Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This paper I will describe the tradition of Sean-nós (Old Style) singing in the Irish language and its current status. I will be questioning whether this form of singing (and similar art forms) has a future as a performance art form that has relevance to the modern age or whether it can only exist as a cultural relic of a society that no longer exists. I will be questioning whether these art forms suffer by being labeled as ‘traditional’ or ‘heritage’ as this leads to a social and academic discourse which tends to focus almost exclusively on their importance to the ‘tradition’ and on what is ‘traditional’ about the art form. This discourse tends to lose sight of the fact that all art forms, if they are to remain vibrant and dynamic and relevant to the society which nurtures them, must be allowed to evolve and change and that each generation has the right to recreate the art form in its own image.