People First, Music Second

This episode of In Tune with Tradition was recorded in person in Miltown Malbay during Willie Clancy Week 2025, (shortly after the podcast was officially launched), where Clare fiddle player, teacher and broadcaster Joan Hanrahan joins Tara Connaghan for a warm, reflective conversation about what Irish traditional music sessions really are: shared spaces built on listening, trust, and people first. They talk through session etiquette, intergenerational learning, the role of repetition and repertoire, and why music can feel healing in moments of grief, joy, and everything in between.

Chapters

01:25 – What an Irish music session means to Joan

02:22 – First sessions in Garvey’s in Inagh and learning tunes by osmosis

04:55 – Why the intergenerational nature of Irish music matters

05:51 – Nobody knows it all

06:13 – Old tunes, repertoire and why quantity is not everything

07:24 – Advice for joining a session when you know nobody

08:25 – The natural high when a session really works

11:15 – People first, music second

12:27 – Music as a constant through grief, loss and life

14:18 – Friendships across the world and a connection with Cape Breton