Drawing together the themes of music, sport and culture, this lively collection investigates commonplace elements of Irish life both in Ireland and abroad. Drawing together the themes of music, sport and culture, this lively collection investigates commonplace elements of Irish life both in Ireland and abroad.

Music as a powerful presence in everyday living is discussed from contributions exploring the Irish show band scene of the 1960s to traditional music making in both urban and rural Ireland in the new millennium. While the shifting sands of popular and folk culture are examined through song text, so too are the ubiquity of talk radio and its particular Irish inflections revealed. Sport is embedded in ordinary Irish life and individual essays explore this oft-contested site of Irish identity. Finally, considered case studies of the corner boys of parochial Ireland and the emigrant experiences of Irish railroad workers in Cuba remind us of forgotten forms and neglected manifestations of ordinary Irish life.

Quite apart from its intrinsic value to the growing field of Irish Studies, this fascinating book delves into the study of ordinary lives and living through original and dynamic contributions.