Edinburgh Tradfest - Rebellious Truth (online)

** This page is for the online livestream of this event **

Dr Úna Monaghan’s article ‘121 Stories: The impact of gender on participation in Irish traditional music’ was published in the journal Ethnomusicology Ireland in 2021. Her research demonstrates that the mechanisms and structures of the Irish traditional music scene continue to privilege the contribution of men.

We hope to discuss what the next steps might be and what, if anything, is beginning to change in Ireland and Scotland, since the 121 anonymous responses were received in 2018.

Úna Monaghan is a harper, composer, researcher and sound artist from Belfast. Her recent work has combined traditional music with bronze sculpture, sound art and movement sensors. Her compositions have been presented on BBC and RTÉ television and radio, and in theatre productions, festivals and conferences internationally. She performs with harp and computer, and released an album of her compositions for Irish harp and electronics, named “For” in 2018.

Úna has held artist residencies at the Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris, the Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas Montréal, and the Future Music Lab at the Atlantic Music Festival, Maine, USA. Úna also works as a sound engineer specialising in Irish traditional music, and experimental, live electronic and multichannel music, a role in which she travels worldwide.

Úna gained a PhD from the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast in 2015 and held the Rosamund Harding Research Fellowship in Music at Newnham College, University of Cambridge from 2016-2019. Her research examines the intersections between Irish traditional music, experimental music practices, improvisation and interactive technologies. In 2019 she received the inaugural Liam O’Flynn Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Concert Hall, Dublin.

Trigger warning: Both the performance and talk will feature examples from 121 stories - some of these include descriptions of sexual assault and harrassment. Please be mindful of under 18s.

** THIS EVENT WILL BE AN ONLINE LIVESTREAM. FOR THE IN-PERSON PRESENTATION OF THIS EVENT, VISIT THIS PAGE. **

Read the research paper here.

This gig is part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2022.

Rebellious Truth 22 is produced in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Celtic and Scottish Studies.

The Traverse Theatre is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, with additional support from The Scottish Government Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund.

Bookers for this livestream event will receive an eticket containing the event access link shortly after booking. If you require any technical help accessing the livestream, please email the gig's organisers.