‘Weston’ was a family name on his mother’s side. Joyce became a national-school teacher at 18, training in Marlborough St Training College in Dublin. Later he was a model-school teacher in Clonmel and a teacher in west Co Dublin, and in 1856 was one of a group of teachers chosen by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland to improve the national system of primary schools. He graduated BA from Trinity College Dublin in 1861 and MA in 1863, and was awarded LL.D. in 1870. From 1874 to 1893 he was lecturer in and later an influential principal of the Commissioners’ Training College in Marlborough St, Dublin. He was married to Caroline Waters of Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, and they had seven children. His active engagement in many cultural societies included membership of the Royal Irish Academy, a commissionership for the Publication of the Ancient Laws of Ireland, and the presidency of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Joyce died 7 January 1914 at his home on Leinster Rd, Rathmines, Dublin, in his 87th year.

Dr Joyce also led an extraordinarily industrious life as a writer and editor. Apart from his publications in Irish music, he produced some thirty works including The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places vols 1–3 (1869, 1875, 1913), Irish Local Names Explained (1870), A Handbook of School Management (1876, which went to 25 editions), Philip’s Handy Atlas of the Counties of Ireland (1881), The Geography of the Counties of Ireland (1883), A Short History of Ireland (1893), Outlines of the History of Ireland (1896), A Child’s History of Ireland (1897), A Reading Book in Irish History (1900), A Social History of Ancient Ireland vols 1–2 (1903), A Concise History of Ireland (1903), A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland (1906), The Story of Ancient Irish Civilisation (1907), English as We Speak it in Ireland (1910), and The Wonders of Ireland and Other Papers on Irish Subjects (1911). Although born in an Irish-speaking district, Joyce was reared and educated in English, and only later learned to read and write Irish, which he taught in Dublin. He was the author of A Grammar of the Irish Language for the Use of Schools (1878), Old Celtic Romances Translated from the Gaelic (1879), and Forus Feasa ar Éirinn. Keating’s History of Ireland… Edited with Gaelic Text (1880), and a Council member of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. Most of his publications went to several editions, some to many, and his history volumes in particular sold in their tens of thousands. Through their influence on readers, teachers and journalists, they played a major part in shaping national thinking on historical and cultural aspects of Irish life in the years before independence. His published work on Irish traditional music was also highly influential.

PW Joyce & Irish Traditional Music

Patrick Weston Joyce, unlike the earlier important collectors of Irish traditional music Edward Bunting (1773–1840) and George Petrie (c. 1790–1866), came from within a local oral-music tradition and was immersed in it. In this he resembles the other younger nineteenth-century collectors James Goodman (1828–1896) of Co Kerry and Francis O’Neill (1848–1936) of Co Cork and Chicago. His detailed reporting of a living local tradition, from a time when the population of Ireland was at its highest-ever levels and Irish traditional music accordingly was in a flourishing state, gives his work a unique value.

Joyce himself explains that his life-long interest in Irish traditional music began in the 1830s in pre-Famine rural Co Limerick:

Language change from Irish to English was under way in the Co Limerick of his childhood; he heard songs in both languages from his father and from his older brother Michael, some of them unique in his experience. Joyce thought the songs in English generally inferior as most songmakers still had a defective grasp of English. He obviously sought out occasions of music: some items he had heard ‘scores of times’, others ‘hundreds of times’, others ‘constantly’. The Munster dance tunes familiar to Joyce were ‘chiefly the Reel, the Double Jig, the Single Jig, the Hop Jig, and the Hornpipe’, and the ‘Set Dance’ and ‘various Country Dances’, and he had a clear memory of the dances which were performed to them. He was also familiar with the music of keening, faction tunes, and songs appropriate for an American wake, and with printed ballad sheets. Joyce’s oldest source was probably his grandmother, a singer who was born in the early 1760s and lived into her nineties, and who passed on to him at least one melody that she herself had heard from her grandmother, a fiddle player. His music was largely of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with undoubtedly some older pieces.

Joyce inherited the family talent for music, and played it from his youth:

I attended a science school in Galbally [Co Limerick]. I was the delight and joy of that school; for I generally carried in my pocket a little fife from which I could roll off jigs, reels, hornpipes, hop-jigs, song tunes, &c., without limit… Some dozen or more of the scholars were always in attendance in the mornings half an hour or so before the arrival of the master… and then out came the fife, and they cleared the floor for a dance. It was simply magnificent to see and hear these athletic fellows dancing on the bare boards with their thick-soled well-nailed heavy shoes – so as to shake the whole house… At last in came the master: there was no cessation; and he took his seat, looking on complacently ’till that bout was finished, when I put up my fife, and the serious business of the day was commenced.

