On the same side of the Square as the Yeats home and the O’Connell house, is the home of the Irish Traditional Music Archive. And we ask ourselves what Irish studies collection can neglect Irish music?
The Irish Traditional Music Archive is doing wonderful work collecting, archiving and sharing the musical heritage of Ireland. Our part of that heritage, and one that we curate and share energetically, is the O’Neill Collection – the personal library of Francis O’Neill, one-time Chief of Police of Chicago and remembered through generations as one of the important collectors of Irish traditional music. O’Neill gave his library to the University of Notre Dame in 1931. It was one of the very finest collections of Irish history books in America at its time, and certainly the finest collection of books on Irish music. This collection has the books that O’Neill wrote and published, but also the historic books of dance tunes with his annotations.
O'Neill's Music of Ireland. Eighteen hundred and Fifty Melodies, collected and edited by Captain Francis O'Neill; arranged by James O'Neill. Chicago (1903).
Students and visiting musicians love to see O’Neill’s books. They include landmark works such as Edward Bunting’s printed collections of Irish harp music, from music that he heard in the 1790s, and also many books of dance tunes, some exceptionally rare. Also in his library, O’Neill had a manuscript notebook of Dublin dentist Henry Hudson, who collected Irish songs and tunes, and a manuscript notebook for Kerry-born dancing master Patrick Reidy, giving us a rare glimpse into the repertoire of a dancing master of the late nineteenth century.
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