Dr Bridget O'Connell

2004  - Present  Lecturer at Waterford Institute of Technology.

2003 – Present  Instrumental Teacher at the Cork ETB School of Music.

My research in Newfoundland music stems from my interests in the cultural connections shared between Newfoundland and Ireland. I completed a PhD thesis regarding Newfoundland fiddle music, and this research was based on many months of intensive fieldwork and archival research in Newfoundland. My thesis investigates how historical and social changes in Newfoundland helped to reshaped Newfoundland fiddle styles in Newfoundland. I received an Ireland Newfoundland Partnership Scholarship and Strand 1 Government funding to complete this research. I have disseminated much of my findings via conferences in Ireland and Canada and by journal articles.

External and Professional Links: ICTM: International Council for Traditional Music (Ireland), SMI: Society for Musicology in Ireland and the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Research Group, W.I.T.

Bridget completed an undergraduate music degree from Waterford Institute of Technology receiving an honors degree and a Bridget Doolan prize for her performance skills and contribution to the course. She completed a master’s degree majoring in fiddle performance at the University of Limerick and performs and teaches regularly in both Waterford and Cork. She has directed various traditional ensembles at both the Waterford Institute of Technology and for County Cork School of music.

O’ Connell, B., (2019) ‘Exploring Fiddle Music in Newfoundland in the 21st Century’ Newfoundland Quarterly, Vol. 112, Number 1, Summer 2019, Newfoundland.

O’Connell, B. (2012), ‘Newfoundland Fiddle Music’, in Fintan Vallely (ed.) The Companion to Irish Music. CUP: Cork, Ireland.

O’Connell, B. (2013) ‘Joe Liddy, Cathal Hayden, Martin Dowling and the Mulcahy Family’, in Barra Boydell & Harry White (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland, UCD Press, Dublin, Ireland.

O’ Connell, B., (2009) ‘Examining the Fiddle Styles of Western Newfoundland’, ‘Ktaqamkuk, Across the Water, Thar Muir’, Irish Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador Research, The Centre for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, School of Humanities Publications. Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland.

O’ Connell, B., (2006) ‘Newfoundland and Irish Fiddle Styles: A Comparative Study’, Transcultural Perspectives on Canada, Canadian Studies in Europe, Vol.7, The Central European Association for Canadian Studies. Graz, Austria.

Education

2019: Waterford Institute of Technology  (PhD Thesis: Fiddle Sound in Newfoundland in the 21^st Century).

2013: Waterford Institute of Technology (Special Purpose Award in Mentoring for Teacher Education Programmes, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

2004: University of Limerick (MA(Mus) (Masters of Arts in Irish Traditional Music Performance).

2003: Waterford Institute of Technology (BA(Hons) Degree in Music).

2002: London College of Music (LLCM) (Diploma of Licentiateship in Irish Traditional Music Performance)

2001: London College of Music (ALCM TD) (Teaching Diploma in Irish Traditional Music Performance).

Awards, Research Grants and Fellowships

WIT Clubs & Societies Award (2002) for contribution to the Traditional Music Society; (2) Bridget Doolan Award (2003) from WIT for excellence in performance and outstanding contribution to the music life of the Institute; (3) Irish Government Strand 1 Postgraduate Scholarship (2005); (4) Ireland Newfoundland Partnership Scholarships (2005) & (2007).

O’ Connell, B., (2019) ‘Exploring Fiddle Music in Newfoundland in the 21st Century’ Newfoundland Quarterly, Vol. 112, Number 1, Summer 2019, Newfoundland.

O’Connell, B. (2012), ‘Newfoundland Fiddle Music’, in Fintan Vallely (ed.) The Companion to Irish Music. CUP: Cork, Ireland.

O’Connell, B. (2013) ‘Joe Liddy, Cathal Hayden, Martin Dowling and the Mulcahy Family’, in Barra Boydell & Harry White (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland, UCD Press, Dublin, Ireland.

O’ Connell, B., (2009) ‘Examining the Fiddle Styles of Western Newfoundland’, ‘Ktaqamkuk, Across the Water, Thar Muir’, Irish Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador Research, The Centre for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, School of Humanities Publications. Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland.

O’ Connell, B., (2006) ‘Newfoundland and Irish Fiddle Styles: A Comparative Study’, Transcultural Perspectives on Canada, Canadian Studies in Europe, Vol.7, The Central European Association for Canadian Studies. Graz, Austria.