TU Dublin Researcher Receives IRC Funding To Explore History of Irish Music in North America
Dr Helen Lawlor of TU Dublin Conservatoire has received a New Foundations award from the Irish Research Council to research the history of Irish music in North America in the early twentieth century.
New Foundations awards help civic society organisations and Government departments to devise evidence-based strategies and policies. This week's announcement by the Irish Research Council represents a total investment of almost €875,000, inclusive of the Department of An Taoiseach Shared Island awards announced in December 2022, which form part of the New Foundations programme.
Speaking about the announcement, Dr Helen Lawlor, a lecturer and researcher at TU Dublin Conservatoire, said:
Irish-American Culture and Identity: New Contexts through the Princess Grace Song Sheet Collection will enhance civil society through the research and dissemination of the history of Irish music in North America in the early twentieth century. It encompasses issues including emigration, diaspora and Irish-American identity, narrated through the Irish music manuscripts in the Princess Grace Song Sheet Collection housed at the Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco. This project will create new freely-accessible online teaching and learning resources; in person and online training for music students and teachers in partnership with the Irish Traditional Music Archive; and, academic outputs through peer-reviewed journal article publications and an international research symposium at TU Dublin.
Commenting today on the funding announcement, the Director of the Irish Research Council, Dr Louise Callinan, said:
“We are delighted to renew and extend our ongoing partnerships with Government departments and agencies who are funding 20 New Foundations projects, in addition to the 43 collaborative projects funded by the IRC with civic society partners, and the 4 funded by a charitable foundation. The collaboration between researchers and policymakers represented in these awards aligns with the ambitions of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and deliver enhanced outcomes for citizens and society. While New Foundations awards are relatively modest in value, they play a vital role in supporting and nurturing our research talent, providing an important step on the funding ladder to further awards nationally and internationally”.