"I'm gonna be free": listening to expressions of queer identity and cultural Catholicism in the music of contemporary Irish artists

This project is the culmination of my research into the relationship between Irish cultural Catholicism and queer Irish identity as revealed and complicated through music. For many, queer identity and Irish identity are polarised, situated at a point of tension as a result of the homophobic teachings of the Catholic church, an institution which has historically held immense power in Ireland. I will explore this contentious relationship, drawing from personal experience as well as those of other queer Irish people to examine what it means to be a queer person in Ireland today. With this as the contextual background for my case studies, I will examine the use of religious images, language and symbols by contemporary Irish queer musicians. Finally, I will explore the impact of this for queer listeners, and the participation of these musicians in the imagining of a queer Irish utopia through music.

Grantor dc:publisher

University College Cork

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Fleming, Laura

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Marshall, Melanie L
• Gale, Emily
• Rollefson, J. Griffith

• Musicology
• Queer
• Catholicism
• Ireland

Statement dc:rights

• © 2024, Laura Fleming.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/16401

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cora.ucc.ie:10468/16401