Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction. Music, the moving image, and Ireland -- Part 1. Irish Themes on Screen and in Sound. The first half-century : From silent newsreel to narrative sound ; Harping on? The 1950s to the 1990s ; Literature-to-film adaptations and music -- Part 2. Perception and Production from Within. Sounding nation and culture on screen ; Soundtracks to Ireland's troubles : dramas and documentaries ; Irish Composers and 20th-century film and TV -- Part 3. Cinematic and Musical Developments. Soundtracks for an emerging Irish cinema : Margins, borders, troubles ; A plurality of genres ; 21st-century themes -- Conclusion. Retrospectives and recent developments.

"Music, the Moving Image and Ireland, 1897-2017 constitutes the first comprehensive study of music for screen productions from or relating to the island. It identifies and interprets tendencies over the first 120 years of a field comprising the relatively distinct yet often overlapping areas of Irish-themed and Irish-produced film. Dividing into three parts, the book first explores accompaniments and scores for 20th-century Irish-themed narrative features that resulted in significant contributions by many Hollywood, British, continental European and, to a lesser extent, Irish composers; along with the input of many orchestras and other musicians. Its second part is framed by a consideration of various cultural, political and economic developments in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from the 1920s (including the Troubles of 1968-1998). Focusing on scoring and other aspects of soundtrack production for domestic newsreel, documentary film and TV programming, it interprets the substantial output of many Irish composers within this milieu, particularly from the 1960s-1990s. Also referring to broader cultural and historical themes, the book's third and final part charts approaches to, and developments in music and sound design over various waves of Irish cinema, from its relatively late emergence in the 1970s to an exponential growth and increasingly transnational orientation in the early decades of the 21st century"-- Provided by publisher.