Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin
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| Born | May 28, 1955 Ennis, County Clare, Ireland
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| Nationality | Irish |
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (born May 28, 1955) is an Irish expert in music, history, and culture. He studies how Irish music and traditions have spread around the world. He is also a talented musician and author.
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A Musician and Scholar
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin was born in Ennis, a town in County Clare, Ireland. He was once a member of a famous group called The Kilfenora Céilí Band. A céilí band plays traditional Irish dance music.
Musical Achievements
Gearóid is a five-time All Ireland Champion musician. This means he won top awards in traditional Irish music competitions. He plays the uilleann pipes and the concertina. He also won awards with his céilí band.
He learned to play the concertina from a master musician named Paddy Murphy. Gearóid has performed and recorded music with many well-known Irish fiddlers. These include Paddy Canny, Peadar O'Loughlin, and Martin Hayes. He also played with Patrick Ourceau and French-Canadian fiddler Pierre Schryer.
His Studies and Teaching
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin studied at several universities. These include University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. He also studied in Paris, France, at Université de la Sorbonne. He earned his PhD in 1990 from Queen's University Belfast. His studies focused on how music connects to culture and people.
From 2000 to 2009, he was a professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis in the United States. He taught about Irish studies and music there.
Since 2009, he has been a special professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He holds the Johnson Chair in Quebec and Canadian Irish Studies. This role focuses on the contributions of Irish people to the culture and history of Quebec. Concordia University is one of the few places where students can major in Irish Studies. These courses teach about Ireland's history, culture, and how Irish immigrants helped build Canada.
Projects and Books
In 2014, Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin helped create the Paddy Murphy Memorial Project. This project worked to save the music of his teacher, Paddy Murphy. In 2019, he made a documentary film called Lost Children of the Carricks.
He has also written for important books about music. These include The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland and Companion to Irish Traditional Music. He also contributed to The Celts in the Americas. He was a consultant for the documentary Photos to Send: Retracing Dorothy Lange’s Travels through Ireland.
Recordings
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin has released several music recordings.
- Traditional Music From Clare and Beyond (1996): This album features Irish fiddlers Paddy Canny, Peader O'Loughlin, and Martin Hayes.
- Tracin' – Traditional Music from the West of Ireland (1999): This is a classic duet album with fiddler Patrick Ourceau.
- The Independence Suite – Traditional Music from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton (2004): This recording includes music from different Celtic regions.
- Paddy Murphy: Field Recordings from a Pioneer of the Irish Concertina (2007): This album shares recordings of his teacher, Paddy Murphy. It was also released as a digital collection in 2008.
