Next February, Toner Quinn, founder and editor of the Journal of Music, will publish his new book, What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music.

A collection of writing from over two decades, the book contains more than fifty essays and articles drawn from his work on the Journal of Music as well as a number of radio essays, public lectures and pieces for other publications.

Quinn founded the Journal of Music as a niche print magazine focusing on traditional, jazz and contemporary music in 2000 and published 60 issues before moving the publication online and further expanding its coverage. It now has an annual readership of over 350,000 and is a previous winner of the Utne Independent Press Award for arts coverage.

Commenting on the new book, Quinn said:

When I began publishing, I had no plan beyond the second issue and little notion that the magazine would occupy me for over two decades. I didn’t set out to be a writer on music, and initially was more interested in publishing the work of others. The more I published, however, the more I learnt, and I increasingly felt the need to articulate what I was seeing and hearing. Writing gradually became more important to me, and that progression is reflected in this collection.

The new book addresses a number of questions, such as: What can folk music tell us about our society? How do we create a deeper public discussion around music? How do we support music in our villages, towns and cities? And what can Ireland teach the world about music?

As well as exploring the work of a range of artists, from Martin Hayes to Jennifer Walshe and from Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin to Sinéad O’Connor, the book explores the impact of the economic crash on music in Ireland and the fallout from the pandemic.

What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music provides a unique insight into Irish music in the twenty-first century, exploring what makes this culture unique and the challenges it faces into the future.

The book will be published under a new Journal of Music imprint on 1 February 2024 and is available to pre-order now for €19.95 plus postage.

For full details about the book, see here.

Pre-order here.

Subscribe to our newsletter.