This collection of essays, on the subject of music and Irish identity, covers a number of different musical genres and periods, produced in a coherent volume representing a significant intervention within the field of Irish music studies. The main articles include the (re-)establishment of music as a key object of Irish cultural studies, the theoretical limitations of traditional musicology, and the development of new methodologies specifically designed to address the demands of Irish music in all its aspects. With chapters ranging from the politics of betrayal in the songs of Thomas Moore to the use of music in the award-winning film Once, the book offers an analysis of key moments from Irish cultural history considered from the perspective of music. Winner of the 2010 ACIS Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language and Culture.