558 research outputs found
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A Revolutionary Queen: Philomena Begley’s Use of Country Music Songs to Challenge Social Attitudes in Irish Society
Full text linkSinger Philomena Begley (b.1942) is widely promoted as the “Queen of Irish country music.” This article critically examines examples from the early decades of her 60-year career that highlight her role in challenging attitudes toward women in Irish society. By critically reflecting on her recordings and autobiography, as well as information gleaned in an interview, the article details how Begley appropriated American country music songs with lyrics that resonated with an Irish audience and challenged the social and cultural norms of Irish society during the 1960s. The article focuses on Begley’s covers of American songs, “Blanket on the Ground”, “Truck Driving Woman” and “The Box It Came In,” using semiotic and cultural analysis to exemplify how artists construct meaning through song lyrics and performance. Performing songs written in and influenced by American society, Begley highlighted aspects of the lived experience of women in Ireland and achieved iconic status in Irish country music. Drawing on Philomena Begley’s example this article demonstrates how legacy is created in Irish country music, and highlights the continuing relevance and influence of Begley on the Irish country music scene today
Portrayals of Remembrance: Representations of Individual Memory in Contemporary Cinema
No full textFilms that feature representations of memory often offer insight into how humanity perceives its past and the portrayal of that perception in cinema. Although it is not altogether a neglected area, there is a lack of specific scholarly writings on the portrayal of the memory of individual characters – here termed individual memory – in contemporary cinema. The scope of the research addresses this gap by specifically providing an overview on how contemporary films released during the period 2000-2023 portray individual memory and how these portrayals differ from past cinema. The study groups twenty-eight relevant films into three categories related to individual memory (Prosthetic, Traumatic, and Memory Loss) that comprise the three chapters of analysis that the body of the thesis consist of. The thesis implements a qualitative textual analysis using theoretical frameworks and concepts, including “forking-path” narrative, “empty spaces”, the “modernist event”, “then and now” narrative, among others. The analysis helps to reveal how depictions of individual memory contribute to aspects of character and narrative, thus expanding the knowledge on representations of individual memory. The analysis also explores how the language of cinema is utilised in contemporary films in relation to the portrayal of individual memory, allowing for a specific recognition of cinematic representations of individual remembrance and their implications in a study primarily dedicated to them. Outcomes of the study are findings that regard the manner in which representations of individual memory depict the emotional authenticity of these contemporary portrayals: In the twenty-first-century, contemporary films candidly engage with the impact of prosthetic influences, iterations of trauma, and memory loss diseases on individuals. Further findings note the evolution of the cinematic language implemented in portrayals of individual memory and identify the risk of the progressive aspects of these portrayals becoming stagnant, leading to the risk of creating new stereotypes
Funerary Rituals and Traditions in Twenty-First Century Irish Literature: Navigating Grief in a Liminal Space.
Full text linkThis thesis explores how grief and funerary rituals are portrayed in twenty-first century Irish literature, focusing on the ways in which funerals and wakes function as liminal spaces that illuminate the emotional and psychological processes of mourning. Addressing a gap in research, which often overlooks the literary representation of funerary traditions in post-2000 Irish literature, this study examines works by authors such as Anne Enright, Mary Costello, Kathleen MacMahon, and Donal Ryan. Using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates literary analysis with psychological, anthropological and medical perspectives on grief, this research argues that funerary rituals act as narrative tools for exploring the complexities of grief and the intersections of personal loss, collective identity and societal change. These rituals, deeply rooted in tradition yet reimagined for modern contexts, create transitional spaces where characters navigate transformation, healing, alienation and their reintegration into community life. Drawing on Arnold van Gennep’s theory of liminality, Victor Turner’s concept of communitas and including contemporary grief theory, this thesis examines how Irish literature reflects broader cultural concerns, including national identity, secularisation, and the preservation of tradition. It demonstrates how funerary settings serve as spaces for personal reflection and communal negotiation, offering insights into how grief is experienced and understood in a rapidly evolving society. This research makes an original contribution to Irish studies by bridging literary analysis with interdisciplinary perspectives, revealing how funerary traditions remain central to Irish culture while continuing to evolve in response to modernity
A Critical Exploration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Policy and Access to Finance in Ireland: An Ecosystems Approach
Full text linkWomen's entrepreneurship has been recognised as critical for economic growth and job creation. Consequently, policy initiatives and programmes to increase the number of women entrepreneurs have been developed. Despite this, the literature has shown that women-owned businesses are still significantly underrepresented globally.
Access to finance has been recognised as a particular challenge facing women-owned businesses, especially at the start-up stage. Studies exploring the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems note that access to finance and government policy play a critical role in entrepreneurial behaviour. These studies argue that most entrepreneurship policies are inherently gendered. While such studies are valuable, this remains a relatively unexplored theme, especially in Ireland.
This thesis explores the potential embedded gender biases within the Irish entrepreneurship landscape, by focusing on women entrepreneurs at the intersection of policy and access to finance. Drawing on feminist theory and adopting an ecosystems approach, the study employs a three-stage interpretive qualitative research approach combining discourse analysis, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and a policy reading guide (GWEP). Qualitative interviews with 43 women entrepreneurs and 3 funders were conducted and thematically analysed. Finance-focused entrepreneurship policy and programme documents for women’s entrepreneurship in Ireland were analysed using the GWEP policy reading guide.
