The series, and inaugural volume, uniquely celebrates what is by now a substantial corpus of academic work on a field of practice that has been thriving for several decades -- in spite of the many challenges that music educators in Ireland continue to face. Its various chapters engage with arts and education policies, with international developments and comparative educational systems and, crucially, with the concerns of teachers, students, musicians, schools, higher education institutions, music development agencies and broader communities of practice.

John O'Flynn is Professor of Music at Dublin City University. He is currently President of the Society for Musicology in Ireland (2021-2024). He is author of a number of books including Music, the Moving Image and Ireland (2022) and co-editor of Made in Ireland: Studies in Popular Music (2020) Ceol Phadraig: Music at St Patrick's College Drumcondra (2019) and Music and Identity in Ireland and Beyond (2014/2016). Patricia Flynn is Head of the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, and Associate Professor of Music at Dublin City University. Her research centres on music development in Ireland and national infrastructure for the arts. Principal Investigator in the Local Authorities and Music Project in partnership with Wexford and Sligo Local Authorities and the Arts Council and also in the Diversity in Performance Music Education Project with Music Generation. Her research also engages with music development in wider society, in performance music education and in areas of national cultural importance.