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Call for Participation

Symposium Date: 24 July 2026

This symposium is a knowledge exchange, performance and discussion day, highlighting practices, considerations, and communities on the fringes of the tradition. While experimentation and development has always been a feature of traditional music, there are a remarkable number of recent examples of creative work that clearly exist on the boundaries of what is understood as Irish traditional music.

Artists are combining standard approaches with new technologies, improvisation, other art forms and other genres of music. These creative manifestations still overlap with political, historical and social priorities, including questions of inclusivity and activism. We hope to celebrate, develop and strengthen the research and creative community around these questions, and support opportunities for collaboration. We invite proposals for participation from anyone working in these areas, whether outside or within academia. This symposium encourages participants at all stages of their career, and a diverse range of research methods and practices. Proposals may be submitted in English or Irish, with proposals for bilingual presentations incorporating both languages also welcome.

This symposium will happen in the week preceding Belfast Tradfest and Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, at a time when there is a wealth of activity and energy in traditional music in the north of Ireland, particularly in Belfast.

Join us!

Approaches/ topics may include the following, but you are encouraged to submit proposals that you feel resonate with the overarching theme.

· Improvisation
· Experimentalism
· Performance
· Technology / Live electronics
· Traditional Music on Social Media
· Issues of individual and community identity
· Issues of access
· International perspectives

Proposals are invited for:

· Papers (20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions)
· Performance-based presentations or workshops (20 mins – 1 hour duration)
· Lightning Presentations (5-minute summary of your research interests and recent work)
· Panels (2 or 3 linked papers around a theme, totalling 1 hour)
· Roundtables (2 or 3 shorter presentations, around 15 minutes each, followed by a chaired discussion, totalling 1 hour)
· Posters
· Films or other media presentations (again, with durations as above)
· Collaborative presentations that include one or more practitioners, performers or other research participants.

The Call for Papers is now closed

Conference Committee

Dr Úna Monaghan (QUB, Symposium Chair), Dr Conor Caldwell (University of Limerick), Chris Corrigan (QUB), Dr Síle Denvir (DCU), Gráinne Meyer (QUB), Paddy McKeown (QUB), Dr Ryan Molloy (Maynooth University), Dr Niamh O’Brien (MTU), Dr Ceri Owen (University of Birmingham), Prof Paul Stapleton (QUB), Dr Jack Talty (UCC), Dr Lori Watson (University of Edinburgh)

Contact: itm.edges@qub.ac.uk