In Adam Kaul’s “Between Tradition and Innovation”, he discusses the ways innovation has changed the Irish tradition of pub seisiúns. Specifically, he notes how this classic Irish social event has been molded by advances and developments of the twentieth century, such as poverty, immigration, politics and technology. However, there is a lot of tension between “preserving the core of the tradition and allowing for creative innovations,” (Kaul, 92) which can be seen through various historical events and sources of literature. After the cultural changes brought on by massive Irish immigration to Boston, there was a sense of tension, resistance, and instability in both Ireland and Boston, specifically due to culture being such a multifaceted and
…show more content…
In some cases, it is due to the fact that culture is so multifaceted that there is no uniform idea of what a specific region, nation, or community’s culture is. So, some people may value some aspect of culture or tradition more than others, which can be seen though the interaction between Molly Ivors and Gabriel in The Dead. Even though the two characters were both Irish, due to their differing political views, they both encourage preserving tradition, but have vastly different understandings of what traditions are important to Irish culture. For example, because Miss Ivors is a nationalist, she really values restoring the Irish language, but Gabriel straight up says that its unimportant to him (Joyce 15). Later, in Gabriel’s speech, he brings up the importance of hospitality, which he thinks “we in turn must hand down to our descendants” (Joyce 30). Thus, while both characters want to preserve Irish culture, they have extremely different views on which to traditions are valuable to Irish culture. This discordance can also be seen through the work of Kaul and Hallmhuráin, who both discuss the changes that Irish music has undergone due to various factors, such as amplification, poverty and emigration. At the end of his work, Kaul states, “if Irish music is strong enough to survive those changes, it can certainly survive the 21st century” (Kaul, 93). Whereas, it is clear to the reader that Hallmhuráin is arguing that traditional Irish music did not survive, as he calls it “a lost Eden” (Hallmhuráin 1) because it has lost all sense of what it used to be. Therefore, while both authors recognize the changes that the music faced, Kaul still considers it tradition, whereas Hallmhuráin does not because it has been completely
In some cases, it is due to the fact that culture is so multifaceted that there is no uniform idea of what a specific region, nation, or community’s culture is. So, some people may value some aspect of culture or tradition more than others, which can be seen though the interaction between Molly Ivors and Gabriel in The Dead. Even though the two characters were both Irish, due to their differing political views, they both encourage preserving tradition, but have vastly different understandings of what traditions are important to Irish culture. For example, because Miss Ivors is a nationalist, she really values restoring the Irish language, but Gabriel straight up says that its unimportant to him (Joyce 15). Later, in Gabriel’s speech, he brings up the importance of hospitality, which he thinks “we in turn must hand down to our descendants” (Joyce 30). Thus, while both characters want to preserve Irish culture, they have extremely different views on which to traditions are valuable to Irish culture. This discordance can also be seen through the work of Kaul and Hallmhuráin, who both discuss the changes that Irish music has undergone due to various factors, such as amplification, poverty and emigration. At the end of his work, Kaul states, “if Irish music is strong enough to survive those changes, it can certainly survive the 21st century” (Kaul, 93). Whereas, it is clear to the reader that Hallmhuráin is arguing that traditional Irish music did not survive, as he calls it “a lost Eden” (Hallmhuráin 1) because it has lost all sense of what it used to be. Therefore, while both authors recognize the changes that the music faced, Kaul still considers it tradition, whereas Hallmhuráin does not because it has been completely