Milwaukee, Wisconsin, boasts a vibrant Irish traditional music and dance community. Spurred on by a strong dance scene, numerous pub sessions, the cultural and educational influence of Milwaukee Irish Fest and its Summer School, and the transnational circulation of performers and audio recordings, local traditional musicians have developed considerable skills, as well as strong personal and collective styles. In a number of cases, musicians associate themselves, through the style and repertoire of their playing, with specific regional styles of traditional music in Ireland, such as those of County Donegal or Sliabh Luachra (Counties Cork and Kerry). It is remarkable, however, that with perhaps only a single exception, these musicians are not from the areas with which they stylistically associate themselves or even from Ireland itself. Rather, they are for the most part natives of Southeastern Wisconsin who have been introduced to Irish traditional music in the context of late 20 th century revival movements. How then have they come to associate themselves with localized performance styles from Ireland? This thesis analyzes these stylistic associations in terms of the repertory requirements of local dancing, opportunities to hear and be educated in regional styles by visiting musicians, and the availability of stylistically diverse audio recordings. This paper speaks to the ways in which local musics are globalized, but then socially re-localized through affinity-based musical practices, and is based on my extended local involvement as a musician from 2004 onwards, as well as ethnographic fieldwork from 2009 to 2010.