Sean-nós singing is unaccompanied, traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic lines, differing greatly from traditional folk singing elsewhere in Ireland, although there is significant regional variation within Ireland. Sean-nós songs cover a range of genres, from love song to lament to lullaby, traditionally with a strong focus on conveying the relevant emotion of the given song. The term sean-nós, which simply means "in the old way", is a vague term that can also refer to various other traditional activities, musical and non-musical.
Thomas Crofton Croker
Painting of Spanish Gitanos by Yevgraf Sorokin (1853)
An Aisling, Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes (1883)
Nell Ní Chróinín, sean-nós singer from Muskerry
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Irish musicians during a music session, among them Christy Barry (left) and James Devitt (center). Traditional music sessions are commonplace in public houses throughout Ireland.
Statues of traditional musicians, Lisdoonvarna
The Haymakers jig
A fiddle and bow