Capital city of Ireland.
5. Orchestral and chamber music.
11. Cultural funding, professional associations.
BRIAN BOYDELL
Before the passing of the Act of Union in 1800, Dublin was the seat of government of a country that had for centuries been under foreign domination. Insulated by political and religious barriers from the native culture of the country as a whole, its musical activity was cultivated by the sophisticated ruling class and acted as a local focus for the mainstream of European art music, mainly as reflected by English taste. Except insofar as this activity was in turn imitated by the larger provincial centres of jurisdiction such as Cork, Limerick and Waterford, there was even less contact with the musical life of the majority of the population than in the case of the capital cities of comparable nations.
Owing to the frequent periods of strife and turmoil from which Ireland suffered before the more settled times of the 18th century, musical activity was limited; and much of the material upon which a more accurate and complete picture of musical life in Dublin might be reconstructed has been destroyed. Information for the period before the Cromwellian rebellion centres mostly on the cathedrals. A choir was established at St Patrick’s in 1431, and two noted madrigal composers were organists of Christ Church: John Farmer and Thomas Bateson. That the vicars-choral of the cathedrals formed a group of expert singers whose influence spread outside the confines of church music is suggested by an entry in the chapter book of Christ Church Cathedral in 1662–3 admonishing them for having sung among the stage players in the playhouse, and by their foundation of the Hibernian Catch Club about 1680.
The custom of engaging instrumentalists to provide ceremonial music for the city appears to have spread from England in the late 15th century. The first theatre opened was in Werburgh Street, erected by John Ogilby after he was appointed Master of the Revels in Ireland in 1638. Nothing definite is known about music at this theatre, which closed at the rebellion in 1641. After the Restoration Ogilby was reappointed, with a monopoly of theatrical interests in Ireland. He returned to Dublin and erected the Smock Alley Theatre which became the chief centre for drama, music and opera until its closure in 1787.
After the wars of the 1690s the city settled down to a period in which the elegance and idle affluence associated with a colonial governing class formed the ideal background for the cultivation of the arts. As the second city in the British Isles, Dublin entered upon a ‘golden age’ and attracted musicians of European fame. Cousser, Geminiani, Dubourg, Michael Arne and Tommaso Giordani made Dublin their home; and Handel, T.A. Arne, Pasquali, Castrucci, J.F. Lampe, Pinto, Tenducci and many others paid extended visits. The remarkable extent of musical activity in the middle of the 18th century can be deduced from an analysis of advertised events in the 1749–50 season, which reveals nearly three dozen performances of 16 oratorios, 59 of operas or musical plays and a wide range of instrumental music. The Smock Alley Theatre met rivalry first from the Aungier Street Theatre, which was opened in 1734 and offered a more capacious stage. It fell into disuse, largely because of poor acoustics, about 1750. Rivalry then passed mainly to Crow Street which was rebuilt as a theatre in 1758, having been a concert hall since it was erected at the request of the ‘Musical Academy for the practice of Italian Musick’ in 1731.
The Crow Street Theatre closed in 1820, when stage music became the monopoly of the Theatre Royal in Hawkins Street (1821–80). The chief venues for oratorio and concert performances were the Crow Street Musick Hall (1731–57) and Mr Neale’s Great Musick Hall in Fishamble Street (see illustration), which was opened just before Handel arrived in the autumn of 1741, and accommodated 700 people (without swords or skirt-hoops) for the first performance of Messiah on 13 April 1742. With the opening of the Rotunda in 1767, the popularity of Neale’s Hall gradually declined; it was turned into a theatre in 1777 and closed at the end of the century. The Philharmonic Room, also in Fishamble Street (used by the Philharmonic Society of the 1740s), has been confused with Neale’s.
