Preserving Irish Traditional Music in Chicago: Francis O'Neill

Liz Carroll

Liz Carroll

I had the privilege of spending a Friday afternoon at the home of one of the world’s most renowned Irish traditional fiddlers – Liz Carroll. Nothing beats chatting about and hearing great tunes to set you up for the weekend! 

Liz’s Irish parents instilled in her a love for music. Her mum hailed from Limerick; her dad from the midlands - Tullamore, County Offaly, and the two met at a dance in Chicago. Liz shares that her mum, Eileen, had grown up with her own dad playing fiddle in the family home back in Ireland, and when she met Kevin Carroll, his accordion playing was undoubtedly part of her attraction to him! 

Liz’s interest in musical instruments began even before she was old enough to play. She recalls a delightful story from her childhood when her toy accordion was damaged during some sibling horseplay, and her dad quickly softened the blow by placing his own accordion into her young hands. The longing for a real instrument began! Though she had wanted to play piano, difficulties in getting the instrument into their second-floor family apartment, together with encouragement in another direction from her mum, led Liz to the fiddle, and eventual renown.

Early inspiration came from Liz’s Grandpa Tom’s fiddle-playing, which she knew well from visiting Ireland at a young age. In addition, she recalls regular family outings to Hanley’s House of Happiness in Chicago where Sunday-night Irish radio shows were hosted featuring singers, dancers, and players. From an early age, Liz heard tunes performed by master players such as Joe Cooley (accordion), Eleanor Neary (piano), and the Murphy Brothers (flute and fiddle). 

On her second visit to Ireland Liz was ten, and by then, playing fiddle. She tells the story of figuring out how to play with her grandpa whose fiddle was pitched a whole step below her concert-tuned fiddle. As a young and relatively inexperienced player, Liz had to learn how to tune her instrument down to meet her grandpa’s. “Grandpa’s fiddle lived down there and I enjoyed the warmth of the tunes played a full step down. It was soft down there and I really loved how he played; I loved his style and I paid real attention to the nuances of his playing.”

As a teenager, Liz received playing opportunities from the Dennehy School of Irish Dance, where she was a student. There she gained experience accompanying dancers who in turn were able to practice with a live musician - a beneficial situation for all. Liz later toured Ireland with the school, and with fellow player, dancer, and friend, Michael Flatley (“Riverdance” lead dancer and choreographer of shows such as “Lord of the Dance” and “Feet of Flames”). Liz recalls that during that time (early 1970s) Irish bands like The Chieftains, inspired by Seán O’Riada, explored tune arrangements, placing jigs and reels back-to-back, and sharing melodic and harmonic roles among players - new ideas that Liz enjoyed exploring, too.

Regarding O’Neill’s collections, even as a young player, Liz knew they existed. She doesn’t quite know when that realization came about, “…just that they were always there.” She took a book from her own collection that was a select anthology of O’Neill’s tunes – some 157 dances taken from the second publication, 1001 Gems: The Dance Music of Ireland.This was a 1966 publication by The Irish Music Corporation of America, the first of a series that would, in compilation, represent the entire 1001 tunes.

Later, while studying at DePaul University, Liz became familiar with O’Neill’s writings (Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby and Irish Minstrels and Musicians) and the work of the various contributors. As she had done in her formative years with Jimmy Keane (accordion) and other great Chicago players, Liz proceeded to play through tunes from the anthology; many she knew, but some she was exploring and choosing for their interesting names, their possible association with other tunes, the intriguing way in which they were notated, and a few kindly played at my request! The written tunes are bare-bones, but Liz instinctively added flesh through embellishments: some that she felt O’Neill and friends might have intended or, in some cases, even stated; others, unique and created entirely anew. Both were wonderful!

