Breandán Breathnach (1 April 1912 – 6 November 1985) was an
Irish music collector and
uilleann piper. In addition to
collecting Irish music, he is known for his ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'' (Dance Music of Ireland) series.
Life
Breathnach grew up in the
Liberties
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...
of Dublin, where his father was a silk weaver. His uncle Joe was a player of the uilleann pipes and a member of the Piper's Club. He started learning the pipes from John Potts of Wexford and William Andrews, then with the renowned piper Leo Rowsome.
Breathnach started work as a
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
with the Department of Agriculture, but in 1965 switched to the Department of Education where he was responsible for collecting music from around
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
.
In the 1950s he decided to publish some of his music collection. Tunes were contributed by pipers such as his uncle Joe, John Potts,
Tommy Reck
Thomas "Tommy" Joseph Reck (8 November 1921 - 1991) was an Irish uilleann piper, known for his discography of traditional Irish music. Born in the Liberties area of Dublin, Reck learned to play the uilleann pipes from the age of eleven from teache ...
, Matt Kiernan and Willie Clancy, fiddlers such as John Kelly, Donncha Ó Cróinín,
Tommy Potts
Tommy Potts (1912–1988) was an Irish fiddle player and composer from Dublin who gained iconic status in traditional Irish music circles for his virtuoso musicianship. Potts' given name is also frequently spelled Tommie. His music has influenc ...
and Tom Mulligan, flutists and whistlers such as John Egan, John Brennan and
Michael Tubridy
Michael "Mick" Tubridy (born 1935 at Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland) is an Irish musician, step dancer and structural engineer.
Career
In November 1962, he was a founder member of the traditional Irish music group, The Chieftains, with whom ...
, and box-player
Sonny Brogan
Patrick Joseph "Sonny" Brogan (4 July 1906 – 1 January 1965) was an Irish accordion player from the 1930s to the 1960s, and was one of Ireland's most popular traditional musicians.Ceol:A Journal of Irish Music (Vol1, No2, Published 1963) He wa ...
. The collection was called ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'' ("Dance Music of Ireland").
The first volume of his collection was published in 1963. A second volume appeared, to great acclaim, in 1976. This included music from, amongst others, James McEnery (
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
),
John Doherty (
Donegal Donegal may refer to:
County Donegal, Ireland
* County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster
* Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland
* Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
),
Micho Russell
Micho Russell (25 March 1915 – 19 February 1994) was an Irish musician and author best known for his expert tin whistle performance. He also played the simple-system flute and was a collector of traditional music and folklore.
Biography
Ru ...
(
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
) and
Denis Murphy (
Kerry). Additional volumes based on his work were published in 1985, 1996 and 1999.
By the time of his death he had collected over 7,000 tunes. His efforts were responsible for saving numerous tunes and he is generally recognised as a major figure in the preservation and continuation of traditional Irish music.
Personal life
He married in 1943 Lena Donnellan, with whom he had five daughters. His daughter
Niamh Bhreathnach is a former
Labour Party politician and
Minister for Education.
Bibliography
* "Willie Clancy the man and his music"', ''Ceol''; 2/3 (1965), 70-77
* ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'', vol. 1 (1963), vol. 2 (1976), vol. 3 (1985)
* ''Folk Music and Dances of Ireland'' (1971), . Revised Edition, 1977,
* "Tribute to
Seamus Ennis
Seamus may refer to:
* Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin
Film and television
* Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy''
* Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore''
* Seamus ...
", ''Musical Traditions'', no. 1 (1983)
References
Bibliography
*Ó Canainn, Tomás: ''Traditional Music in Ireland'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978); .
*
Ó Riada, Seán: ''Our Musical Heritage'' (Dublin: The Dolmen Press, 1982); .
*Carolan, Nicholas: ''Breandán Breathnach (1912–1985)', in: ''Ceól'' vol. 1–2 (1986, p. 3–10.
*Vallely, Fintan: ''The Companion to Irish Traditional Music'' (Cork: Cork University Press, 1999; 2nd edition, 2011); .
Irish Music Centre, Boston College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breathnach, Breandan
1912 births
1985 deaths
Irish musicologists
Irish uilleann pipers
Irish civil servants
20th-century Irish musicians
20th-century Irish civil servants
20th-century musicologists