Broadly speaking the repertoire of the Irish song tradition can be divided into five categories, songs in Irish in the sean nos style, Anglo - Irish songs, macaronic songs (songs in both England and Irish), songs of British origin, and others. Songs of the sea are to be found in all these categories. Furthermore, the thematic content of Irish sea songs is extremely varied, ranging from songs of sailors and their loves to ship vieck laments and sea shanties. A rich point of departure!
   The art of singing in Ireland has a complex history. As a result of hundreds of years of invasion and coloni... rule the Irish language has been pushed to Ireland's western coastline, and for the majority of the population it is no longer the mother tongue. Needless to sa... this has had its effects on the song tradition of the country; namely the diminution of the number of songs sung in the Irish language and the composition of songs in Hiberno - English (the English spoken in Ireland). Coupled with the declire of the Irish language, the influx of English ballads into the country beggining as early as the Ulster plantations (seventeenth century) has also been a factor in changing the face of the Irish song tradition.
   Tom Munnelly (a highly respected Irish folklorist and folk song expert) cites the presence of British army and naval bases along the river Shannon and the widespread dissemination of broadside ballad sheets at local fairs, as key influences in shaping cultural patterns in county Clare, particularly in relation to song (Munnely 1985:37). Such influences were not limited to county Clare and occured on a nationwide scale. When concerning ourselves with songs of the sea yet another layer of complexity is added to this story.
   While at sea, Irish singers met up with fishermen and sailors from all corners of the globe. Needless to say these encounters did not leave the song repertories of the Irish sea men, or those of their fellow sailors, unmarked. What I hope is clear by now is that the repertory of Irish songs of the sea aken as whole reflects a complex history of interaction with other cultures.