Old Irish Folk Music and Songs: A Collection of 842 Irish Airs and Songs Hitherto Unpublished, ed. Patrick Weston Joyce (Dublin: 1st ed. 1909)

Old Irish Folk Music and Songs is Joyce’s magnum opus in Irish music. It includes the melodies of songs (some with words in English) and a variety of dance tunes. About half come from Joyce’s musical memories of his childhood in rural Co Limerick during the years before the Great Famine. The remainder are drawn from the then unpublished music manuscripts of the collectors William Forde and John Edward Pigot, which had been given to Joyce by the Pigot family (see Nicholas Carolan, ‘The Forde-Pigot Collection of Irish Traditional Music’ in Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library, Bernadette Cunningham, Siobhán Fitzpatrick, Petra Schnabel eds, Dublin 2009, pp. 256–67).

The interactive scores are presented here in four tranches, each featuring c. 200 tunes.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 23 April 2013

Irish traditional music from the James Goodman manuscripts, Volume 2 / Hugh & Lisa Shields, eds.
Dublin: Irish Traditional Music Archive / Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann, 2013

James Goodman (1828─1896) from the Dingle area of West Kerry, a Canon of the Church of Ireland, Professor of Irish in Trinity College Dublin, and an accomplished performer on the Irish or uilleann pipes, compiled a highly important manuscript collection of Irish traditional music in the 1860s. Drawn to a great extent from the oral tradition of Munster, and partly from other manuscripts and printed sources, a book edition of the collection Tunes of the Munster Pipers has now been published for the first time, by the Irish Traditional Music Archive, in two volumes, edited by Hugh and Lisa Shields.

The first volume of the edition contains 515 song airs and dance tunes, and the second volume 536 ─ a total of 1,051 melodies in all.

The volumes contain all the melodies which Goodman himself noted down from the pipers and other performers of his native province, and those melodies not now otherwise available which he drew from manuscripts belonging to his musical colleagues. The tunes in the Goodman manuscripts which he copied from printed sources have been excluded. The edition provides musicians and scholars of the present day with a unique body of Irish music from the south-west region and gives unrivalled insights into the traditional music and song of Irish-speaking pre-Famine Ireland.

The edition also contains essays on Goodman’s life and career, and on his collection, based on new research. It is accompanied by a substantial online index of research information on the whole Goodman collection.  Both volumes are available to purchase from the ITMA shop.

Dr Hugh Shields (1929─2008), Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and former Senior Lecturer in French in the college, collected and studied traditional music from the 1950s, especially in Ireland and with particular emphasis on Ulster. He published many articles and sound recordings on the subject, and his Shamrock, Rose and Thistle: Folk Singing in North Derry (1981) and Narrative Singing in Ireland: Lays, Ballads, Come-All-Yes and Other Songs (1993) are standard works. Lisa Shields, his wife and a player of concertina and uilleann pipes, is a graduate in modern languages from TCD. She is the former Librarian of the Irish Meteorological Service.

The interactive scores from the book have been divided into two notated collections, each featuring c. 250 tunes.

Nicholas Carolan, Lisa Shields, Treasa Harkin, & Jackie Small, 12 April 2015

Irish traditional music from the James Goodman manuscripts, Volume 1 / Dr Hugh Shields, ed.
Dublin: Irish Traditional Music Archive / Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann, 1998

James Goodman (1828─1896) from the Dingle area of West Kerry, a Canon of the Church of Ireland, Professor of Irish in Trinity College Dublin, and an accomplished performer on the Irish or uilleann pipes, compiled a highly important manuscript collection of Irish traditional music in the 1860s. Drawn to a great extent from the oral tradition of Munster, and partly from other manuscripts and printed sources, a book edition of the collection Tunes of the Munster Pipers has now been published for the first time, by the Irish Traditional Music Archive, in two volumes, edited by Hugh and Lisa Shields.

The first volume of the edition contains 515 song airs and dance tunes, and the second volume 536 ─ a total of 1,051 melodies in all.

The volumes contain all the melodies which Goodman himself noted down from the pipers and other performers of his native province, and those melodies not now otherwise available which he drew from manuscripts belonging to his musical colleagues. The tunes in the Goodman manuscripts which he copied from printed sources have been excluded. The edition provides musicians and scholars of the present day with a unique body of Irish music from the south-west region and gives unrivalled insights into the traditional music and song of Irish-speaking pre-Famine Ireland.

The edition also contains essays on Goodman’s life and career, and on his collection, based on new research. It is accompanied by a substantial online index of research information on the whole Goodman collection.  Both volumes are available to purchase from the ITMA shop.