Apart from the commercial theatres, music in 18th-century Dublin was mainly promoted by numerous charitable musical societies which displayed a confusing inconsistency of nomenclature. Chief among them were Mercer’s Hospital, the Charitable Musical Society for the Relief of Imprisoned Debtors, and the Charitable Infirmary, all three of which benefited from the first performance of Handel’s Messiah. In the second half of the century Lord Mornington’s Musical Academy (1757–77) and the Irish Musical Fund Society (instituted 1787 and incorporated 1794) were notably active.
Reflecting the London fashion, a prominent feature from the 1740s to the end of the century consisted of concerts during the summer season held in pleasure gardens such as Marlborough Bowling Green, St Stephen’s Green and the City Bason (sic). In 1749 Dr Bartholomew Mosse opened the Great Britain Street Gardens, laid out in the style of London’s Vauxhall, where about 60 concerts were given in aid of his Lying-in Hospital each season until 1791. These concerts were so successful that a spacious hall built on the model of the Rotunda in London’s Ranelagh was opened in 1767, providing accommodation in inclement weather. Dr Mosse’s hospital thus soon became known as the Rotunda.
As in England, the public looked mainly to foreigners for their music, but the active patronage of the nobility and gentry led to a certain amount of creative activity on the part of local composers such as the Roseingrave family and the Earl of Mornington, who was appointed to the new chair of music in the University of Dublin in 1764. In February 1792 John Field first appeared in public and published his first known composition. Also active at the close of the century were Philip Cogan and John Stevenson, who provided accompaniments for Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies.
With the passing of the Act of Union in 1800, and the abolition of the Irish Parliament, Dublin music lost much of its wealthy patronage. A tradition had however been established, and although opportunities for professionals decreased with the coming of a new era of amateur music-making, there was sufficient activity to maintain 19 publishers and music sellers, and 42 instrument makers in 1820–25.
The notable spread of amateur music was furthered chiefly by the efforts of the Robinson family. Francis Robinson formed a choral society known as the Sons of Handel in 1810, and his son Joseph founded the Antient Concerts Society (1834–63) which built the Antient Concert Rooms in Great Brunswick Street (now Pearse Street) for its performances. In 1831 William and Henry Hudson, a barrister and a dentist, organized the Dublin Music Festival at which a chorus of 172 and an orchestra of 74, strengthened by London players, was conducted by Sir George Smart and Ferdinand Ries; the chief attraction as soloist was Paganini. At the International Exhibition of 1853, Joseph Robinson assembled a choir and orchestra of no fewer than 1000 performers; and in 1856 Beethoven’s Choral Symphony had its first Irish performance by the Philharmonic Society (1826–78), which also acted as host to both Joachim and Rubinstein when they first appeared in Dublin. In 1876 Joseph Robinson founded the Dublin Musical Society, which performed the current choral and orchestral repertory with a choir and orchestra of about 350 in the Concert Hall at Earlsfort Terrace (built for the Exhibition of 1865 and now rebuilt as the National Concert Hall). Among the composers of this period were Dr John Smith, Master of the King’s Band of State Musicians in Ireland, composer to the Chapel Royal, and professor of music in the University of Dublin (1845–61), who wrote mainly church music and edited Weyman’s Melodia sacra; and John Glover, who wrote three operas. Two better-known Irish composers, Balfe and Wallace, lived and worked abroad.
Towards the end of the century the chief figures in the musical life of Dublin were Robert Prescott Stewart, a prolific composer of cathedral music who succeeded John Smith as professor at the University and was organist at both St Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals; and Michele Esposito, an Italian who was appointed professor of the pianoforte at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1882. A composer and much esteemed teacher, Esposito attempted to provide a permanent orchestra for the city by founding the Dublin Orchestral Society in 1899, and with an orchestra of 70 players he continued to conduct the society’s concerts, including a series of Sunday concerts in the Antient Concert Rooms, until the outbreak of war in 1914. Among other pre-war societies may be mentioned the Dublin Oratorio Society (1906–14) under Vincent O’Brien, and the Orpheus Choral Society, founded in 1899 by James Culwick, organist of the Chapel Royal.
