What is meant by the term "traditional" Irish music?

Traditional songs are songs that are passed down be each generation. There are traditional Irish songs, just like there are traditional American folk songs. Songs like "Finnegan's Wake," and "The Wild Rover" are considered traditional because they have been around for so long that nobody remembers anything about the person/people who wrote them. It doesn't matter what instrumentation is used. For example, Dropkick Murphys did punk rock covers of both of those songs, and they are still considered traditional. Non-trad songs would be new songs.

Most lineage "pure" Irish are light skinned, light haired and light eyed. Since it is not a sunny climate that is their heritage - no natural defenses against the sun. Occasionally a dark haired, dark skinned (meaning darker skinned Caucasian) and dark eyed child would pop up. Probably with Spanish or Italian genes from way back when the Pope would send an some kind of an enterage of folks to bring messages of Christianity or requests for Holy Crusaders to the British Isles. Or perhaps a lost sailing ship would dock and whoops..9 months later there would be a surprise. Anyway when these recessive genes show themselves in a darker pigmented child - they would call the child a black Irish. There is also a connotation of being difficult, and mysterious also - of not quite fitting in. Not sure if that is what your relatives are referring to but thats the original meaning. My grandfather studied Irish history and collected rare and old Irish books. He told me this when I heard the term and asked about it. He was from County Cork and knew everything about Irish history that could be known and was an expert on Irish "pop culture" God rest his wonderful soul.

yea, old traditional irish folk songs have been sung for centuries. some more modern trad irish bands you may like are the clancy brothers, the dubliners and the great great Chieftans. chieftans are mainly instrumental unless they have a special guest lead singer. some singers that have recorded with the chieftans are van morrison, mick jagger, sinead oconnor, sting, and so many others. the band called the pogues are a more modern version of traditional irish music. they wrote new songs with an old irish feel about what was going on within the irish community in the late 70's and 80's. i recommend the pogues records, "if i should fall from grace" and "rum, sodomy and the lash".

some musical instruments commonly used in traditional music are acoustic guitars, mandolins, fiddles, tin whistles (penny whistles), bodragn drums, acordians, and banjos.

some great traditional songs, that were done by the clancy bros and dubliners are

whiskey your the divil.

whiskey in the jar

gallway bay

danny boy

ballad of finnegan's wake

all fer me grog

juice of the barley

Traditional Irish music is usually referring to the songs played by the group not the instruments. You can rest assured that if the lyrics include the likes of "whack for the daddy-o" or "udden dudden diddly-o" it is traditional.