Sonic citizenship: Rights and rites of belonging in Ireland

The 2004 Irish Citizenship Referendum was a watershed moment in defining what it means to be Irish. This chapter draws on ethnographic work undertaken during 2004-2005 with the Trinity choir, an African female choir based at the Augustinian church in Limerick city, Ireland. Using Bellamy’s discourse on citizenship as a point of departure, it explores an expansion of the construct from a legal and/or political one to include a growing emphasis on ‘ethical’ citizenship and explores how rituals are used in both secular and sacred contexts to ‘perform’ the experience of belonging. Through analysis of the lyrics and musical structure of two baptismal ritual songs, the author argues that ritual singing is a particularly efficacious way of experiencing a sense of belonging. The final section explores the role of baptism as a rite of protection for the women and children rendered legally homeless by the Irish citizenship referendum.