Queen's University - Lanyon Building

Irish traditional music is a living form shaped by rhythm, memory, migration, and exchange. Passed between generations through performance and listening, it survives not as a fixed artefact but as an evolving cultural practice carried by people. This exhibition brings together specially commissioned portraits by Irish illustrator Fiona O'Donnell, celebrating musicians, singers, collectors, and cultural figures who have shaped the history of Irish traditional music across the island of Ireland and beyond. Spanning more than three centuries, the exhibition moves from the preservation work of Edward Bunting and the itinerant harp tradition of Turlough O’Carolan to contemporary artists including Loah and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Together, these portraits trace how songs, tunes, stories, and styles have travelled across counties, generations, languages, and national borders.