It will take the perspective of future historians to determine for sure, but whether one looks at the traditional music scene in Ireland or here in the United States, there's an unmistakable golden radiance. The success of "Riverdance" and Enya has made the sounds of Irish music familiar around the world, even if this bowdlerization has given the public a slightly skewed view. Regardless, Irish traditional music is stronger than it has ever been.

Kevin Crawford of the group Lúnasa said the rebirth that is in full blossom today had a growth spurt in the 1970s with the rise of bands such as Planxty, Clannad and the Bothy Band. With their creative arrangements and instrumentation, Crawford said, the groups "opened the playing field."

Another result of these groups is today's dominance of bands as opposed to individual stars, said Karan Casey, who bucked that trend by leaving the successful group Solas to pursue her solo singing career. What continues to be true is that the heart of Irish music is its catalog of tunes -- both written and unwritten -- that are played in pubs, kitchens and, increasingly, in concert halls. But players today are taking the old tunes in new directions.

The re-arranging of songs continues today with bands like Lúnasa, which has a rhythm section composed of an acoustic guitar and a stand-up electric bass joining more-traditional instruments like uillean pipes, fiddle and penny whistles. Crawford said when he and the band "do the Lúnasa thing" to an old reel or jig, even they do not know where it will end up. While they do not strictly improvise like a jazz quintet might, the members collaboratively take chances to push the music in new directions. In contrast, Crawford said, he has just released an album of duets, where he lets "the beauty of the old songs shine through."

Casey, who was born and raised in County Waterford, but now lives in Queens, said, "[In Ireland,] there's no kind of closed area where its pure traditional music, not if you're living in a household with a radio and a TV, and most people are." She said other influences seep into the music "just by osmosis." She said that the Irish have always incorporated songs from other cultures, "because [the songs] have a place in people's hearts, that's what makes them traditional." On her new Shanachie album, "The Winds Begin to Sing," Casey includes "Strange Fruit," made famous by Billie Holiday.

"I'm sort of proud of that," Casey said, "that I was able to incorporate that and, I suppose, steal it for the Irish tradition."

Dublin-born singer Susan McKeown, who moved to New York ten years ago, said, "I like to be open to all the sounds I'm hearing around me in Manhattan." For example, she first heard the Chinese two-string erhu fiddle on a subway platform and later invited an erhu player to accompany her on the title cut of her latest album, Lowlands (Green Linnet).

"I feel a great reverence for these songs," McKeown said, "and a reluctance to experiment with the lyric and melody, but I like to explore how arrangement can affect a song." While contemporary performers like McKeown also write new songs, she is also among a subculture of collectors of old tunes, researching and passing them along at festivals, archives and even on the internet.

"Musicians and singers of my generation are keenly aware of the great recording work that has already been done," said McKeown. She quoted the poet Brendan Kennelly, who said, "All songs are living ghosts that long for a living voice," then added, "I'm looking for the old ghosts so I can sing them back to life." - Marty Lipp

Music at Amazon:
Kevin Crawford's new album In Good Company
Lunasa /Otherworld
Karan Casey / The Wind Begins to Sing
Susan McKeown / Lowlands