Editing Ireland (section)

====Music and dance====
{{Main|Music of Ireland|Irish dance}}
Music has been in evidence in Ireland since prehistoric times.<ref>O'Dwyer, Simon: ''Prehistoric Music in Ireland'' (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, 2004), {{ISBN|0-7524-3129-3}}.</ref> Although in the early Middle Ages the church was "quite unlike its counterpart in continental Europe",<ref>Brannon, Patrick V.: "Medieval Ireland: Music in Cathedral, Church and Cloister", in: ''Early Music'' 28.2 (May 2000), p. 193.</ref> there was a considerable interchange between monastic settlements in Ireland and the rest of Europe that contributed to what is known as [[Gregorian chant]]. Outside religious establishments, musical genres in early Gaelic Ireland are referred to as a triad of weeping music (''goltraige''), laughing music (''geantraige'') and sleeping music (''suantraige'').<ref>Buckley, Ann: "Medieval Ireland, Music in", in: ''The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland'', ed. by [[Harry White (musicologist)|Harry White]] and Barra Boydell (Dublin: UCD Press, 2013), {{ISBN|978-1-906359-78-2}}, p. 659.</ref> Vocal and instrumental music (e.g. for the harp, pipes, and various [[string instrument]]s) was transmitted orally, but the [[Irish harp]], in particular, was of such significance that it became Ireland's national symbol. Classical music following European models first developed in urban areas, in establishments of Anglo-Irish rule such as [[Dublin Castle]], [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin|St Patrick's Cathedral]] and [[Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin|Christ Church]] as well as the country houses of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, with the first performance of [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]'' (1742) being among the highlights of the baroque era. In the 19th century, public concerts provided access to classical music to all classes of society. Yet, for political and financial reasons Ireland has been too small to provide a living to many musicians, so the names of the better-known [[List of Irish classical composers|Irish composers]] of this time belong to emigrants.

Irish [[folk music|traditional music]] and dance have seen a surge in popularity and global coverage since the 1960s. In the middle years of the 20th century, as Irish society was modernising, traditional music had fallen out of favour, especially in urban areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Geraghty |first=Des |title=Luke Kelly: A Memoir |publisher=Basement Press |date=1994 |pages=26–30 |isbn=978-1-85594-090-1}}</ref> However during the 1960s, there was a revival of interest in Irish traditional music led by groups such as [[the Dubliners]], [[the Chieftains]], [[the Wolfe Tones]], the [[Clancy Brothers]], [[Sweeney's Men]] and individuals like {{lang|ga|[[Seán Ó Riada]]|italic=no}} and [[Christy Moore]]. Groups and musicians including [[Horslips]], [[Van Morrison]] and [[Thin Lizzy]] incorporated elements of Irish traditional music into contemporary rock music and, during the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of artists like [[Enya]], [[the Saw Doctors]], [[the Corrs]], [[Sinéad O'Connor]], [[Clannad (musical group)|Clannad]], [[the Cranberries]] and [[the Pogues]] among others.