In the years between the wars orchestral concerts were given for the Royal Dublin Society by John F. Larchet, then professor of music at University College and music director at the Abbey Theatre. In 1927 an attempt was made to revive the Dublin Orchestral Society under the joint conductorship of Esposito and Larchet, but the society did not survive; and in the same year the third society to be known as the Dublin Philharmonic Society was founded by Colonel Fritz Brase, who had come to Dublin in 1923 as director of the new Army School of Music. This society made its début with a performance of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony to mark the centenary of the composer’s death, and continued to give a series of concerts each season with an orchestra of some 75 players, the wind being recruited from the Army School of Music. Choral performances were also given under Turner Huggard until the demise of the society in 1936.
The 1940s saw a remarkable expansion of musical activity, with societies and organizations proliferating. The Dublin String Orchestra, consisting mainly of professional players from the radio orchestra, introduced many contemporary works under Terry O’Connor, and a number of amateur choral and orchestral societies came into being, as well as organizations for the promotion of chamber music. Many were short-lived but others survived to form, in the company of some long-established institutions, the focal points around which this upsurge of activity crystallized into the pattern of Dublin musical life in the 1970s. The founding of the Music Association of Ireland in 1948 did much to coordinate musical policy by bringing together among its members a wide section of representative interests, both professional and amateur, which found influential expression through its elected council. This period was also notable for a marked increase in creative work, encouraged by the broadcasting authorities and the performing groups promoting contemporary Irish music.
The last quarter of the 20th century witnessed a shift, common to many European countries, from the promotion of music by enthusiastic amateur bodies to professional organizations largely supported by public funds. These organizations, many of which were initiated by the Music Association of Ireland, will be detailed under the appropriate sections below.
The two Church of Ireland cathedrals of Christ Church and St Patrick are constituted in the full cathedral foundation, and follow a distinguished musical tradition dating back to the early Middle Ages. A choir school was attached to each (now only St Patrick’s); choirmen hold the ancient posts of vicars-choral and lay vicars. The earliest names of vicars-choral at St Patrick’s are recorded in 1219, and the first recorded name of an organist at that cathedral was that of William Herbit, who received payment in 1509. The recorded history of choral music at Christ Church does not go back before 1539, when the canons regular of the previous monastery became the members of a new secular foundation modelled on the practice of St Patrick’s; Robert Hayward, however, was appointed organist in 1509. At intervals from the early 17th century until the late 19th the services of one organist were shared by the two cathedrals: the morning service at Christ Church and the evening service at St Patrick’s were the more elaborate, at which the organist and principal members of each choir assisted.
The choir of the Roman Catholic St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough Street, formed in 1902, owes its existence to an endowment of Edward Martyn, and the deed of gift states: ‘The music to be sung shall be Gregorian and that of Palestrina or in the Palestrina style’. Vincent O’Brien was the first choirmaster of the Palestrina Choir. The university chapel choirs of Trinity College (Anglican rite) and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, are of a high standard and have special educational importance.
The popularity of opera and musical plays has been a notable aspect of Dublin taste since the early 18th century, and was further strengthened by the English travelling opera companies during the second half of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th. Chief events in the early history of opera in Dublin begin with the first Irish production of The Beggar’s Opera in March 1728 (40 performances by the end of that year). The first performance of Italian opera was not, as has been stated, by Nicolini in 1711, but in the form of burlettas presented at the Smock Alley Theatre by the De Amici company in 1761.
The production of full-scale opera is at present undertaken by the Dublin Grand Opera Society (reformed as DGOS Opera Ireland), which since 1941 has given two seasons annually at the Gaiety Theatre, there being no opera house in the city. The society has its own amateur chorus and Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) provides its Concert Orchestra.
