Ireland’s bodhrán is probably the most internationally recognized frame drum in the Western world — and its real history is more interesting than the popular myth. Contrary to the “ancient Celtic drum” story you’ll often hear, serious research (most notably by Fintan Vallely) finds almost no documented history for the bodhrán before the 19th century, and its rise as “the” sound of Irish traditional music dates only to the folk revival of the 1960s, led by composer Seán Ó Riada and popularized by groups like The Chieftains. The likelier origin: an agricultural riddle or sieve frame, used for winnowing grain or drying wool, with the wire mesh simply swapped for a skin. See the Bodhrán page below for the full story.