Dr Hugh Shields (1929─2008), Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and former Senior Lecturer in French in the college, collected and studied traditional music from the 1950s, especially in Ireland and with particular emphasis on Ulster. He published many articles and sound recordings on the subject, and his Shamrock, Rose and Thistle: Folk Singing in North Derry (1981) and Narrative Singing in Ireland: Lays, Ballads, Come-All-Yes and Other Songs (1993) are standard works. Lisa Shields, his wife and a player of concertina and uilleann pipes, is a graduate in modern languages from TCD. She is the former Librarian of the Irish Meteorological Service.

The interactive scores from the book have been divided into two notated collections, each featuring c. 250 tunes.

Nicholas Carolan, Lisa Shields, Treasa Harkin, & Jackie Small, 12 April 2012

Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883, was – and is – an important collection of traditional music, though comparatively little known among Irish traditional players today.

Most of its content was long available in the United States as 1000 Fiddle Tunes, commonly known as simply ‘Cole’s’, named after its publisher. Recently, an annotated edition of Ryan’s original edition, edited by Patrick Sky, was published by Mel Bay publications.

Ryan’s collection contains more than a thousand tunes. It was a forerunner and model for the now much better known collections of Francis O’Neill. Ryan’s book features music in a wider variety of keys and degrees of difficulty than are prevalent in the Irish tradition today. The book is known to have been a source of repertory for many prominent Irish players, including such notable players of complicated hornpipes as the fiddle players James Morrison and Seán Maguire. However, there are many extremely simple tunes in the collection as well, and this makes it a fruitful source of tunes for players of every level of competence.

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive versions presented here, obvious mistakes and doubtful readings in the original are corrected in order to give an optimal interactive experience to you, the user.  It is broken into five sections, each featuring c. 200 tunes.

Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883, was – and is – an important collection of traditional music, though comparatively little known among Irish traditional players today.

Most of its content was long available in the United States as 1000 Fiddle Tunes, commonly known as simply ‘Cole’s’, named after its publisher. Recently, an annotated edition of Ryan’s original edition, edited by Patrick Sky, was published by Mel Bay publications.

Ryan’s collection contains more than a thousand tunes. It was a forerunner and model for the now much better known collections of Francis O’Neill. Ryan’s book features music in a wider variety of keys and degrees of difficulty than are prevalent in the Irish tradition today. The book is known to have been a source of repertory for many prominent Irish players, including such notable players of complicated hornpipes as the fiddle players James Morrison and Seán Maguire. However, there are many extremely simple tunes in the collection as well, and this makes it a fruitful source of tunes for players of every level of competence.

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive versions presented here, obvious mistakes and doubtful readings in the original are corrected in order to give an optimal interactive experience to you, the user.  It is broken into five sections, each featuring c. 200 tunes.

Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883, was – and is – an important collection of traditional music, though comparatively little known among Irish traditional players today.

Most of its content was long available in the United States as 1000 Fiddle Tunes, commonly known as simply ‘Cole’s’, named after its publisher. Recently, an annotated edition of Ryan’s original edition, edited by Patrick Sky, was published by Mel Bay publications.

Ryan’s collection contains more than a thousand tunes. It was a forerunner and model for the now much better known collections of Francis O’Neill. Ryan’s book features music in a wider variety of keys and degrees of difficulty than are prevalent in the Irish tradition today. The book is known to have been a source of repertory for many prominent Irish players, including such notable players of complicated hornpipes as the fiddle players James Morrison and Seán Maguire. However, there are many extremely simple tunes in the collection as well, and this makes it a fruitful source of tunes for players of every level of competence.

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive versions presented here, obvious mistakes and doubtful readings in the original are corrected in order to give an optimal interactive experience to you, the user.  It is broken into five sections, each featuring c. 200 tunes.

Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883, was – and is – an important collection of traditional music, though comparatively little known among Irish traditional players today.

Most of its content was long available in the United States as 1000 Fiddle Tunes, commonly known as simply ‘Cole’s’, named after its publisher. Recently, an annotated edition of Ryan’s original edition, edited by Patrick Sky, was published by Mel Bay publications.

Ryan’s collection contains more than a thousand tunes. It was a forerunner and model for the now much better known collections of Francis O’Neill. Ryan’s book features music in a wider variety of keys and degrees of difficulty than are prevalent in the Irish tradition today. The book is known to have been a source of repertory for many prominent Irish players, including such notable players of complicated hornpipes as the fiddle players James Morrison and Seán Maguire. However, there are many extremely simple tunes in the collection as well, and this makes it a fruitful source of tunes for players of every level of competence.