Like many other musicians with whom I have chatted about O’Neill, Liz believes that what he did was so important for the life of Irish traditional music. As she rightly says, “When you consider the times in which The Chief was collecting these tunes and the number of people involved, the possibility for things to go wrong is quite high, and for the most part, it didn’t! The publications are beautiful. The music is tremendous; it is intricate, and to think what’s written down is only one pass of the tune makes it even more impressive.” Liz expresses special delight when describing the wax cylinder recordings O’Neill made in the early 1900s, saying, “When you hear the recordings, it shows how much O’Neill and the other players did with the tunes, how they brought them to life, how much they embellished them, and how intricate they were. It’s truly remarkable, and it is indeed a fascinating hobby!” 

Listen to tunes played by Liz:

The Coolin (Slow Air)

The Chicago Reel (Reel)

The Bells of Liscarroll (Double Jig)

Johnny With the Queer Thing (Reel)

For further information go to https://lizcarroll.com

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Seán Cleland and Friends at "Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro," Chicago, IL

Seán Cleland 

When I first met Seán Cleland I was instantly struck by his unadulterated passion for Irish music, his reverence for Francis O’Neill, and his enthusiasm for his teaching.  Executive Director of the Irish Music School of Chicago, Seán is one of the leading fiddle players on the Irish music stage. Though he began with classical violin lessons, Seán was introduced to traditional music early in his development through the family of an Irish classmate in the 3^rd grade and was instantly hooked!  

In the early 1970s Seán met Noel Rice (from County Offaly), who invited him to join a small group of Irish musicians, many of them immigrants, who gathered on the north side of Chicago to both play the tunes of their youth and to learn new tunes, often from O'Neill's collections. Seán could read well and play the music easily, but even at that young age he realized there was much more to the tunes than what was on the page. He received a gift of O’Neill’s Music of Ireland and recalls that, “the notes were easy but I didn’t know what to do next; I didn’t have the sounds in my head.”

In these early years Seán reveled in the company of great players like Noel and Kevin Henry, both flute players who had immigrated to Chicago in the 1950s. Now in the mid-1970s, they shared a desire to stay connected to the preservation of their past through music. They both held Francis O’Neill in high esteem, and while Seán was too young and inexperienced to fully appreciate their frequent discussion and applause for The Chief’s work, its significance resonated with him as he became more connected to the music as an adult.

In the years that followed, Seán’s desire to truly understand the intricacies of the music led him to other O’Neill publications, to more recent collections emerging from Ireland, and to recordings of key musicians in Ireland frequently using O’Neill’s tunes in their repertoire. But what brought him even closer to the tunes were O’Neill’s own writings about the music. In learning about how the tunes were collected, about the disputes over what tunes to include, what names to give them, and how to categorize them, Seán’s fascination grew. He was especially taken by the stories associated with the tunes. Naturally, these gave him a deeper understanding of the music he played. One such tune, the slow air “Tralibane Bridge,” resonates most especially because of the direct connection to O’Neill’s birthplace and the description the collector offers in Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby, that begins: “Tralibane Bridge, ivyclad and ancient, spans a rocky, brawling river named on the maps Owennashingaun, in West Cork.”[1] And in more recent years, when O’Neill’s wax cylinders were discovered in Milwaukee and later remastered by the Ward Irish Music Archive, Seán was struck by the brilliance of the players, singling out Patsy Touhey for the “Raw Jimi Hendrix quality of his playing!”

When asked about his teaching at the Irish Music School of Chicago a visible fire lights within Seán. While his own beginnings were through written notation, Seán is acutely aware that collections are for reference, and traditional musicians learn tunes aurally for the most part. The latter is the culture found in his classes, and in describing his process I can tell he comes from a line of passionate teachers. Growing as a traditional musician in the company of players from Ireland, Seán experienced firsthand how players, singers, or dancers from a specific region might all know tunes in common. With this thought in mind, he teaches his students repertoire they can play with older musicians, some newer repertoire, and tunes from iconic recordings over the years. This cross section includes a small number of tunes from O’Neill’s publications, but in his own repertoire, approximately thirty percent, a substantial number of tunes, comes from these collections. Seán finds himself returning to these and more O’Neill tunes with increasing experience and understanding of the music.

