C.B. Oldman prize 2025 (2024 publications)

The C.B. Oldman Prize for 2025 has been awarded to:

Fintan Vallely (ed.) The Companion to Irish Traditional Music (3rd ed.). Cork: Cork University Press, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-78205-602-7

Irish traditional music has always occupied a central position in the cultural life of Ireland, and has had a wider international resonance as a result of historical patterns of emigration (especially to the United States, England, Scotland, Canada and Australia) as well as the worldwide success of performing groups such as The Chieftains, Clannad and Riverdance. Fintan Vallely’s Companion to Irish Traditional Music answers the pressing need for a readily-accessible, comprehensive and authoritative source of information on all aspects of Irish traditional music, for the use of performers, researchers and indeed anyone with a general interest in the genre. This third edition shows considerable growth and development since the first (published in 1999), most obviously seen in the page count: at 934 pages it is almost twice the length of the original.

In dictionary format, the Companion contains over 1850 articles of varying length, written by 219 experts in the field. The majority of entries are biographical, but there is also extensive treatment of topics such as musical instruments; Irish- and English-language song in different forms; dance; ornamentation; and accompaniment. As one would expect, there are additions and deletions from previous editions, restructured entries, and changes in emphasis: for example, a greater focus on gender issues in this edition. Many black-and-white illustrations are included, as well as music examples in clear notation.

There is an extensive 35-page bibliography arranged by topic. Though the book contains no printed index, this is instead provided through an accompanying website and can be freely downloaded as a pdf file. The website also offers details of a CD (Compánach) and DVD (Turas) which contain recorded performances designed to supplement and illustrate the contents of the book. Another innovation in this edition is a detailed list of All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil winners, 1951-2023, including some statistical analysis [Fleadh Cheoil is an annual festival of Irish traditional music, incorporating competitions, concerts and informal music-making]. The final page contains a ‘Timeline’ of significant dates in the progress of traditional music in Ireland.

The Companion to Irish Traditional Music (3rd edition) is a very impressive achievement which is now widely regarded as an indispensable resource in the field. The editor, contributors and publisher are to be congratulated on the fruit of their considerable labours, making this publication a very worthy winner of the 2025 C.B. Oldman Prize.