MÍCHEÁL Ó
SÚILLEABHÁIN,
PUBLIC SPEAKER

Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin's public speaking engagements have brought him before audiences as diverse as international conferences of ethnomusicologists, music educators, human resource experts, cultural social action groups, public health officials, multinational business corporations, higher education officials, international festivals, among others.   

He has given invited keynote, conference, and public talks in many parts of the world including Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, New Delhi, New York, Boston, Chicago, Havana, London, Glasgow, as well as in Kenya, the Nordic countries, and throughout rural and urban Ireland. 

Increasingly he is invited to speak of his educational vision with special reference to the role of the traditional arts in a shared space with other arts. 

Recent public speaking engagements include: 

'Towards a Global Listening: Traditional Arts and Education'. Keynote Address to the Conference of the International Society for Music Education. Bergen, Norway. 2002. 

'The Truth of Beauty: Towards a Global Listening'. Televised Annual Sabhal Mor Ostaig Lecture. Isle of Skye, Scotland. 2002.

'Listening to Difference: Ireland in a World of Music'. Keynote address to Annual Ceifinn Conference towards social change. 2003. 

'Traditional Arts Education'. PASMAE Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education Conference, Kisumu, Kenya. 2003. 

As well as speaking on arts matters, he is frequently asked to speak to Human Resource groups on the application of music models to management systems. His original metaphor of the workings of the Irish traditional music session as a possible model for human organisation is central to this. His performance and compositional experience in both the classical music and traditional music fields allows him to compare and contrast formal and informal models of human interaction in the workplace. How can individuality be honoured within a teamwork situation? How can a dynamic balance be found between individuality and communality?