The Canadian Society for Traditional Music / La Société canadienne pour les traditions musicales
Abstract
The Republic of Ireland has become a favourite tourist destination for leisure travelers from around the world. Drawn to the island’s rich Celtic heritage, its rustic charms, verdant panoramas, and spirited cultural life, tourists provide a lucrative source of revenue for local economies. Among the services that entertain foreign expectations for Irish experiences are the social settings and sounds of traditional music. Through reflection on tfie author’s own cultural encounters living as an exchange student in Belfast, the ways in which musical signs of Irishness are cultivated, interpreted, consumed and transformed in the tourist industry will be explored
