ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is concerned with national identity and music in Ireland, as it comes to be experienced and articulated by way of musical events and products, as well as through the varied and interrelated discourses of consumer, governmental, cultural, academic and industrial interests. The mid-1990s saw an explosion of celebratory discourse surrounding a number of high-profile Irish music acts. Insofar as some types of music by domestic artists enjoyed a disproportionately large share of international music sales, the general category of Irish music was enjoying an unprecedented success. The phrase 'national identity and music' is used throughout the book to describe a general process by which individuals and groups may come to perceive, cognize and articulate associations between, on the one hand, specifically musical formations, and on the other hand, wider socio-cultural formations associated with the nation state.
