New Books Network Ailbhe Kenny, "Music Refuge: Living Asylum through Music" (Oxford UP, Press 2025)
Mar 3, 2026
Ailbhe Kenny, Associate Professor in Music Education who studies music programmes with people seeking asylum. She discusses why music matters in asylum contexts and contrasts work in Ireland and Germany. Short projects grow into sustained collaborations. Music emerges as a space for belonging, storytelling, community building, and invitational public encounters.
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Media Images Hide Refugees' Cultural Needs
- Media images of refugees flatten lives to victim narratives and hide everyday cultural needs.
- Ailbhe Kenny began researching beyond 2015 headlines to examine what people want after arrival, focusing on music in temporary asylum centres.
Started With A Nearby Children's Project
- Kenny started small with a local centre six kilometres from her office working with children and expanded after learning residents mix across ages.
- Early projects revealed centres function like temporary homes, prompting intergenerational workshops and larger funded programmes.
Music Serves Practical Emotional Functions
- Music meets needs beyond survival: relaxation, homeland connection, identity and community building.
- In every centre residents listened, used music to de-stress, assert identities, or join workshops that temporarily reclaimed a sense of home.
