The ascendancy of accentual, or ‘song’, metres in the poetry of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Ireland marked a new phase in the development of Irish poetry, one in which the works of literary poets became increasingly accessible both by virtue of their form as strophic song and because of the ever greater number of social nexuses through which poetry (and culture in general) was disseminated and shared during this period. In the following chapter I will examine the extent to which these ‘new’ song metres reflect both innovation and continuity with the poetic traditions that preceded them; the interdependence of written and oral media in recording and disseminating poetry; the relationship between works by known literary poets and the ‘songs of the people’ and the profound effect that the subsequent interaction between the two spheres has had on the Irish song tradition since the eighteenth century. We shall also see that from the medieval period on, performance has been integral to the Irish poetic tradition.

I. The Bardic Tradition and Oral Performance

In the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, oral performance was a significant element in the communication of Irish literature, whether through public or private readings of romance manuscripts, the recitation of praise-poetry, or the narration of tales or lays – these last frequently involving musical accompaniment. Whether or not the poet himself actually performed or merely directed others in such performances is not entirely clear.