Although he had received his music from oral tradition, by the time he was in his late teens Joyce had learned to read and write music, and in 1844 he began the noting down of tunes and songs from family members and neighbours. Becoming acquainted with published collections of Irish music, he realised that many of his Limerick tunes were unpublished and unknown in Ireland generally, and accordingly in the early 1850s, by which time he was living in Dublin, he began to write down purposefully from memory the melodies of his locality. In this he had come under the influence of the Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland which had been formed in Dublin in December 1851 in the aftermath of the Great Famine and in the consciousness of the devastation that it had caused to traditional music culture. Joyce was encouraged by the Society’s president, George Petrie, to contribute to Petrie’s music collections, and to make his own collection. Even at that early stage of Joyce’s career, when he was in his mid-twenties, Petrie considered him to be ‘one of the most zealous and judicious of the collectors of Irish music’. He published some 20 of Joyce’s melodies in his Ancient Music of Ireland of 1855.

To bolster his music memory, Joyce ‘went among the peasantry during vacations, for several successive years, noting down whatever I thought worthy of preserving, both words and music. In this way I gradually accumulated a very large collection’. He began this holiday collecting in his native area in 1852 and continued through to about 1856, music coming from professional fiddle players and uilleann pipers, and from whistlers, and songs from farmers, thatchers and women singers among others. In the same period he occasionally noted down tunes in Dublin and elsewhere from street singers, servants and teaching colleagues, and continued this practice for many years.

The death  in 1866 of George Petrie frustrated Joyce in his hope that more of his own tunes would be published by the older collector, and he eventually decided to arrange their publication himself.

His first music collection – Ancient Irish Music: Comprising One Hundred Airs Hitherto Unpublished, Many of the Old Popular Songs, and Several New Songs (Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, etc., ix+104+5 pp.) – appeared in 1873, and drew almost entirely on the music from his childhood and from his 1850s collecting visits to Limerick. Contextual notes in the style of Petrie accompanied each item and his sources were named. The melodies were arranged for piano by JW Glover in line with Joyce’s belief that accompaniments should be extremely simple. The lyrics of the new songs were written by himself and his songwriter younger brother Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830–83).

This work was followed in 1888 by his Irish Music and Song: A Collection of Songs in the Irish Language (Dublin: Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language; M.H. Gill and Son, vi+[ii]+44 pp.), which was drawn largely from printed sources and contained some 20 songs. It is the first collection in which Irish-language songs are set to music, the syllables under the notes, and it was well received by a growing national movement for the revival of the Irish language and its culture. These first two music publications established Joyce as an authority on Irish music, and he later served as a music advisor to the Gaelic League when it established its Oireachtas cultural festival in 1897.

Joyce’s slight 1906 third collection, a pamphlet of 7 songs – Irish Peasant Songs in the English Language (London etc.: Longmans, Green & Co; Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, iv+16+[4] pp.) – was almost entirely a selection of English-language songs from his childhood.

Joyce’s final music publication – his magnum opus in music – appeared in 1909: Old Irish Folk Music and Songs: A Collection of 842 Irish Airs and Songs Hitherto Unpublished (Dublin: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland; London: Longmans, Green & Co, etc., xxxvi+408+iv pp.). It is presented in four sections: 1 Joyce Collection (melodies collected and recollected by himself, or sent to him in manuscript from all parts of Ireland); 2 Continuation of the Joyce Collection (Irish folk songs in the English language, with the words set to the proper old Irish airs, the syllables under the notes; most from his childhood recollections, and from his personal collection of ballad sheets); 3 The Forde Collection (selection of melodies collected by William Forde of Cork, 1830s–1850s, edited by Joyce); 4 The Pigot Collection (selection of melodies collected by John Edward Pigot of Dublin, 1840s–1860s, edited by Joyce). The two latter collections had been given to Joyce by relatives of Pigot; in 1910 he donated them to the Library of the Royal Irish Academy where they remain. His collection of ballad sheets is now in the Dublin City Library and Archive. James Joyce, who was influenced in his writings by the published works of PW Joyce, owned at least one of his music publications.