In the late 1960s an attempt was made to provide operatic experience for Irish singers, and at the same time bring live performances of the less complex operatic masterpieces to the smaller provincial towns, with the formation of Irish National Opera. This organization ceased activity in the early 1980s and has been replaced by Opera Theatre Company (OTC), which is funded by the Arts Council. This is a professional touring company performing opera in English with a chamber orchestra, and specializing in late Baroque and early Classical works as well as new operas by contemporary Irish composers. OTC also commissions new English translations of existing operas. There are numerous societies devoted to light opera, foremost being the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, founded in 1913.
The opening of the National Concert Hall in 1981 provided the city with the suitable musical focus that had long been lacking. Seating 1212, with a recital hall for 250 (the John Field Room), it is administered by a board appointed by the government. Concerts are also given in a number of smaller halls, including the Great Hall of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (cap. 500) and the Pillar Room at the Rotunda Hospital (250). The Royal Dublin Society possesses a hall (1200) where it promotes an annual series of chamber music recitals. The Hugh Lane Gallery provides a venue for recitals, mainly of contemporary music. The two universities in Dublin have halls where concerts are given: the O’Reilly Hall (cap. 1220) in University College was opened in 1994, and Trinity College has the 18th-century Public Theatre (450–500). Some concerts requiring very large accommodation have been given at the Point Theatre (c7000), normally the venue for popular music.
From modest beginnings, as a station chamber ensemble in 1926, the broadcasting orchestra was steadily expanded by the 1950s until it assumed the role (though not the name) of Ireland’s national orchestra. After 1948 its complement was strengthened by the importation of a number of foreign instrumentalists, and it took the title of the Radio Éireann SO. A new generation of Irish players soon found employment in its ranks. From 1941 to 1948 the chief conductor was Captain Michael Bowles. After his retirement a number of guest conductors, including Jean Martinon and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, were appointed to direct the orchestra until the appointment of Milan Horvat as principal conductor in 1953.
With the launch of the national television service in 1961 the orchestra became known as the Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) SO, of which Tibor Paul was appointed principal conductor in 1962. He was succeeded by Albert Rosen (1967–79) and then by Colman Pearce, Bryden Thomson and Janos Fürst. In 1989 the number of players was increased to international standards and the orchestra was given the title of National Symphony Orchestra, the first principal conductor of which was George Hurst. In 1994 he was succeeded by Kasper de Roo. Concerts in the National Concert Hall, its headquarters, are recorded for broadcasting. The National SO repeats a number of these concerts in larger provincial centres and also undertakes tours abroad. It performs for the Wexford Festival Opera and makes commercial recordings, including a series of works by Irish composers.
The Radio Authority also supports the RTÉ Concert Orchestra of 44 players. Originally formed in 1948 as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra, it encompasses a wide-ranging repertory including light entertainment. In addition to regular public concerts and radio and television broadcasts, the Concert Orchestra plays for the Dublin Grand Opera Society and concerts for school, and has made numerous commercial recordings.
An independent professional chamber orchestra conducted by André Prieur and consisting mainly of players from the RTÉ SO, known as the New Irish Chamber Orchestra, was formed in 1970. Following the Arts Council plan for regional development, this orchestra (renamed the Irish Chamber Orchestra) was relocated in Limerick in 1994, recruiting a number of new players to replace those who remained in Dublin to form the Orchestra of St Cecilia. A number of amateur orchestras have contributed significantly to musical life in Dublin. Of those that survived more than a brief period, the Dublin Orchestral Players has remained active since its foundation in 1939. More recently the Dublin SO and the Dublin Baroque Players have played an important role in this field. Both universities have student orchestras, the Baroque Orchestra of University College (founded 1989) and the Dublin University Orchestral Society (founded 1990), which perform regularly with young professional soloists.