Findings reveal that the Irish entrepreneurial ecosystem is inherently gendered. Current policies designed to support women entrepreneurs' access to finance do not appear to alter women's disadvantaged position in society; rather they perpetuate women’s ‘othering’ positioning. This was particularly evident in this study through the power and gender dynamics uncovered in the funding landscape. It appears that while women are encouraged to actively seek funding, they are at the same time reminded of their subordinate position. It seems that women entrepreneurs are reminded ‘to know their place’ in entrepreneurship through the various embedded gender biases and structural barriers imposed within the Irish funding ecosystem
From Sallins to Seville; an examination of the influences and work of the (living) Irish flamenco and composer, John Walsh
Full text linkFlamenco is an expressive and passionate art form originating with the Romani who settled in Andalusia, Spain. it blends singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), and dancing (baile), often accompanied by finger snaps (pitos) and handclaps (palmas). Its deep emotional intensity reflects themes of hardship, joy and love, deeply rooted in Spanish cultural traditions. Flamenco blends various influences, including Arabic, Sufi, Jewish and Romani, creating diverse, dynamic rhythms.
John Walsh qualified from University of Limerick as a physicist but the gravitational pull of the guitar, a serendipitous meeting with a journeyman guitarist, and the key influence of the work of Paco de Lucia changed the trajectory of his life and career. Initially inspired by the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, specifically for the guitar, the peculiar and strenuous demands of flamenco demanded a re-location to Andalucia for instruction and immersion in flamenco music, guitar playing and performance, and culture. John has been composing music since his teens but is now writing original short pieces for the guitar almost exclusively in the flamenco style but fused with contemporary musical influences. These compositions have been studio recorded and released
An Agile-Based Framework for Addressing Defects in Medical Device Software Development
Full text linkDefects in Medical Device Software (MDS) have the potential to cause harm to both patients AQ1 and caregivers. Research has revealed that defect prevention is often neglected or inadequately implemented in many software development
projects. In MDS development, the focus is on defect identification in later stages, typically during coding and testing stages. A recent survey revealed that although
MDS development organisations plan to be proactive in defect management by preventing them in early development stages, in practice, they emphasise defect identification in later stages. This approach potentially leads to costly rework and
increased risk of defects slipping into the final software release. When using the V-Model, a commonly adopted methodology for safety-critical software development,
defect prevention occurs in the early stages on the left side, while defect identification occurs in the later stages on the right side. Studies have revealed that many defects that occur in software can be traced back to the early stages of the development lifecycle. Agile practices provide the potential to prevent defects in the early development stages and identify those that may slip into the later stages. This paper presents an Agile-based Defect Addressing Framework (AbDAF) that is designed to assist MDS development organisations to address defects during the development lifecycle. This framework uses agile practices to address defects by preventing them early on and identifying those that may arise in later stages of development
Contributions to The Companion to Irish Traditional Music (ed. Fintan Vallely)
Full text link‘Ahern, Fr. Pat’
‘Dundalk Institute of Technology’
‘Gaughran, Brendan’
‘Kearney, Daithí’
‘Kerry’
‘Loughlin, Kevin’
‘McAulliffes’
‘monuments’
‘notation and style’
‘O’Kane, Brian’
'recording, stylistic significance
‘regional style; radio
Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Medical Device Standards: A Multidisciplinary Literature Review
Full text linkConcern has been noted at the lack of international standards available
for Artificial Intelligence-enabled Medical Device (AIeMD) development,
evaluation, and monitoring. This multidisciplinary literature review provides an
overview of the current standards in development in support of the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. The EU AI Act requires that high-risk AI is regulated, though notably with an absence of regulatory guidance within healthcare to date. The medical device industry has already released hundreds of AIeMDs on the global market. This research is therefore necessary to provide the much-needed awareness of current and forthcoming standards. This research demonstrates that technical guidance is available to industry and requires consideration where it represents the current State of the Art (SoTA)
Encountering Irish traditional music through virtual space: the experience of FleadhFest 2021
No full textPurpose: The main research questions critically examine online videos that draw attention to a local community of musical practice, noticing how these can potentially be included within tourism promotion strategies. This paper develops a case study of four videos realised by the Louth County Board of the organisation Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) in Co. Louth, Ireland, as part of the FleadhFest 2021 initiative. It highlights the role virtual spaces have in enhancing a sense of belonging to a music/festival community, as well as the possibility visual and audio supports have in promoting and celebrating a destination and its cultural features.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The analysis involves a netnographic examination of these videos (Janta, 2017), informed by the concept of “tourist gaze” (Urry, 1990; 2002) and influenced by film induced tourism studies (Beeton, 2005).
Findings: Results show how festival and event organisers responded to COVID-19 social restrictions by creating a virtual space for celebrating music heritage and local musicscape, placing an emphasis on local musical scene.
Originality: This is the first study to consider the virtual activities of CCÉ from an
ethnomusicological, as well as tourism, perspective.
Research Limitations/Implications: The research aims to inform future developments in how the organisation operates within and engages with virtual space, its members and a wider audience
