The Northern Fiddler: Irish Traditional Fiddle Playing in Donegal and Tyrone 1977-1979

October 24, 2001 – January 20, 2002

In the Irish counties of Donegal and Tyrone, a generation of legendary fiddlers kept the northern fiddling tradition alive under conditions of great social change. Northern fiddling is characterized by its driving rhythms and, like Appalachian fiddling, it is strongly influenced by Scottish fiddling and bagpiping. Prior to World War II, it was played mostly in private homes as accompaniment for dancing. With the growth of radio and the influx of modern music traditional fiddling was at risk of dying out. Fiddlers maintained the music and aided the resurgence in recent decades of traditional Irish music in Ireland and around the world. Today the “northern” sound is at the forefront of Irish music.