As the name suggests, the tin fiddle is made out of tin. It rose to popularity because it was cheaper and easier to mend than the wooden fiddle. The tin fiddle was popular with travelling communities, travelling musicians, children and sailors. In Ireland, the instrument is most commonly used to play dance tunes such as jigs.

Ireland has many regional styles that represent each area. For example:

Donegal music, in the north of Ireland, has a staccato style (i.e. a jagged and broken rhythm with single bow strokes on the fiddle) and is similar to Scottish music.
The music of County Sligo is very fast and requires great skill to play. It includes groups of slurred notes on the bow accompanied by five-note decorations called rolls, played with the fingers of the left hand.
The music of the east coast of Ireland, such as County Clare, is more misty and fluid, slightly less fast paced and representative of that softer, mistier region.
The music in the southern county of Kerry is very joyful and close to the sense of dance, especially with its strong polka dance tradition. The music can make people feel both joy and sadness, and illustrates the capacity of the Irish for joy in the face of hardship.

Fiddles throughout the world