Is that a flute in your pocket or. .. . ?
Better than a tinwhistle, I suppose…
Back on topic, though… I think it’s hard - or impossible - to figure out why Irish music is Irish by exact musical description; the rhythms and rules change, while the music stays perceptively Irish. It’s a feel that’s only barely perceptible, in the same way you can often hear where someone’s from long after they’ve lost their accent. On the Flute forum, old scratchy 78s are being posted; compare these tracks to, say, Lunasa, and you ask the question originally posted: What makes this innovative band Irish? Many of the defining rhythms have been altered, the time signatures changed, etc. And yet Lunasa sounds as Irish as any band playing tunes.
Even regional styles break down to wildly different phrasings, rhythms, ornament, etc., to the point where it’s very difficult to say that Irish music does anything in particular to make it Irish. It just is. So, while I agree that if you break down each phrase, or choice of phrasing, each rhythmic approach, you’ll probably be able to define something at the core of it all, this moves everything far away from the music itself, which is what we’re hearing, after all.
Ultimately then, all jokes aside, you’re absolutely right – like p0rn, as opposed to sensual art, you just know the difference when you see (hear) it.
Gordon
So far I think “It’s Irish because it sounds Irish” works the best for me. I know it is not much of a definition but I have found this question to be quite hard to pin down in a definite way.
I was thinking about the person who mentioned traditional rhythms like jig, hornpipe etc. but this does not work for me. Other cultures have these dance forms but they don’t sound Irish. Conversely, I have heard Irish Mazurkas that do sound Irish.
For me, the following characteristics seem to jump out with Irish tunes, but please bear in mind that I am not an expert nor am I Irish 
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Crunchy bits (Bother Steve’s nomenclature). By this I mean the cuts, taps, rolls, crans etc.
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Smoothness. Irish tunes have a definite downbeat but they don’t beat you over the head with it
The Chieftains have a lovely example of this in track “The Donegal Set” from “Water from the Well”. The middle part sounds distinctively “Scottish” to me, although with Donegal being so far north it may be that they just have Scottish influences. But I will leave this to the experts. The other parts sound more Irish. -
“Woven melodies” I put this in quotes since I know it is not a technical term but Irish tunes remind me of those weave patterns that intermingle with each other but take you back to the beginning.
“Crunchy bits, smoothness and woven melodies”… That’s a humorous and poetic way to describe the what’s Irish about the music.
This is a fantastic topic, and one perhaps impossible to answer. It’s like, what is Jazz? What is Art? One definition of art is, “art is what artists create”, which of course is circular.
But how do you know when something “sounds Irish”? It’s like the person that said (can’t remember if it was a politician or a judge) “I can’t define pornography, but I’ll know it when I see it.”
My first teacher and mentor, back in the 70’s, demonstrated this difficulty by playing “Brahms’ lullaby” as if it were a “sean nos” air. It was a beautiful and legitimate Irish performance, instantly recognisable as a piece of traditional Irish music. On the other hand, I’ve heard many many times people not familiar with the Irish idiom play Irish tunes note-for-note off the sheet music. The music they generated was clearly NOT Irish traditional music. So, to me, the style is more important than the source of the melody. This is on all fours with the way in which Jazz musicians will take melodies from whatever source and recreate them as jazz. So, Irish music is what Irish musicians play, jazz is what jazz musicians play.
We have all kinds of folks sit in on our sessions. Among these are the type that say “I’ve been playing guitar for 40 years…” and they proceed to play strongly and very straight and with no regard to where everyone else is.
What appears to be missing (besides the fact that he should be following the the guy who called the tune-not expecting us to follow the loudest player) is that certain swing that makes a jig a jig, or that little jump that makes a hornpipe uniquely Irish, or that subtle lilt in the reel.
Some people just don’t get it. And as someone else here stated, they won’t often appreciate the suggestion.
I wasn’t born in Ireland, but I feel the music.
What makes Irish music Irish…
It is unique in it’s own respect, it holds deep meaning to many who hear it. It is not something all might understand yet many can and do. It is a sound of home even if on a distant shore. It is the a breath of fresh air. How many people here have ever had a shiver run down there spine at the sound of Irish music in the distance or a tear swell up in there eyes.
Sure there is a style and character to the music, yet honestly it is like a living thing the spirit found in the music is what makes it Irish. Anyone can learn to play danny boy… but that does not make it Irish till they put there heart and soul into it…