In his editing, PW Joyce, like George Petrie and Francis O’Neill, made changes to the melodies he copied and published, and amalgamated different versions of tunes. These procedures would now be regarded as unscientific, but the collectors were practicing musicians thoroughly familiar with the creative culture of Irish traditional music and may have reasonably considered that they were simply following the playing practices of traditional musicians. Less acceptable currently would be his bowdlerisation of song texts and his substitution of lines of his own.

In the preface to his first publication of 1873, Joyce had said that ‘I will continue to publish [Irish music] as long as I can obtain materials’, and in the preface to his 1909 publication he was, in his early eighties, calling on his readers for the loan of manuscripts that he might examine for his next volume. With undiminished zeal he continued until his death five years later. The manuscripts of this final work, which contain 878 songs and melodies with notes, have remained unpublished in the National Library of Ireland until now, when, courtesy of the Library, they have been copied for facsimile publication on this site here.

The accompaniment of Irish traditional music and song as well as the range of instruments employed has evolved and expanded in pace with developments within the music itself. As accompanists continued to explore new avenues of expression, listening audiences have grown more appreciative of their impact on performance.

This gallery of photographs while spanning the decades is a modest selection of accompanists and their instruments from the ITMA image collection.

With thanks to Stephen Power, Dónal Lunny, Eve O’Kelly, Tony Kearns, Paul McCarthy and Danny Diamond for their permission to reproduce photographs.

Players of Irish traditional music naturally get all the limelight for their performances, but they themselves know that they are dependent on the skills of the makers of their instruments and their conversations are often about musical instrument makers. The pictures reproduced here, all taken by photographer Stephen Power, bring us behind the scenes in the craft workshops of four makers. They first appeared in his book Traditional Notes: A Celebration of Irish Music and Musicians / Stephen Power, Dublin : The Liffey Press, 2011. The selections of Stephen’s text below accompanied the images in the book.

Malachy Kearns, bodhran

‘In Roundstone, Connemara, County Galway I discovered… Malachy Kearns… Malachy Bodhrán… a large affable man who seems to have a huge appetite for life and has become of the best known bodhrán makers in Ireland. Malachy started making bodhráns in 1976, training with Peadar Mercier of The Chieftains and made the bodhráns for Riverdance, and Christy Moore uses his drums – and the testimony from him “I kneel in prayer towards Roundstone” adorns a large photograph of the musician in Kearns’ large and always well-populated craft shop, where you can buy anything from a small hand-painted ornamental bodhrán to a full-sized professional standard instrument’.

Kuros Torkzadeh, fiddle

‘Born in Germany, Kuros Torkzadeh moved to Ireland in 1994. A Classically trained and enthusiastic musician, he has been crafting and making instruments for the last 15 years. Kuros studied at the Newark School of Violin Making where he obtained a Diploma and the certificate of City and Guilds. He then worked in a series of established workshops in England, France and Ireland gaining experience in the field of set-up work, sound adjustments and the general restoration of instruments. At the same time this gave him the opportunity to acquire his inspiration while carefully studying a variety of fine old instruments. Now based in Ballinderreen near Kinvara, Co Galway, he operates a workshop, Kuros Violins, specialising in making violins, violas and celli as well as fine restoration and repair’.

Michael Vignoles, uilleann pipes

‘Uilleann piper Michael Vignoles was born near Galway Bay and now lives and works in the Claddagh area of Galway city… Michael was immersed in music from a very early age. While growing up, he was an avid radio listener and became a fan of such bands as Planxty, The Chieftains and The Dubliners. In particular, the sound of Liam O’Flynn’s pipes made a serious impression on him. Michael undertook a five-year apprenticeship as a fitter at the Institute of the Motor Industry and around the time he qualified, he had got himself a set of uilleann pipes that he was learning to play. When the bellows broke on his set, he asked pipe maker Eugene Lambe from County Clare to make him another one. But instead, Eugene gave Michael the materials and told him to make it himself… he continued to become an established pipe maker in his own right. Pipe making is a slow and painstaking business, and it can take many weeks – if not much longer – to produce a full set of uilleann pipes’.

Paddy Clancy, accordion

‘Paddy Clancy was born in 1965 into a house steeped in the Irish music tradition. His father, Paddy Snr, who also plays the box, instilled a passion in his son for the instrument and its possibilities. A promising career in traditional Irish music began at the age of 14 with the award of Young Musician of the Year in 1979. Further accolades were soon to follow with Munster Senior competition titles in 1986, 1987 and 1988 and also in 1988. Paddy was crowned All-Ireland senior accordion champion at the Fleadh Cheoil in Kilkenny at the age of 23. This prestigious award provided Paddy with the opportunity to forge strong friendships and to travel on the Comhaltas tour of the USA and Canada in 1989. Paddy’s love of the music didn’t stop here; an interest in accordion construction and design led him to a career in accordion manufacturing and repair. This journey has finally lead Paddy to establish his own personal accordion range which he is proud to lend the family name to, the business is located at his family home in Ballingarry, County Limerick’.