Apart from the annual series of recitals sponsored since 1886 by the Royal Dublin Society, referred to above, public support for chamber music was meagre until the 1950s, when active groups such as Les Amis de la Musique and the Prieur Ensemble, formed mainly by members of the RTÉ orchestras, created a new enthusiasm. The broadcasting service established a string quartet in 1958. Based in Cork, it gives many concerts in Dublin and throughout the country as well as making radio broadcasts and recordings. The existence of this body has provided much encouragement for Irish composers who have written for it. Since 1986 the Vanburgh Quartet has fulfilled this role and has made a number of commercial recordings, including several of Irish quartets. Independent string quartets, formed from members of the radio orchestras, have been active in Dublin since the 1950s. Recently there have been the Testore and Degani Quartets. Chamber music for brass ensemble has been provided by the RTÉ Brass Quintet and Prelude Brass. Increasing interest in contemporary music has led to the formation of two chamber groups, Concorde and Nua Nós, which specialize in this field.
Of existing bodies the earliest is the Hibernian Catch Club founded in about 1680 by the vicars-choral of St Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals. It claims to be the oldest surviving musical society in Europe. Its activities are confined to male-voice singing at monthly dinners.
The University of Dublin Choral Society was founded in 1837, with Joseph Robinson as its first conductor. It performs the masterpieces of the oratorio repertory at the end of each university term. The corresponding university society, the Music Society of University College, Dublin, was founded in 1917; two choral and orchestral concerts are given each year. Both universities also have chamber choirs.
Of the large choirs which give regular performances in Dublin the earliest is the Culwick Choral Society, a direct descendant of the Orpheus Choral Society referred to above. Recently they have tended to depart from an earlier tradition of a cappella partsongs to concentrate on oratorio and other large-scale works. Of more recent origin is Our Lady’s Choral Society, formed in 1946 from the combined Roman Catholic church choirs of the archdiocese of Dublin, the first Irish choir to perform in Paris and Rome. Other important choral societies in Dublin are the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, the St James’s Gate Choral Society and Musica Sacra. These societies have contributed significantly to the wide range of choral concerts given in Dublin since the late 1970s, which also include a memorable series of Bach cantatas performed by special forces assembled and directed by John Beckett. In recent years amateur choirs have proliferated in the Dublin suburbs. RTÉ also supports a children’s choir, Cor na nÓg.
A professional chamber choir of ten voices formed in 1953, the RTÉ Singers, earned an international reputation under Hans Waldemar Rosen, particularly in contemporary a cappella music, and provided a significant impetus to Irish composers. This has now become the RTÉ Chamber Choir, which offers 17 scholarships for young singers for a limited three-year period. There is also the National Chamber Choir conducted by Colin Mawby. Choral music of the Renaissance and early 17th century was introduced by an independent group of ten voices, formed and directed by Brian Boydell and known as the Dowland Consort (1958–70).
In addition to the concerts promoted by the radio organization, the Royal Dublin Society and other bodies already referred to, many of the events formerly organized by the Music Association of Ireland have been taken over by professional bodies, such as the National Concert Hall and the Irish Museum of Modern Art at Kilmainham. Two amateur organizations, the Limerick Music Association and the Early Music Organization of Ireland, are responsible for promoting concerts in Dublin; the former tends to specialize in featuring musicians from eastern Europe, while the latter has organized successful festivals of early music. The Music Association of Ireland continues to promote concerts in schools. In 1969, with the cooperation of RTÉ, it inaugurated the biennial Dublin Festival of 20th-Century Music, which featured a broad cross-section of the contemporary international repertory in association with works by living Irish composers. This area is now provided for by recitals promoted by the Association of Irish Composers, an organization known as ‘Mostly Modern’, the groups Concorde and Nua Nós, and occasional concert series given by the National SO. Music Network, which mainly organizes countrywide tours of soloists and small groups, also stages concerts in Dublin. Recitals of solo and chamber music are promoted by the universities and by the cultural services of European governments.
The chief competitive music festival is the Feis Ceoil, founded in 1897. The Oireachtas, also founded in 1897, is a festival of Gaelic literature and drama, traditional music and fine art. Other important festivals are the Feis Maitiú, founded in 1908, and the Feis Atha Cliath, founded in 1904 for the promotion of Irish music and dancing.
