Green.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Flute and Tin Whistle with Brian O&#8217;Loughlin<\/strong>: Learn essential techniques from a master flautist who performs with the triple All-Ireland-winning Shandrum C\u00e9il\u00ed Band.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Concertina with Conor O&#8217;Loughlin<\/strong>: Learn the beloved squeezebox with one of Ireland&#8217;s leading performers.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Button Accordion with Conor Connolly<\/strong>: Explore one of Irish traditional music&#8217;s most celebrated instruments with a former Young Irish Musician of the Year.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Fiddle with Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in<\/strong>: Develop traditional fiddle techniques or transition existing violin skills into the lively Donegal style with the broadcaster, performer and recording artist.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Guitar with Michael McCague<\/strong>: Learn the distinctive DADGAD tuning that gives Irish folk guitar accompaniment its rich, resonant character.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Honouring the Bearers of the Tradition<\/h2>\n<p>For Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in, teaching traditional Irish music is about ensuring that a living cultural heritage continues to thrive.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We all learnt our craft from those before us, and it&#8217;s our responsibility and a privilege to pass what we know on to the next generation. All the teachers are very aware that we&#8217;re just bearers of the tradition.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This World Music Day, Alison&#8217;s Traditional Irish Music Hub offers learners a free and flexible way to connect with a musical tradition that has inspired audiences worldwide for generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As World Music Day approaches on 21 June, learners around the globe are being invited to celebrate one of the world&#8217;s richest musical traditions through Alison&#8217;s free Traditional Irish Music Hub. Whether based in Boston, Belfast, Brisbane or beyond, anyone can access expert-led Traditional Irish music courses completely free of charge. Created in partnership with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alison-in-action","match-height"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Irish-tradtional-music-1024x746.png","featured_category":"Alison in Action","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7240"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7244,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7240\/revisions\/7244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}