The doctor will sing to you now
By Alex Redmond
“When I handed in my doctoral study in January, my dad rang me. He actually passed away that same month, but he rang and said ‘A dhoctúir’ (doctor). I said, ‘you’re jumping the gun’, ‘no’, he said, ‘the work is done’.”
Those were the words of renowned Cork singer Iarla Ó Lionaird after being recently awarded a doctorate from University of Limerick. The Grammy Nominee received his PhD in Arts Practice at UL’s World Academy of Music and Dance.
He said: “I feel proud that he knew that I was finished and that he luxuriated in that because he was an educator himself. He was a principal of a secondary school, a very successful principal and beloved by his community.”
Originally from West Cork, Dr Ó Lionarid has showcased his innovative singing style in some of the world’s most prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
However according to Dr Ó Lionaird, it was a particularly special day for the musician, who noted his pride in his late father passing away, knowing he had completed his doctorate.
“So that was one of the greatest feelings I have to say, that dad knew I’d finished it, but also that I had finished it myself.”
This was the cumulation of a lifetime of education for the musician, having returned to UL after completing a masters in Ethnomusicology in 2003.
The musician has cited his time completing his PhD and Masters at UL Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, as being a rewarding challenge in his stellar music career.
He completed his post graduate work while maintaining a successful music career, playing with his acclaimed group The Gloaming and receiving numerous accolades.
He said: “My relationship with UL started on a personal level through Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, the founder of UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, because we had been performing concerts together, him on piano and me singing, something we continued to do right up until his death.
“So that brought me in, his vision that people of my background and from within the oral musical tradition could have access to the Academy, could be given parity of esteem-intellectually, aesthetically, artistically, and could be acknowledged as artists and masters in their own right.”
He continued: “During that time when I was doing the masters, it was a very steep learning curve and there were times I might have been despairing about my capability and I would go into Mícheál’s office and no matter how doleful I might have been going in, I always left his office feeling a foot taller. He really made me feel like I could do it and empowered me, and really it supercharged my efforts in that period.”
He has described the experience of completing his PhD as a “huge challenge” and while it did not fundamentally change his music philosophy, it has allowed him to embrace, the uncertainties and irregularities that can come with it.