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive versions presented here, obvious mistakes and doubtful readings in the original are corrected in order to give an optimal interactive experience to you, the user.  It is broken into five sections, each featuring c. 200 tunes.

Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883, was – and is – an important collection of traditional music, though comparatively little known among Irish traditional players today.

Most of its content was long available in the United States as 1000 Fiddle Tunes, commonly known as simply ‘Cole’s’, named after its publisher. Recently, an annotated edition of Ryan’s original edition, edited by Patrick Sky, was published by Mel Bay publications.

Ryan’s collection contains more than a thousand tunes. It was a forerunner and model for the now much better known collections of Francis O’Neill. Ryan’s book features music in a wider variety of keys and degrees of difficulty than are prevalent in the Irish tradition today. The book is known to have been a source of repertory for many prominent Irish players, including such notable players of complicated hornpipes as the fiddle players James Morrison and Seán Maguire. However, there are many extremely simple tunes in the collection as well, and this makes it a fruitful source of tunes for players of every level of competence.

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive versions presented here, obvious mistakes and doubtful readings in the original are corrected in order to give an optimal interactive experience to you, the user.  It is broken into five sections, each containing c. 200 tunes.

Cork born William Forde (c.1795–1850) devoted his life to music as a musician, collector and scholar. A flute and piano player, he spent time in both London and Cork, his wide ranging musical interests focusing during the 1840s on Ireland. He joined the circle of other Irish antiquarian scholars such as George Petrie (1789–1866) and John Windele. In 1844 he launched an unsuccessful subscription campaign to publish a printed music collection, and his Irish legacy remains a substantial and as yet unpublished collection of up to 1,900 melodies, part of the 16 volume Forde-Pigot Collection of Irish Music held in the Royal Irish Academy Dublin. For more information on the collection see William Forde (c.1795–1850), Cork Musician & Antiquarian, his 100 Irish Airs.

Mary Bergin, Tony Linnane and John Blake recorded these two tunes for ITMA’s Drawing from the Well series, December 2020.

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>

High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.>High quality digitised images of the original manuscripts are also available at grier.itma.ie
>

The Rolling Wave radio programme on RTÉ is presented and produced by fiddle player, Aoife Nic Cormaic. During the initial lockdown of 2020 the programme, in association with ITMA, commissioned 10 composers to write new tunes in a project called Faoiseamh. Initially the composers recorded the tunes on whatever devices they had in their homes, and these, along with interviews were broadcast in June and July of 2020. A further round of compostitions were commissioned in November 2021 and broadcast that December.

As part of the series the tunes were published on the ITMA website with a full suite of learning resources.

The tunes in this collection, along with interviews with the composers, were featured on two editions of The Rolling Wave radio programme. The first was broadcast on the 5 December 2021, and the second on the 12 December 2021.

The Rolling Wave is presented and produced by Aoife Nic Cormaic.

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.

To mark World Fiddle Day 2021 ITMA invited fiddle player Andrea Palandri to select his favourite tunes from the Caoimhín Mac Aoidh Pádraig O’Keeffe collection and other Pádraig O’Keeffe manuscripts in the ITMA collection. The 21 interactive scores on this page are accompanied by split screen videos of Andrea playing each tune.

For more information on the learning resources available please see here.

Ancient Irish Music: Comprising One Hundred Airs Hitherto Unpublished, Many of the Old Popular Songs, and Several New Songs, ed. Patrick Weston Joyce (1st ed., Dublin, 1873)

Ancient Irish Music includes 100 song airs, song texts in Irish and English and dance tunes that Joyce absorbed during his childhood in Glenosheen in rural Co Limerick during the years before the Great Famine, and more that he later collected there and elsewhere. The tunes were harmonised for piano by the Dublin professional musician Professor J. W. Glover. Many of the items are accompanied by Joyce’s extensive annotations, as are most of the 20 pieces in Irish Music and Song, which is the first collection of Irish-language song texts in which words are underlaid to the music notation. Each item is accompanied by an English translation.

With thanks to Terry Moylan for the donation of Sibelius music files created by him from this collection, which have been converted to these interactive Scorch files by ITMA staff.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 26 September 2012

Irish Music and Song: A Collection of Songs in the Irish Language, ed. Patrick Weston Joyce (Dublin: 1st ed. 1888; new edition 1901)

Joyce’s 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.), published in 1888, was drawn largely from printed sources. 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.