More recently Dublin has hosted two notable international festivals: the Dublin International Organ Festival (from 1981) and the Dublin International Piano Competition (from 1988). Their respective founding artistic directors are Gerard Gillen and John O’Conor.
The Irish broadcasting service, now known as Radio Telefís Éireann, was instituted in 1926. With only one radio and one television channel until 1979 it was difficult to satisfy musical enthusiasts in the face of popular demand and some dependence on commercial sponsorship. Sound broadcasting in 1971 devoted 276 hours to opera, orchestral and chamber music, and talks on musical subjects, and 125 hours to traditional and arranged Irish music. There are now several radio and television channels. Classical music is provided by FM3 Music during the evening hours and this admirable service has recently expanded its scope. The director of music and a number of assistants in specialized areas are responsible for RTÉ’s musical policy. There is no organization specifically responsible for music in the television section.
A chair of music was created in the University of Dublin (Trinity College) in 1764. The first holder was the Earl of Mornington. The chair remained vacant after his retirement in 1774 until the later appointments of John Smith (1845–62), Robert Prescott Stewart (1862–94), Ebenezer Prout (1894–1910), Percy C. Buck (1910–20), Charles H. Kitson (1920–35), George H.P. Hewson (1935–62), Brian Boydell (1962–82) and Hormoz Farhat (1982–95). Until the introduction of an Honor School in 1974 no teaching was taken by the professor, whose duties were confined to examining. The chair at University College was created in 1913. The first professor was the Rev. H. Bewerunge, who was succeeded by Charles H. Kitson, John F. Larchet, Anthony Hughes and Harry White. The first master’s programme in musicology in an Irish university was introduced at University College in 1991. An active music department has been set up in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, under Professor Gerard Gillen. One of the constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland, it is situated about 20 km west of the city. Degrees in music are conferred by both the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland, and music may be taken to degree level at the new Dublin City University.
Courses leading to degree qualifications are provided by three institutions chiefly concerned with practical musicianship. The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), founded in 1848, is governed by a board of governors consisting of elected representatives of the RIAM members, Dublin Corporation nominees and elected staff members. The academy, which offers a wide range of degree and diploma courses in performance and musicianship, has approximately 1500 students drawn from all of Ireland’s 32 counties. In addition, over 30,000 pupils annually are examined at local centres throughout the country.
The DIT College of Music, founded as the Dublin Municipal School of Music in 1890, has been one of the constituent colleges of the Dublin Institute of Technology since 1978. There are approximately 2500 students, many of whom are prepared for grade examinations and external diplomas. The Institute awards a graduate diploma in music and a diploma in music teaching. The DIT College of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music offer a joint course with the University of Dublin leading to a degree in music education. Training for primary school teachers is undertaken by St Patrick’s Training College, Drumcondra.
Among independent schools, the Read School of Pianoforte Playing, which was founded in 1915 and gave instruction to many distinguished Dublin musicians, is no longer active. The Leinster School of Music, founded in 1904 holds local centre examinations and grants teaching diplomas. The Army School of Music, established in 1923, trains the officer bandmasters and bandsmen for the Irish Army.
The National Youth Orchestra was formed in 1970, and four Dublin youth orchestras ranging from junior to senior grades provide initial training. Notable recent development in this area has also resulted in the formation of a number of youth orchestras in suburban centres. Orchestral concerts for schools are given by the RTÉ orchestras.
From its foundation in 1948 the Music Association of Ireland made representations to the government and other public bodies on behalf of its widely representative membership. Much of this pioneering work was successful, most notably the eventual provision of a National Concert Hall. Many of the associated groups formed under its influence developed independently and enjoy professional management with public funding. It still organizes concerts in schools and auditions for the European Youth Orchestra.
