Elizabeth Crotty, better known as Mrs. Crotty (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Markham; 6 December 1885 – 27 December 1960), was an Irish

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

player. Crotty began gaining traction in the 1950s in the wake of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. She participated in this movement of musicians from an early stage. When a local branch was founded in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Crotty was elected president. She kept this position until her death in 1960. Crotty did not make any commercial recordings. The

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

had made a few recordings for their programs and they used one for their commemoration LP of 50 years RTÉ in 1976. Crotty was the namesake of the ''"Eigse Mrs Crotty" Traditional Music School and Festival'', a yearly music festival in July in Kilrush. This festival was held from 1996 to 2009. The festival later amalgamated to form the "Crotty Galvin Traditional Weekend".

Personal life

Crotty was born Elizabeth Markham near Cooraclare,

. In 1914 she married Michael ("Miko") Crotty and moved to Kilrush. Miko had been in the United States for a couple of years and used the money earned over there to buy a public house on the Market Square in Kilrush, now known as "Crotty’s Pub". Crotty was the mother of two children, a son named Paddy and a daughter named Peggy. Elizabeth Crotty died on 27 December 1960 from

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of part ...

. She is buried in (old) Shanakyle cemetery.

Recordings

* ''Keepers of Tradition Concertina players of County Clare'' * 'Concertina Music from West Clare' (1999, RTÉ)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crotty, Elizabeth 1885 births 1960 deaths Irish musicians Musicians from County Clare Concertina players People from Kilrush Place of death missing

Personal life

Recordings

See also

References