Irish Traditional Music Archive
Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann
Press Release: 8 June 2007
HONORARY DEGREES TO MEMBERS OF
IRISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC ARCHIVE BOARD AND STAFF
The Board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive welcomes the forthcoming awarding of honorary doctorates to Tom Munnelly, its founding Chairman; Nicholas Carolan, its current Director; and Cathal Goan, its current Chairman. These independently made awards, happily coinciding within the next two months, will be given in recognition of their individual contributions to Irish life.
On 19 June 2007, the National University of Ireland at Galway will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature (DLitt) to Tom Munnelly for services to Irish traditional music. Tom Munnelly, a native of Dublin, is Collector-Archivist with the Delargy Centre for Irish Folklore and the National Folklore Centre in University College Dublin, for which he has amassed since 1971 the largest and most comprehensive field-collection of Irish traditional song ever made by any one person. Since 1978 he has been based as a collector in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare. He was a founder-member of the Folk Music Society of Ireland in 1971 and has been since a founder and organiser of many other traditional music organisations and festivals. He is a frequent public lecturer and has written extensively on English-language traditional song and field collection. His audio publications include Irish Traveller singers (The Bonny Green Tree etc) and Clare singers (The Mount Callan Garland etc). He has recently been the recipient of the festschrift Dear Far-Voiced Veteran: Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly (see www.oac.ie).
On 29 June, the National University of Ireland at Galway will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature (DLitt) to Nicholas Carolan for services to Irish traditional music. Nicholas Carolan, from Drogheda, has been Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive since its foundation in 1987, and has established the Archive as the largest public repository of the materials of and information on Irish traditional music in existence. Secretary of the Folk Music Society of Ireland from 1977 to 1992, he lectured on traditional music in Trinity College Dublin from 1985 to 1998. A writer, frequent public lecturer, and producer of archival recordings, he is best known for researching and presenting the long-running archival television series Come West along the Road (RTÉ 1) and Siar an Bóthar (TG4).
On 3 July, the University of Ulster at Coleraine will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) to Cathal Goan for services to Irish-language broadcasting and the media industry in Ireland. Cathal Goan, Director-General of RTÉ, is a native of Belfast, and writes and lectures on Irish traditional song. He joined the station in 1979, and having worked as an archivist, producer and senior producer with RTÉ Radio, he moved to RTÉ Television where he was successively Editor of Cúrsaí, the Irish-language current affairs and arts programme, and Editor of Irish-Language Programming. In 1994 he was appointed Ceannasaí of Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG, now TG4), and established the channel, Ireland's third national television service, which began broadcasting in 1996. He became Managing Director of RTÉ Television in 2000, and Director-General of RTÉ in 2003.
The Board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive welcomes these awards as an acknowledgement of the personal achievements of the three recipients, and also as a recognition of the important position of traditional music in national life.
For further information contact
Sadhbh Nic Ionnraic
Administrative Officer
Irish Traditional Music Archive
Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann
73 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
T +353-1-661 9699
F +353-1-662 4585
E sadhbh.nicionnraic@itma.ie
W www.itma.ie
November 2006: Official Opening of New Premises of the Irish Traditional Music Archive
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