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Irish World Academy is the centre of academic and performance excellence @ University of Limerick

The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance is a centre of academic and performance excellence housed at the University of Limerick, Ireland. The Academy honours the energies of performance and academic reflection across a wide range of genres and disciplines. These in turn are informed by innovative community outreach and artist-in-residence initiatives that take the Academy to the wider community while attracting a wealth of international performance and scholarly expertise. Founded in 1994 by Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, it has come to find its true home on the beautiful banks of the River Shannon in a state of the art building, which includes two theatres, recording studio, individual practice rooms and dance studios, provides and inspiring creative space for all those who study there. The Academy has a strong international presence with students from over 40 countries studying there. With a stellar faculty of excellent performers, incredible academics and industry professionals the experience of studying at the Irish World Academy second to none. It offers a suite of taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in music and dance related subject areas and its research is at the forefront of these fields of enquiry worldwide. Programmes on offer include:

BA in Irish Music
BA in Irish Dance
BA in Contemporary Dance
BA in Voice
BA in World Music
MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance
MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance
MA in Irish Music Studies
MA in Irish Dance Studies
MA in Contemporary Dance Performance
MA in Ethnomusicology
MA in Ethnochoreology
MA in Ritual Chant and Song
MA in Community Music
MA in Music Therapy
MA in Songwriting
MA in Composition and Creative Music Practice
MA Classical String Performance in association with the Irish Chamber Orchestra
Professional Master of Education (Music)
MA Research
PhD Arts Practice
PhD Research
Blas International Summer School of Irish Traditional Music and Dance

For more information on our programmes please see: www.IrishWorldAcademy.ie

28/10/2026

Cantoral performing at the book launch of Dr Eleanor Giraud’s book ‘The Making of the Dominican Liturgy and its Chant’.

27/10/2026

A huge congratulations to BA in Irish Music student, Riko Misnik and the band Nova Lyre, who recently achieved outstanding success at the Estonian Folk Music Awards (Ethnokulp). The group’s debut EP Õbepõõsas was awarded Debut Album of the Year!

27/10/2026

The staff, students and wider community of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dónal Lunny. During a career that spanned more than six decades, Dónal was the creative vision behind many of Ireland’s most influential musical ensembles, including Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts.

He was a regular visitor to the University of Limerick, performing with various members of staff and teaching successive cohorts of students. His most recent visit was in 2023 when he performed at the launch of Executive Dean Dr Sandra Joyce’s recording ‘Since you and I have been’, an album he had also produced.

A full obituary, written by Dr Niall Keegan, has been published by RTÉ Brainstorm and can be read at the link in bio.

As we mourn the loss of a generational figure in Irish music, our thoughts and prayers are with Dónal’s family, his friends and his musical collaborators.

Go ndéana Dia grásta air

(Photo: Maurice Gunning)

23/10/2026

The staff, students and wider community of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dónal Lunny. During a career that spanned more than six decades, Dónal was the creative vision behind many of Ireland’s most influential musical ensembles, including Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts.

He was a regular visitor to the University of Limerick, performing with various members of staff and teaching successive cohorts of students. His most recent visit was in 2023 when he performed at the launch of Executive Dean Dr Sandra Joyce’s recording ‘Since you and I have been’, an album he had also produced.

A full obituary, written by Dr Niall Keegan, has been published by RTÉ Brainstorm and can be read at the following link: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2026/1023/1596641-donal-lunny-obituary-irish-trad-folk-music-culture/

As we mourn the loss of a generational figure in Irish music, our thoughts and prayers are with Dónal’s family, his friends and his musical collaborators.