In considering O’Neill’s contribution to the preservation of Irish traditional music, Seán feels that “what The Chief did was heroic.” He suggests that compiling the collections was an amazing feat, and while there have been periods of time over the last hundred years in which musicians have tested the waters of other collections, O’Neill’s publications continue to provide the tunes that form the bedrock of the tradition as well as hosting “secret pockets of gems.”

As he continues to invest in his own musical growth, the students in Seán's care most assuredly have an authentic Irish experience. His own musical journey saw him take the scenic route to understand and embrace the nuances of Irish music; it sees him continuing to develop his own relationship with the tradition and ensuring that passage is shared and continued by Chicago’s young players.

Listen to tunes from the Wednesday session played by Seán and friends:

The Boys in Blue, Off to California, and Rights of Man (Hornpipes)

Tralibane Bridge (Air); Give Us A drink Of Water, My Mind Will Never Be Easy, and A Fig For A Kiss (Slip Jigs)

Cherish The Ladies; Knocknagow (Jigs)

To hear more visit Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro Wednesday session from 7:30-10:00pm. 

For further information go to https://irishbistro.com and http://irishmusicschool.org 

Kevin Henry

Kevin Henry

Hailing originally from County Mayo in the west of Ireland, Pauline and Kevin Henry  have lived on Chicago’s south side since the mid-1950s. While America has been home to them and their family for many decades, Kevin is quick to tell me that Irish traditional music, poetry, dance, and the recitations passed down from his father, have been unshakable ties to home.

Kevin was the youngest boy in a family of eleven children, and it was his older brother, Johnny, a well-known fiddle player, who introduced him to playing and to O’Neill’s collections. Johnny would read the tunes, and Kevin, who played his flute by ear, would learn them from his brother.

In speaking of The Chief, Kevin says, “O’Neill never died. Things have changed since his day, of course, but he lives on through the music. Playing O’Neill’s tunes will always warm the cockles of your heart! Of course, everyone has favorites, and I play whatever’s wanted depending on where I play. When I came in the 1950s, Irish music wasn’t very popular, and, together with a committee of musicians, we set up what is known today as The Irish Musicians Association of America. The association continues to be a thriving body today, supporting the preservation and promotion of Irish culture – song, dance, instrumental music, and the Irish language.” 

Though Kevin never met O’Neill himself, he met Selena O’Neill (collaborator-arranger for O’Neill’s later publications) and Teresa Geary who was The Chief’s secretary. Of Teresa he says, “She informed me on the happenings here in Chicago in O’Neill’s time and was charmed that he wrote the tune ‘Geary’s Favorite’ in her honor.”   

In many of my discussions with musicians, Chicago as a center for O’Neill’s research is strongly considered to have been key to its success. Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Chicago proved a fertile location for gathering tunes from its large Irish immigrant population. The city’s cultural, economic, and entrepreneurial energy afforded O’Neill the opportunity to produce extensive and elegant publications elevating Irish peasant music to that of the world’s finest folk traditions. Kevin believes it would not have survived as unscathed were it not for O’Neill. “The funny thing about our music is that it goes into the woodwork and comes back out again every fifteen years or so. There are trends of course, but it has survived here longer than anything.”

Kevin finds fascinating the trouble taken by the collections’ selection committee to name the tunes as best it could. He notes that the tunes’ names share so much about the character of each air or dance. “Funny thing about our music,” Kevin says, “is that young musicians sometimes play the old tunes but give them new names. I suppose it gives the music new life. And, of course, many new tunes continue to be written as well,” as he proudly shares that Terry “Cuz” Teahan had honored Kevin by writing a tune for him called “Kevin Henry’s Eyebrows!”

Inspiring many young players across Chicago over the years, Kevin mentions Liz Carroll, John Williams, and Seán Cleland as a few of the many great musicians he had the pleasure to observe and hear in their formative years. “When I think about whether the music is here to stay or if it might ever disappear, I think of those players and a generation of younger players coming up, and I’m heartened. And don't forget, that’s only in Chicago. Sure, it’s everywhere in Ireland now, too, even though the regional styles back home are more diffused, and that’s a loss. Still, that’s evolution at its finest, too!”

