Thesis submission ID 376 | created
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Karol Mullaney-Dignam, State, nation and music in independent Ireland, 1922-51
Volumes, pp.: 1 (507pp.)
Supervisor(s): Professor R. V. Comerford (Department of History)
Repository (hard copy): John Paul II Library, NUI Maynooth. Ref: THSES L.O. 4626
General specialism: Musicology
Historical timeframe: 1900-2000
Key terms, concepts: Music and nation-building in independent Ireland; state policy towards the cultivation of music in Ireland
Key terms, places: Ireland
Abstract:
This thesis is the first academic work to investigate the use of music by the state in the process of nation-building in independent Ireland and the extent of state policy towards the cultivation of music in Ireland. Much of the relationship that the state had with music and musical activity was informed by the relationship of the state with the nation or perceptions of the nation. This was certainly the case with the army school of music, for example, the first state initiative for the explicit purposes of the development of music and musical activity in the newly independent state conducted under the aegis of the department of defence in 1922. Because the ‘nation-building’ potential of the initiative became more apparent than the musical, and eventually more imperative, the policy of the Cumann na nGaedheal government was promptly revised for the explicit purposes of legitimising the nascent and volatile political state in a congenial cultural manner. Army bands sponsored by the state were used to gain support for its administration and the musical agenda was subjugated to the national. Other attempts to express and project the nationality of the newly independent polity were made through ‘national’ events such as the Aonach Tailteann and the Eucharistic Congress. The manner in which music, musicians or music institutions were used as integral features of such events highlighted the fact that, for the most part, music functioned simply for the purposes of a colourful projection of the nation. Such events, however, also inadvertently highlighted the limited range of musical resources and the extent of musical education in the state. During the period in question here, no cohesive state policy existed which linked all musical activity, from the primary, secondary and vocational schools to the universities, from the various music institutions to the army, from private musicians and teachers to the national broadcasting service, for the mutual benefit of each activity. Any co-operation that did occur was through initiatives on the part of individuals or simply out of necessity. Army bandsmen, for example, were affiliated with almost every national musical endeavour in the independent state including the national broadcasting service and the foundation of the national symphony orchestra. This was as a result of the enthusiasm of the army musicians and their leaders and the fact that there were few other musicians capable of playing brass, woodwind and percussive instruments to the standard to which they were trained. The army also provided the only facility in the state for the training of musical conductors but even these were found to be inadequate, by international standards, by the late 1940s. Educational policy was subsumed by national concerns and developments in subjects such as music were restricted. Music education in the primary level system, which was ostensibly free of syllabus, was stifled by Irish language requirements and the teaching of mechanical versions of Irish songs. On the other hand, music education was stifled at second level by the insistence on a particular curriculum in order for pupils to attain certification. Little or no provision was made for the development of music as an educational art form in itself within any level of the education system in independent Ireland in the years between 1922 and 1951. Ultimately, the focus on the national agenda without due care for the concurrent development of music as an academic subject meant that neither concern flourished in the schools. While the relationship between state and music offers a fascinating window into the debates surrounding state formation and expressions or projections of nationality, particularly by a newly independent polity, it shows clearly that while music was harnessed for political objectives, little thought was ever put into the development of music, musical activity or the music profession itself. In addition, because the prevailing state attitude towards education in independent Ireland was that education served ethnic reinforcement and ‘national’ retrieval, and was not something that had its own merits, there were few mechanisms for encouraging any local civic interest, let alone investment in, education or the arts. The Royal Irish Academy of Music, the Cork School of Music and the Dublin Municipal School of Music were notable exceptions but these institutions functioned largely on financial provisions which had been made prior to independence in 1922. These provisions were found to be inadequate in dealing with the increasing popularity of these institutions in the 1930s and 1940s. The makeshift nature of the state’s relationship with music highlighted the ability of the state to capitulate to certain contemporary pressures while resisting others. Both capitulation and resistance were justified in the national interest. Cases in point included the continued high taxation on musical instruments, certain exemptions and reductions in taxation on gramophone records, the introduction of foreign musicians to form a national symphony orchestra and even the introduction of more censorious legislation such as the Public Dance Halls Act (1935). Yet, little or no investment was made for the development of musical activity of better or more acceptable quality or even into the development of the educational apparatus to meet the musical needs of one symphony orchestra. It was little wonder that the Music Association of Ireland, founded by prominent members of the music profession in 1948, concluded that the independent Irish state was ‘one of the most materialistic administrations this side of the Iron Curtain’. Music functions as a prism through which to explore some of the key themes of twentieth-century Irish history and as a useful model with which to assess state attitudes towards cultural endeavour and the arts in a newly independent state. Works like this serve to highlight, not only a very important and largely neglected area of Irish culture and heritage, but also the need to rethink the task of Irish historiography in terms of representing and engaging with the past in artistic and cultural fields.
