During the 1920s and 1930s, Séamus O’Mahony (1900–1991) was regarded as one of the leading fiddle players in Ireland. Captain Francis O’Neill held Séamus O’Mahony in such high esteem that he included the young fiddle player in Irish Minstrels and Musicians (1913) despite Séamus being just 13 years of age at the time of print. Yet, in recent decades, O’Mahony’s music has almost been forgotten.

My name is Deirdre McGrory and I am twenty years old. I am from Culdaff, Inishowen in the North of Donegal. Luckily enough I have been brought up in a musical family and lived across the road from a legendary music venue, which at the time was in ownership of my father, aunt and uncle. This exposure to music over time played a huge part in my choices for the future and choice of University. 

Project Archivist, Fionnuala Parfrey, reports on ITMA’s current digital preservation project, DAP

Explore Your Archive is an annual campaign sponsored by the Archives and Records Associations (ARA). The goal is to promote the archival collections held by organisations like ITMA and help users to find out about some of the incredible resources that exist on their doorsteps (both virtual and real). For seven days in November, we posted highlights from ITMA’s digital collections on social media. This blog brings all of our posts together in one spot to help you “explore your archive.”

On Thursday, 8 November 2018 at 7pm, poet Nessa O'Mahony and fiddler Dermot McLaughlin are taking the stage in Poetry Ireland. Start to imagine what might be in store when their words and music meet. Explore samples of Nessa and Dermot's poetry and music from the ITMA Collection.

This year TG4 made available online the annual TG4 Gradam Ceoil award ceremonies since 1998 with ITMA identifying the names of all the tunes, songs, and performers featured in each programme. The result of our collaborative archiving efforts Cartlann Ghradam Ceoil was launched at the Willie Clancy Summer School 2018 by Cathal Goan former Director of TG4 and former Chairperson of ITMA.

On Thursday, 20 June 2018 at 7pm, poet Mary O’Malley and uilleann piper Tommy Keane are taking the stage in Poetry Ireland to explore the oblique angles and intersections between words, sounds, and people. Discover what's in store through examples of Mary and Tommy's poetry and music.

In March 2018, the Archives and Records Association of Scotland challenged archives from around the world to get to know each other a bit better. They suggested taking to Twitter and posting on a different theme everyday, all ending with #Archive30. Starting on April 1, ITMA took up this challenge with a series of tweets. We were so delighted with the range of images and sounds that resulted, we decided to compile the tweets here.

Thursday, 26 April 2018 is Poetry Day Ireland: a one-day festival that is all about celebrating Irish poetry. And this year the theme is Poetry Surprises. It's about the unexpected ways that the words, music, and rhythm of poetry enable us to see ourselves and our worlds in new and unexpected ways. Celebrate serendipitous encounters in Poetry Ireland's Parnell Square premises on Thursday, 26 April 2018 at 8pm. Revel in the work of Kevin Doherty and John McAuliffe — a space where poetry and music overlap.

The Ballinasloe October Fair is known for its horse-dealing, crowded streets, and roaming minstrels. In October 2017, Alan Woods joined the festivities to present an ITMA lecture on the history of ballad sheets and street singers. Find out how he used materials from the ITMA collection to prepare.

The staff at ITMA are putting the spotlight on women this March 8th. Read, listen, and watch a few of our favourite selections from the ITMA collection!

Rhythm. Meter. Form. Accent. Art. Musicians often hear the advice that they should let their instruments sing. Singers cannot practise their art without words. And often a poet's text is incomplete without the sound of human utterance. During 2018 Poetry Ireland and ITMA are joining forces to explore the space where poetry and music meet.

Dublin’s Opera Theatre Company recently revived the first Irish-language opera, Robert O’Dwyer’s (1862 – 1949) Eithne, for its first performance in over a century. Although Eithne was well-received by contemporary critics for its contribution to the Gaelic revival movement and as an attempt to establish a national opera tradition, the opera has been mysteriously forgotten for over a century. 

Four sort-a-thon events have brought volunteers into ITMA since the summer. Two more events are scheduled for November.

Over the past 18 months we have been working closely with Red Dog to develop a new visual identity for ITMA. Managing Director at Red Dog, Mary Doherty, has been kind enough to put together her reflections on what has been a new and inspiring process for us here in the Irish Traditional Music Archive.