With thanks to Terry Moylan for the donation of Sibelius music files created by him from this collection, which have been converted to these interactive Scorch files by ITMA staff.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 26 September 2012

The 63 interactive music scores on this page have been notated from the second of three sets of manuscripts written by Pádraig O’Keeffe for fiddle pupils, and donated to ITMA by Paud Collins from Knockacur, Knocknagoshel, Co Kerry. For more tunes, further information and copies of the original manuscripts, see Pádraig O’Keeffe Resources at ITMA.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 19 April 2014

Irish Peasant Songs (in the English Language) with the Words Set to the Proper Old Irish Airs, ed. Patrick Weston Joyce (2nd ed., London etc. & Dublin, 1906; ‘new impression’ Dublin 1922)

Irish Peasant Songs is a slight publication which includes the words and music of 7 traditional songs in English remembered by Joyce from his childhood in rural Co Limerick during the years before the Great Famine, and some notes. In one case the song comprises a traditional air with words written by Joyce.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 14 November 2012

An early PW Joyce manuscript, held in the National Library of Ireland as MS J 25

The ITMA website also holds a facsimile edition of MS J 25 and further information on this manuscript, and other PW Joyce manuscripts in the National Library of Ireland, at the links below.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin and Jackie Small, 14 November 2014

PW Joyce manuscripts, National Library of Ireland, MS 2982

Joyce was still working on what would have been his final collection at the time of his death in 1914, and the two working manuscripts from which it was to be drawn were supposedly found on the table beside his bed. This is part I of this final collection.

Facsimile edition of MS 2982 is also available below.  For more information on this manuscript and other PW Joyce manuscripts in the National Library of Ireland see Patrick Weston Joyce Resources at ITMA.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 17 October 2014

Tunes from PW Joyce in The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland: Arranged for Piano-forte. Vol. 1 / edited by George Petrie

Collection of Irish Airs, Marches and Dance Tunes Compiled and Arranged for Violin, Mandoline, Flute, or Pipes by F. Roche; with introduction by Charles J. Brennan. Dublin: Pigott & Co; London: Leonard & Co, n.d. [1912]

Francis Roche (1866–1961) from the village of Elton in south Co Limerick was a violinist, pianist and dancer, and a teacher of music and dance. His father and two brothers were of the same profession, and they ran a family academy in Limerick city from about 1900 and later in Elton with outreach to neighbouring areas. They taught Irish music and Irish dancing, but also popular classical music and ballroom dancing.

From about 1890, Francis was engaged in compiling and arranging a collection of Irish music for publication. He was motivated by demand from pupils and fellow-teachers but also by the example of the published collections of Francis O’Neill in Chicago and especially by those of his fellow Limerick man P.W. Joyce, who loaned him manuscripts. Roche’s initial collection appeared in two volumes in January 1912.

The contents were noted down from oral tradition and from manuscripts of his father and others. It is clear from the performance markings throughout that his primary target instrument was the fiddle. The inclusion of such features as cadenzas and artificial harmonics (especially in the airs) makes it clear that a very high standard of proficiency, necessitating training in classical music, was required for some of the pieces. As an enthusiastic nationalist and Gaelic Leaguer, Roche mainly published Irish traditional tunes, and he had theories about the character and techniques of Irish traditional music. But he also included international quadrille and fling melodies on the grounds that the related dances were widely danced in Ireland and their melodies had become ‘Irish by association’.

The two volumes had a print-run of 4,000 copies, which quickly sold out and were reprinted. Roche revised them both for republication with a third volume in 1927. The revised first volume is the source of the melodies presented here.

Nicholas Carolan, Jackie Small and Treasa Harkin, 19 September 2013

Collection of Irish Airs, Marches and Dance Tunes Compiled and Arranged for Violin, Mandoline, Flute, or Pipes by F. Roche; with introduction by Charles J. Brennan. Dublin: Pigott & Co; London: Leonard & Co, n.d. [1912]

Francis Roche (1866–1961) from the village of Elton in south Co Limerick was a violinist, pianist and dancer, and a teacher of music and dance. His father and two brothers were of the same profession, and they ran a family academy in Limerick city from about 1900 and later in Elton with outreach to neighbouring areas. They taught Irish music and Irish dancing, but also popular classical music and ballroom dancing.

From about 1890, Francis began compiling and arranging a collection of music for publication. He was motivated by demand from pupils and fellow-teachers but also by the example of the published collections of Francis O’Neill in Chicago and especially by those of his fellow Limerick man P.W. Joyce, who loaned him manuscripts. Roche’s initial collection appeared in two volumes in January 1912.

