Peter Conefrey
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Peter Conefrey was the parish priest of
Cloone Cloone () is a village in County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is located in the south of the county, just off the R201 road (Ireland), R201 road; its nearest town is Mohill. Its name is an anglicised version of the Irish- ...
,
County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
. An active cultural national activist he founded the Cloone Ceili Band and was leader of the Leitrim anti-
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
campaign of 1934.


Biography

Conefrey was born in Main street
Mohill Mohill (, meaning "soft ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...
,
County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
, in 1880. His parents were James Conefrey and Mary McGivney. He was ordained a priest in 1906. During his formation for the priesthood at
St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...
his widowed mother was nearly evicted by the
Earl of Leitrim Earl of Leitrim was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The earldom of Leitrim was created in 1795 for Robert Clements, 1st Viscount Leitrim. He had already been created Baron Leitrim, of Manor Hamilton in the County of Leitrim, in 1 ...
which contributed to his anti-landlord stance. Conefrey had a love of Irish traditional culture including language, music, and rural lifestyle; he was concerned about dilution from outside influences. As a curate in
Killoe Killoe () is a rural community and parish in County Longford, Ireland, located approximately 6 miles north of Longford Town. It is home to Cairn Hill (locally called Corn Hill) or Carn Clonhugh - the highest peak in County Longford. It is bord ...
,
County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
, Conefrey organised households to use traditional spinning machines to weave cloth, at one point even taking 60 people with their equipment to exhibit at the
Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...
. The
Catholic Church in Ireland The Catholic Church in Ireland, or Irish Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. With 3.5 million members (in the Republic of Ireland), it is the largest Christian church in Ireland. In ...
was very focused on sexual morality in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, with some advocating return to Gaelic language and traditional music to shield from amoral English language media. This aligned with Conefreys' views. County Leitrim being a focal point of the movement and 1933 seeing the violent protests against
James Gralton James Gralton (17 April 1886 – 29 December 1945) was an Irish socialist leader who became a United States citizen after emigrating in 1909 and, later, the only Irishman ever deported from independent Ireland. Biography Early life James Gralt ...
and his dance hall with Gralton deported to the United States. In 1926 Conefrey wrote in the Catholic Pictorial: "Jazz is an African word meaning the activity in public of something which St. Paul said 'Let it not be so much as named among you'. The dance and music with its abominable rhythm was borrowed from Central Africa by a gang of wealthy Bolshevists in the U.S.A to strike at Church civilisation throughout the world". Conefrey is often credited with launching the anti-jazz campaign by organising a demonstration in
Mohill Mohill (, meaning "soft ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...
on 1 January 1934, though it may have been a collaboration of several clergy who were members of the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...
organisation. Several thousand marched in support. Speeches were presided over by Mohill's
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
Masterson who led with proclaiming Jazz was a threat to civilisation and religion in Ireland and to the only two aspects that had survived the 1691
Treaty of Limerick The Treaty of Limerick (), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commander ...
; "Irish music" and "Irish faith"; and any man defiling those was the worst form of traitor and a threat to the Irish nation. Support occurred from various leaders; head of state
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
supported the aims of promoting Irish music and curtailing excessively late festivities while judiciously avoiding explicit condemnation of Jazz music. The event concluded with a
Ceili dance Ceili was an Irish priest in the mid-eleventh century. He was Bishop of Ardagh and died in 1048."Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae: The succession of the prelates Volume 3" Cotton, H. p181 Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Rep ...
. Conefrey also called for legislation for dances to finish at 11pm. He claimed "Jazz" was a bigger problem than drunkenness or landlordism, and called on the main political parties,
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
and
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
, to set aside their differences and "Put down this ''Jazz''". In February 1934, Conefrey chaired a meeting of the South Leitrim Executive of the Gaelic League at
Ballinamore Ballinamore (, meaning "mouth of the big ford") is a small town in the south-east of County Leitrim in Ireland. Etymology , corrupted ''Bellanamore'', means "town at the mouth of the big ford", so named because it was a main crossing (ford) o ...
and appeared to accuse the Gardai of involvement with the holding all-night Jazz dances with the accusation they had even held some dances since the commencement of the anti-Jazz campaign. Though Conefrey's anti-jazz campaign faded during 1934, it kindled debate that led to the Catholic Church lobbying the state to introduce the
Public Dance Halls Act 1935 The Public Dance Halls Act 1935 is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Oireachtas which regulates dance halls in Ireland by introducing a licensing system and a tax on admission tickets. Background The proposals were based on the recommendations of ...
, which restricted dances of all forms to 11pm and required public licenses for dances to be issued by a district judge. The act even affected traditional music, and gatherings of neighbours for Irish music sessions were also affected. Conefrey died in 1939 and is buried at Farnaught Cemetery, Gortletteragh, to the east of Lough Rinn.


Music

Conefrey was responsible for forming the Cloone Ceili Band. Some recordings have survived of arrangements of ballads by Conefrey, sung by Joseph Maguire and accompanied by
Paddy Killoran Patrick J. Killoran (1903–1965) was an Irish people, Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison (fiddler), James Morrison and Michael Coleman (Irish musician), Michael Coleman, as ...
and his orchestra, including "My Willy O", and "The Blackbird of Sweet Avondale".


Legacy

An annual "Down with Jazz" festival was begun in 2008 in Dublin, designed to respond humorously to Conefrey's campaign of the 1930s.


References

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conefrey, Peter 1880 births 1939 deaths Irish folk music People from Mohill 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish jazz People from Cloone Christian clergy from County Leitrim Activists from County Leitrim