Kevin established the traditional annual gathering at The Chief’s mausoleum in Mt. Olivet Cemetery on Chicago’s south side. At first, only he and his daughter Maggie would visit the mausoleum on O’Neill’s anniversary and play tunes from the collections. Over the years, it has become an annual ritual with busloads of Chicago players coming to celebrate The Chief, “…and sometimes we would have visitors of note, like that one time Mary Bergin [Irish tin whistle player] joined us and played ‘Táimse Im’ Chodladh,’ [I am asleep]. This is a man that should be honored every year. That’s why we do it.”

In addition to sharing tunes on his tin whistle, Kevin also performed some animated poems and stories. Having learned the art of recitation from his father who died when Kevin was only fifteen, he treated me to “The Piddling Dog” and “Shamus O’Brien” (about Ireland’s 1798 rebellion), which he performed with respective degrees of humor and historical intensity. “All of these things are important to our culture,” he tells me, “but I have the ultimate grá (love) for the music. Irish music will never die. It has got a shot in the arm the last number of years again, but there’s old fellas like me holding on to the roots of our tradition to ensure it’s not spoiled. I’m a die-hard, and I’ll go to the grave with it.”

Listen to tunes by Kevin Henry:

The Leitrim Fancy (Hornpipe)

The Flogging Reel (Reel)

Róisín Dubh (Slow Air)

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John Williams and Friends at "The Celtic Knot" Pub, Evanston, IL

John Williams

Hailing from Chicago’s Southwest Side, John Williams is one of the world’s leading exponents of Irish traditional music. An astounding player who holds five All-Ireland championship titles, John is equally proficient on concertina, button accordion, flute, bodhrán, and piano. His musical world extends to other genres and beyond the performance platform into composition and music production.

Every Sunday afternoon John can be found at The Celtic Knot pub in Evanston, Illinois leading a session where players of all ages gather and share Irish traditional music in a warm and friendly setting. In conversation with John following an afternoon of heartwarming tunes and fun among friends, he kindly shares some insights into how the O’Neill collections have impacted his life as a musician.

He recalls a charming story about first becoming aware of O’Neill’s publications as a young boy. Although the collections were originally printed in Chicago by Lyon & Healy Publishers in the early decades of the 1900s, they were no longer available in the city in John’s formative years. At the request of his parents, fellow musician and Chicagoan Liz Carroll kindly brought a copy of O’Neill’s first publication back from New York for John. He delighted in scrolling through the table of contents in this encyclopedic volume that contained 1850 tunes -- many with amusing titles, plenty with which John was already familiar, and hundreds of others that were new and intriguing to him.  

Of particular interest to John from this 1903 collection have always been the airs by Turlough O’Carolan (Irish composer and harpist, 1670–1738) and the long dances (for set- or group-dance accompaniment). These melodies have a more specific role than the jigs, reels, and hornpipes from the collections that are heard more frequently in sessions across the city. John always delighted in finding the hidden gems and he would surprise fellow players by unearthing new and interesting tunes from the collection that had not been explored by his peers or the elder musicians with whom he played. He describes this as “exploring the outer reaches” and while he continues to search for the buried treasures, approximately forty percent of his repertoire is still from the O’Neill collection. 

John pays tribute to The Chief for the tireless work he did to compile the tunes (referring to him aptly as “A detective of Irish music!”) for the personal investment of time, money, and expertise, and for the array of widely known and frequently heard dances and airs, alongside many wonderfully obscure melodies. 

Listen to tunes from the Sunday session played by John and friends:

Give Me Your Hand (Air)

Chief O'Neill's Favorite (Hornpipe)

Joy of My Life (Jig)

To hear more visit The Celtic Knot Sunday session from 3:00-6:00pm. 

For further information go to John Williams Music

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