Go ndéana Dia grásta air

(Photo: Maurice Gunning)

21/10/2026

Congratulations to Professor Hilary Moss, Course Director of the MA Music Therapy at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, whose work is featured in this recent Irish Times article exploring the role of music and silence in supporting people experiencing bereavement, dementia and pain.
https://www.irishtimes.com/health/your-wellness/2026/10/12/how-music-or-silence-can-help-with-bereavement-dementia-and-pain/

19/10/2026

Sionna Lunchtime Concert: Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne
Date: October 6th 2026
Venue: Theatre 1
Time: 1pm – 1.50pm
Performers: Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne

Growing up in Dublin, Niamh’s music-loving parents brought herself and her sister to the local folk club in The Old Shieling Hotel in Raheny, where the young girls were exposed to songs and singing from the likes of The Johnstons, Emmet Spiceland, Sweeney’s Men, Dolly McMahon, Danny Doyle and many of the other musicians and singers that were playing in Folk clubs at that time. ‘My father was a great singer, and on long journeys the family used to sing in the car – I don’t remember a time in my life when I was not singing – I love songs.’ Graham is a versatile multi-instrumentalist and music producer with professional performing experience in various genres, including traditional Irish music, Flamenco, and Indian music. Admission is free and all are welcome.

19/10/2026

Sionna Lunchtime Concert: Caroline Keane: ‘Rise’ Album Launch with Tom Delany
Date: October 13th 2026
Venue: Hunt Museum, Limerick
Time: 1pm – 1.50pm

Is ceoltóir, cumadóir agus oide í Caroline Keane, atá lonnaithe i nGaeltacht Chorca Dhuibhne, agus í ag cur ceol traidisiúnta na hÉireann i láthair mar ealaín bheo, fhiosrach agus chomhaimseartha.

She is one of the leading voices in contemporary concertina playing, widely recognised for her vibrant, emotive style and fearless approach to Irish traditional music. Combining deep respect for tradition with a bold contemporary sensibility, her work spans performance, composition, and education.
Admission is free and all are welcome.

19/10/2026

Sionna Seminar: Contemporary Harpsichord: New Sounds, Old Instruments
Date: October 21st 2026
Venue: Theatre 1
Time: 1pm – 1.50pm
Presenters: Dr Yonit Kosovske
Chair: Dr Yonit Kosovske

Bouncy balls, transducers, and plucked strings. Dr Yonit Kosovske presents an exciting discussion about her arts practice research, curation, and performance of New Music for harpsichord. Celebrating the release of Yonit’s new double-disc album APRICITY, featuring contemporary music for solo and collaborative harpsichord, this seminar will reflect on the creative process and experimentation involved in making this new recording. Admission is free and all are welcome.

19/10/2026

Lunchtime Concert: MA Classical String Performance Chamber Music

Date: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Time: 1 pm
Location:
Theatre 1, Irish World Academy

The students of the MA in Classical String Performance will present a performance of Terry Riley’s In C (1964), one of the most influential works of minimalist music. Featuring the five second-year students alongside Dr André Swanepoel and Dr Yonit Kosovske, this unique work is built from 53 short musical patterns which performers repeat freely, creating an ever-changing musical landscape. The interplay between patterns played on different instruments has a fascinating and mesmeric effect.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

19/10/2026

Sionna Lunchtime Concert: Fintan Vallely and MA Irish Traditional Music Students
Date: October 20th 2026
Venue: Theatre 1
Time:1pm – 1.50pm

Fintan Vallely observes the use of the printed word to convey information on Irish music, referencing his Companion to Irish Traditional Music. In 2012 a live concert format titled Compánach was devised to convey something of the detail in the book, and this dealt with the music in all Irish counties, A–Z, county by county. The tunes chosen are named for aspects of each county or region, and the narrative for these is not spoken, but is visual: images of tunes notations, musicians, publications, events and scenery. The images corroborate the music, the observer getting an insight into contexts of both historical and present-day performance. The event as proposed will be based on spoken words, but will feature a few of the 32 sections of the full show (now called Turas), projected on large screen, with the related music performed by the presenter along with UL staff and students

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Address

University Of Limerick
Limerick

Telephone

+35361202590

Website

http://www.irishworldacademy.ie/

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