Karol Mullaney-Dignam, State, nation and music in independent Ireland, 1922-51
PhD, NUI Maynooth, 2008
Volumes, pp.: 1 (507pp.)
Supervisor(s): Professor R. V. Comerford (Department of History)
Repository (hard copy): John Paul II Library, NUI Maynooth. Ref: THSES L.O. 4626
General specialism: Musicology
Historical timeframe: 1900-2000
Key terms, concepts: Music and nation-building in independent Ireland; state policy towards the cultivation of music in Ireland
Key terms, places: Ireland
Abstract:
This thesis is the first academic work to investigate the use of music by the state in the process of nation-building in independent Ireland and the extent of state policy towards the cultivation of music in Ireland. Much of the relationship that the state had with music and musical activity was informed by the relationship of the state with the nation or perceptions of the nation. This was certainly the case with the army school of music, for example, the first state initiative for the explicit purposes of the development of music and musical activity in the newly independent state conducted under the aegis of the department of defence in 1922. Because the ‘nation-building’ potential of the initiative became more apparent than the musical, and eventually more imperative, the policy of the Cumann na nGaedheal government was promptly revised for the explicit purposes of legitimising the nascent and volatile political state in a congenial cultural manner. Army bands sponsored by the state were used to gain support for its administration and the musical agenda was subjugated to the national. Other attempts to express and project the nationality of the newly independent polity were made through ‘national’ events such as the Aonach Tailteann and the Eucharistic Congress. The manner in which music, musicians or music institutions were used as integral features of such events highlighted the fact that, for the most part, music functioned simply for the purposes of a colourful projection of the nation. Such events, however, also inadvertently highlighted the limited range of musical resources and the extent of musical education in the state. During the period in question here, no cohesive state policy existed which linked all musical activity, from the primary, secondary and vocational schools to the universities, from the various music institutions to the army, from private musicians and teachers to the national broadcasting service, for the mutual benefit of each activity. Any co-operation that did occur was through initiatives on the part of individuals or simply out of necessity. Army bandsmen, for example, were affiliated with almost every national musical endeavour in the independent state including the national broadcasting service and the foundation of the national symphony orchestra. This was as a result of the enthusiasm of the army musicians and their leaders and the fact that there were few other musicians capable of playing brass, woodwind and percussive instruments to the standard to which they were trained. The army also provided the only facility in the state for the training of musical conductors but even these were found to be inadequate, by international standards, by the late 1940s. Educational policy was subsumed by national concerns and developments in subjects such as music were restricted. Music education in the primary level system, which was ostensibly free of syllabus, was stifled by Irish language requirements and the teaching of mechanical versions of Irish songs. On the other hand, music education was stifled at second level by the insistence on a particular curriculum in order for pupils to attain certification. Little or no provision was made for the development of music as an educational art form in itself within any level of the education system in independent Ireland in the years between 1922 and 1951. Ultimately, the focus on the national agenda without due care for the concurrent development of music as an academic subject meant that neither concern flourished in the schools. While the relationship between state and music offers a fascinating window into the debates surrounding state formation and expressions or projections of nationality, particularly by a newly independent polity, it shows clearly that while music was harnessed for political objectives, little thought was ever put into the development of music, musical activity or the music profession itself. In addition, because the prevailing state attitude towards education in independent Ireland was that education served ethnic reinforcement and ‘national’ retrieval, and was not something that had its own merits, there were few mechanisms for encouraging any local civic interest, let alone investment in, education or the arts. The Royal Irish Academy of Music, the Cork School of Music and the Dublin Municipal School of Music were notable exceptions but these institutions functioned largely on financial provisions which had been made prior to independence in 1922. These provisions were found to be inadequate in dealing with the increasing popularity of these institutions in the 1930s and 1940s. The makeshift nature of the state’s relationship with music highlighted the ability of the state to capitulate to certain contemporary pressures while resisting others. Both capitulation and resistance were justified in the national interest. Cases in point included the continued high taxation on musical instruments, certain exemptions and reductions in taxation on gramophone records, the introduction of foreign musicians to form a national symphony orchestra and even the introduction of more censorious legislation such as the Public Dance Halls Act (1935). Yet, little or no investment was made for the development of musical activity of better or more acceptable quality or even into the development of the educational apparatus to meet the musical needs of one symphony orchestra. It was little wonder that the Music Association of Ireland, founded by prominent members of the music profession in 1948, concluded that the independent Irish state was ‘one of the most materialistic administrations this side of the Iron Curtain’. Music functions as a prism through which to explore some of the key themes of twentieth-century Irish history and as a useful model with which to assess state attitudes towards cultural endeavour and the arts in a newly independent state. Works like this serve to highlight, not only a very important and largely neglected area of Irish culture and heritage, but also the need to rethink the task of Irish historiography in terms of representing and engaging with the past in artistic and cultural fields.
Thesis submission ID 376