With thanks to Stephen Power for permission to reproduce his images and text. The ITMA always welcomes such donations or the opportunity to copy such materials.

Nicholas Carolan & Treasa Harkin, 1 December 2013

Louise Mulcahy began playing the tin whistle at age five and a few years later moved on to flute, Matt Molloy and Eamonn Cotter becoming formative influences on her style. At thirteen she took up uilleann pipes, taught by Dave Hegarty in Tralee and in monthly master-classes at NPU in Dublin.. One of the few female performers on what is a male-dominated instrument, she featured on the NPU compilation A New Dawn in 1999, and has taught at both the Chris Langan Piping Tionól in Toronto and the East Coast Piping Tionól in the Catskills, USA. A primary-level teacher in Co. Meath, she is the only person in the fleadh’s history to have won four senior All-Ireland titles in the one day.

Mick Mulcahy, from Brosna, Co. Kerry, is a living legend in Irish accordion and melodeon playing, with a rare repertoire of old tunes, which he plays in a highly distinctive style.. Mick learned to play the accordion from his uncle as a child. One of Mick’s earliest musical memories was listening to Ciarán MacMathúna’s Radio Éireann programme ‘A Job of Journeywork’ which featured Mrs. Crotty, Pádraig O’ Keeffe, Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Mick’s father bought him his first accordion in 1956 and in 1968 Mick was chosen to represent Kerry in RTÉ’s All Ireland ‘Spot the Talent’ Competition, which he won. Mick was asked to join the Brosna Ceilí Band in the mid 60’s by fiddle player Donal O’Connor. The Brosna went on to win the Senior Ceilí Band title at the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in 1972 in Listowel.

Mick himself is a renowned solo artist having recorded two stalwart albums on the Gael Linn label. His first solo album, self-titled ‘Mick Mulcahy’ is considered a classic album of accordion music. His later album in 1990 titled, Mick Mulcahy agus cairde’ featured Mick O’Connor on banjo, Joe Rynne on fiddle and Mel Mercier on bodhrán. Mick has also recorded with Professor Mick Moloney on the families first album titled ‘The Mulcahy Family’.

Mick’s distinctive style of accordion playing is rooted in the musical regions of Kerry, Clare, East Galway and Sligo, a style of music and touch, which has been passed down to his two daughters Michelle and Louise. Mick, Louise and Michelle have recorded four albums, which have received worldwide acclaim, one with American record label Shanachie, and 3 with Irish record label Cló-Iar Chonnacht. Their latest album ‘The Reel Note’ was awarded Tradconnects ‘Traditional Album of the Year’ in 2017. Mick also received the Bardic award from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2017.

Mick is considered one of the great exponents of the D/D# system of accordion playing who was very much influenced by the East Galway accordion player, Joe Cooley. As Martin Hayes writes:

I first became familiar with the music of Mick Mulcahy from his first solo recording… I remember that both my father and I felt that his music had such a great depth of feeling.
Mick’s albums have made regular appearances in the top ten traditional albums charts in the United States, Ireland and the U.K. As a family they have toured extensively throughout Europe, America, Asia, New Zealand and Australia, performing and teaching at festivals worldwide. Mick has also featured on many television and radio programmes both in Ireland and around the world. The family have performed on many TG4 progammes and RTÉ programmes over the years. Mick performed on the well known TV programme titled ‘The Pure Drop’ for RTÉ on many occasions. Mick has made an invaluable contribution to Irish Traditional Music and is considered one of the great musical stalwarts in the tradition.

Compositions

1. The ferry to Clare [comp. Mick Mulcahy], jig
2. The old windmill [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel
3. The banks of the Feale [comp. Mick Mulcahy], jig
4. The bog road [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel
5. The humours of Avondale [comp. Mick Mulcahy], jig
6. The floating barge [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel
7. The lockdown jig [comp. Mick Mulcahy]
8. The humours of Clarina [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel
9. The view from Barna Gap [comp. Mick Mulcahy], jig
10. The road to Foynes [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel
11. Celia’s favourite [comp. Mick Mulcahy], reel