In the latest instalment of our Alumni Spotlight series, we speak to Dr Diane Daly, violinist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Head of Strings at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Diane completed her PhD in Arts Practice at UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and was one of the first graduates of UL’s MA in Classical String Performance. Diane later went on to serve as course director of that masters.
This month, the Irish Chamber Orchestra , located at University of Limerick, is celebrating 30 years of making music in Limerick. Ahead of the orchestra’s 30th anniversary performance this Saturday at the University Concert Hall , we sat down with violinist Diane to chat about her life in music and why playing with the Irish Chamber Orchestra feels like home.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m an Irish violinist and educator based in Killaloe, Co. Clare. I began the violin as a child and made my Irish solo debut with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13. I studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) and the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester), later completing an MA in Classical String Performance and a PhD in Arts Practice at University of Limerick.
You’ve been a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra since 1997. Tell us about your time with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Touring with the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) has taken me around most of the magnificent concert halls in the world, collaborating with extraordinary composers and musicians. I’ve especially enjoyed working on and performing the fantastic repertoire for chamber orchestra and bringing imaginative programmes to life with a close-knit group of colleagues.
What do you enjoy most about playing with the Irish Chamber Orchestra?
The ICO’s curiosity and fearlessness. It’s an orchestra that prizes chamber-music sensitivity, listening, risk-taking and connection on every project. That ethos keeps me artistically alive.
The ICO feels like home. The orchestra’s Limerick base has allowed deep roots to grow with our wonderful audiences and the Irish World Academy community. Three decades in the city have shaped a distinctive ICO identity - adventurous, collaborative and proudly local-global.
And of course, the friendships and bonds between all the players in the orchestra and beyond is something very special.
During your career, you’ve performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in music. Can you tell us about those experiences?
Stepping into other genres sharpens my ears and imagination. Sessions with artists like Sir Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Bono demand flexibility, groove and a different kind of storytelling, skills that feed straight back into my classical work with the ICO and all my other projects. These experiences are also great fun!
You’re a qualified Dalcroze Eurhythmics teacher and Europe’s first accredited string playing Body-Mapper. Can you tell us more?
Dalcroze is designed to facilitate somatic, creative unfettered musical expression. Body Mapping trains musicians to move according to accurate anatomical understanding, preventing injury and unlocking artistry.
Becoming Europe’s first accredited string-playing Body-Mapper, alongside my Dalcroze training, helps me to guide players toward freedom, efficiency and expressive clarity.
When students feel safe to explore, play, improvise and make decisions, their technique deepens and their artistry blossoms, which is the heart of my teaching philosophy.
Why did you choose UL for your PhD studies?
UL was the obvious place. The Irish World Academy champions practice-as-research, giving artists the freedom and scholarly rigour to investigate their own creative processes.
My PhD investigated how Dalcroze Eurhythmics (a method of learning music through movement) and related embodied approaches could transform my performing and teaching, and I had two wonderful supervisors, Professor Mícheál O Súilleabháin and Professor Helen Phelan, to support me.
The PhD was an arts-practice investigation culminating in devised performances and reflective scholarship. It showed that integrating Dalcroze and embodied methods fosters presence, creativity and autonomy for string players. The work developed into Creative Embodied String Performance (CESP) and was later awarded the national inaugural Aloys Fleischmann Prize for outstanding practice-based research.
What did you enjoy most about doing your PhD at the Irish World Academy?
I believe that the PhD in Arts Practice in the Irish World Academy is truly exceptional in what it offers artists, and I can honestly say that I loved my doctoral journey, which is perhaps a rare thing.
Some of the highlights included the space to experiment fearlessly, the supportive community of artist-researchers, and the dialogue between practice studio, performing stage and page.
Of course, there were also some challenges such as holding myself to the same high bar as performer, director, educator and researcher, and then weaving those strands into a coherent thesis and series of performances.
Are there any lecturers or people in UL that inspired and mentored you during your PhD journey?
There are far too many to mention. The deep friendships formed and the extraordinary teachers and students I worked with during this time will remain in my heart forever.
I’m eternally grateful to everyone associated with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the community of artist-scholars at the Irish World Academy who encouraged experimentation and high standards throughout the PhD - an environment that challenged and supported me in equal measure.
What impact did your PhD have on your professional career?
It reshaped everything, from how I practice and perform to how I mentor ensembles. The research directly informed Creative Embodied String Performance (CESP) workshops internationally and my leadership roles in higher music education. It also opened publication pathways and recognition inside and outside academia.
Here at UL, we’re known as the ’Home of Firsts’ - are there any important ’firsts’ that you experienced while studying at UL?
Yes, quite a few! I was in the first cohort of students to do the MA in Classical String Performance back in 1997. I was also the first classical musician in Ireland doing a practice-based PhD to receive an Irish Research Council scholarship.
My PhD was the foundation of Creative Embodied String Performance (CESP) and it later received the national first ever Fleischmann Prize. Becoming Europe’s first accredited string-playing Body-Mapper also grew out of my UL research journey.
What advice would you give to anyone considering studying at UL and to those who might be considering doing a PhD in Arts Practice?
Come with a question that you are super passionate about and be ready to test it. Document everything, read widely and keep your practice central.
UL is a superb place to let rigorous scholarship and courageous creativity inform one another.
What are your hopes and plans for the future?
To keep performing with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, expand Creative Embodied String Performance (CESP) and Body Mapping work with ensembles and conservatoires, record new collaborative projects and continue mentoring the next generation through my roles in higher music education.
I also recently became artistic director of the Killaloe Music Festival, which is a great forum for embedding my research work while bringing great musicians to the locality to perform exciting music together.
Here at UL, we encourage our students to ’Stay Curious’. What keeps you curious?
People and possibilities: new collaborations, music, bodies in motion, rhythm, space and the question "what if?".
Curiosity is the engine, on stage, in the studio and in research, that keeps me learning and sharing.
