In the final decades of the twentieth century there was a growth in feminist musicology and an increased interest in researching female composers and musicians, particularly nineteenth-century figures such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel. This led to a greater awareness of women’s contribution to music throughout the ages. However, in Irish musicology the study of female involvement in music remained a neglected field until the early twenty-first century. Initial research into women’s role in nineteenth-century Dublin in the early 2000s saw them as names that were referenced but never explored, personalities who had contributed but who were not acknowledged. The common thread was the belief that they were insignificant in comparison to their male counterparts, often dismissed as footnotes in the lives of their male peers. A closer examination led to a palette that painted a different picture – one of contribution, talent, determination and resilience. Their contributions shaped the institutions, performances, festivals and music of nineteenth-century Dublin. Their work was acknowledged and appreciated by their male counterparts, but it was quickly forgotten when the history books were written.

The rise of feminist musicology in the late twentieth century reflected a general development in research dedicated to the involvement of women in the past across disciplines such as history, sociology and anthropology. The position of women in Irish history in a broader sense was similar to that of women in music, they were largely ignored by historians until the late twentieth century, when scholars such as Margaret Ward and Maria Luddy addressed the situation. They set about highlighting the importance of women in history, particularly in the nineteenth century. Ward described the treatment of women as pointing to ‘collective amnesia’ both in Irish historiography and the Irish mind. During the nineteenth century, women in all areas of Irish society had become more independent and involved in society; Ward, Luddy and others highlighted the importance of women in the development of the country’s culture, politics and education since the nineteenth century. The lack of research into women in Irish music until recently has resulted in significant gaps in understanding the development of musical culture in nineteenth-century Dublin.