The contents were noted down from oral tradition and from manuscripts of his father and others. It is clear from the performance markings throughout that his primary target instrument was the fiddle. The inclusion of such features as cadenzas and artificial harmonics (especially in the airs) makes it clear that a very high standard of proficiency, necessitating training in classical music, was required for some of the pieces. As an enthusiastic nationalist and Gaelic Leaguer, Roche mainly published Irish traditional tunes, and he had theories about the character and techniques of Irish music. But he also included international quadrille and fling melodies on the grounds that the related dances were widely danced in Ireland and their melodies had become ‘Irish by association’.

The two volumes had a print-run of 4,000 copies, which quickly sold out and were reprinted. Roche revised them both for republication with a third volume in 1927. The revised second volume is the source of the melodies presented here.

Nicholas Carolan, Treasa Harkin & Jackie Small, 22 October 2013

Collection of Irish Airs Marches & Dance Tunes. Vol 3. Compiled and Arranged for Violin, Mandoline, Flute or Pipes: with Introductory Essay on Irish Dancing / by F. Roche

Francis Roche (1866–1961) from the village of Elton in south Co Limerick was a violinist, pianist and dancer, and a teacher of music and dance. His father and two brothers were of the same profession, and they ran a family academy in Limerick city from about 1900 and later in Elton with outreach to neighbouring areas. They taught Irish music and Irish dancing, but also popular classical music and ballroom dancing.>

From about 1890, Francis began compiling and arranging a collection of music for publication. He was motivated by demand from pupils and fellow-teachers but also by the example of the published collections of Francis O’Neill in Chicago and especially by those of his fellow Limerick man P.W. Joyce, who loaned him manuscripts. Roche’s initial collection appeared in two volumes in January 1912.

The contents were noted down from oral tradition and from manuscripts of his father and others. It is clear from the performance markings throughout that his primary target instrument was the fiddle. The inclusion of such features as cadenzas and artificial harmonics (especially in the airs) makes it clear that a very high standard of proficiency, necessitating training in classical music, was required for some of the pieces. As an enthusiastic nationalist and Gaelic Leaguer, Roche mainly published Irish traditional tunes, and he had theories about the character and techniques of Irish music. But he also included international quadrille and fling melodies on the grounds that the related dances were widely danced in Ireland and their melodies had become ‘Irish by association’.

The first two volumes had a print-run of 4,000 copies, which quickly sold out and were reprinted. Roche revised them both for republication with this third volume in 1927.

Nicholas Carolan, Jackie Small and Treasa Harkin, 17 December 2013

Airs and Fantasies Vol 4: A Book of Operatic Selections, Ballads and Traditional Airs, Compiled and Arranged with Bowing and Marks of Expression for Violin Solo / Frank Roche. Dublin : Pigott, 1932

Francis Roche (1866–1961) from the village of Elton in south Co Limerick was a violinist, pianist and dancer, and a teacher of music and dance. His father and two brothers were of the same profession, and they ran a family academy in Limerick city from about 1900 and later in Elton with outreach to neighbouring areas. They taught Irish music and Irish dancing, but also popular classical music and ballroom dancing.>

From about 1890, Francis began compiling and arranging a collection of music for publication. He was motivated by demand from pupils and fellow-teachers but also by the example of the published collections of Francis O’Neill in Chicago and especially by those of his fellow Limerick man P.W. Joyce, who loaned him manuscripts. Roche’s initial collection appeared in two volumes in January 1912.

The contents were noted down from oral tradition and from manuscripts of his father and others. It is clear from the performance markings throughout that his primary target instrument was the fiddle. The inclusion of such features as cadenzas and artificial harmonics (especially in the airs) makes it clear that a very high standard of proficiency, necessitating training in classical music, was required for some of the pieces. As an enthusiastic nationalist and Gaelic Leaguer, Roche mainly published Irish traditional tunes, and he had theories about the character and techniques of Irish music. But he also included international quadrille and fling melodies on the grounds that the related dances were widely danced in Ireland and their melodies had become ‘Irish by association’.

The first two volumes had a print-run of 4,000 copies, which quickly sold out and were reprinted. Roche revised them both for republication with a third volume in 1927. This fourth volume was published in 1932.

Nicholas Carolan, Jackie Small and Treasa Harkin, 17 December 2013

Tunes from PW Joyce In Music of Ireland / collected, edited, and harmonized for the pianoforte by the late George Petrie

Tunes from PW Joyce in The complete collection of Irish music / as noted by George Petrie (1789-1866); edited from the original manuscripts by Charles Villiers Stanford.

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.

Stephen Grier (c.1824–1894), a native of north Longford, moved to Newpark, Bohey, Gortletteragh, in south Leitrim in 1852. An uilleann piper and fiddle player, he compiled a collection of over 1,000 melodies, transcribed mainly in the 1880s.