Sean-nós

Sean-nós, Irish for 'old style', is the traditional unaccompanied singing of Ireland, practised mainly in the Irish-language regions of Connemara, Munster and Donegal. A solo singer delivers long, often tragic songs in Irish with a highly ornamented melodic line — rolls, trills and slides varying by region — free rhythm and an intimate, conversational delivery. Repertoire spans love songs, laments, historical ballads and comic songs learned orally. Singers such as *Joe Heaney*, *Darach Ó Catháin* and *Seán 'ac Dhonncha* defined its recorded canon during the folk revival.