The chief source of funding for promotional bodies is the Arts Council of Ireland, set up in 1951. It also grants scholarships and bursaries for composers and performing artists and supports, in association with RTÉ, recordings of contemporary Irish music. Irish composers are further promoted by two organizations which developed from the Composers’ Group of the Music Association of Ireland. The Contemporary Music Centre has established an archive and catalogue of Irish works and disseminates them widely through publications, recordings and a copying scheme, while the Association of Irish Composers is responsible for the professional welfare of composers and for performances of their music.
The growth of interest in early music has led to the formation of the Early Music Organization of Ireland, which has promoted a number of successful festivals and published newsletters containing short articles and reviews of recent recordings.
Music Network, based in Dublin, is a professional organization that manages the series of countrywide tours of chamber groups and soloists originally initiated in the 1950s by the Music Association of Ireland. The Irish branch of the Performing Right Society became independent in 1994 as the Irish Musical Rights Organization. A committee of this body allocates grants for the encouragement of contemporary music.
The Leinster Society of Organists was founded in 1919, and the welfare of professional musicians is looked after by the Irish Federation of Musicians. The oldest Dublin musical organization is the Irish Musical Fund, a charitable fund founded in 1787 and incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1794; it is administered for the benefit of 20 professional musicians, mainly orchestral players, who are elected to membership of the fund for life.
The chief music collections are those of the library of Trinity College, which includes the Prout Collection and a number of manuscripts, and of the National Library, which includes the Joly Gift and the Plunkett Collection. A number of early manuscripts and rare printed works are also to be found in Marsh’s Library and in the library of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. The chief collection of Irish folk music is housed in the Irish Traditional Music Archive, which is supported by the Arts Council. There are also folk music collections in the libraries of the Royal Irish Academy and Trinity College, in the National Library and in the National Museum, which also houses a noteworthy collection of instruments mostly made by Dublin craftsmen. A collection of some 3000 folksongs, in manuscripts and recordings made by the Irish Folklore Commission, is now housed in University College.
MGG2 (Barra Boydell)
M. Kelly: Reminiscences (London, 1826, 2/1826/R with introduction by A.H. King); ed. R. Fiske (London, 1975)
H. Townsend: An Account of the Visit of Handel to Dublin (Dublin, 1852)
W.H.G. Flood: A History of Irish Music (Dublin, 1905, 3/1913/R, 4/1927)
La T. Stockwell: Dublin Theatres and Theatre Customs, 1637–1820 (Kingsport, TN, 1938)
A. Fleischmann, ed.: Music in Ireland (Cork, 1952)
I.M. Hogan: Anglo-Irish Music 1780–1830 (Cork, 1966)
E.B. O’Neill: Music in Dublin, 1700–1780 (diss., U. College, Dublin, 1971)
T.J. Walsh: Opera in Dublin 1705–1797: the Social Scene (Dublin, 1973)
Brian Boydell: ‘Venues for Music in 18th-Century Dublin’, Dublin Historical Record, xxix (1975), 28–34
Brian Boydell: ‘The Dublin Musical Scene 1749–50 and its Background’, PRMA, cv (1978–9), 77–89
Brian Boydell, ed.: Four Centuries of Music in Ireland (London, 1979)
H.E. Samuel: ‘John Sigismond Cousser in London and Dublin’, ML, lxi (1980), 158–71
Barra Boydell: ‘Dublin City Musicians in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, to 1660’, Dublin Historical Record, xxxiv (1981), 42–53
Brian Boydell: ‘Half a Century of Music in Dublin’, Dublin Historical Record, xxxvii (1984), 117–121
H. Shields, ed.: Popular Music in Eighteenth-Century Dublin (Dublin, 1985)
Brian Boydell: ‘Music up to 1850’, The New History of Ireland, iv: Eighteenth-Century Ireland, 1691–1800, ed. T.W. Moody and W.E. Vaughan (Oxford, 1986), 542–628
H. White: ‘Handel in Dublin: a Note’, Eighteenth-Century Ireland, ii (1987), 182–6
Brian Boydell: A Dublin Musical Calendar 1700–1760 (Dublin, 1988)
Brian Boydell: ‘Thomas Bateson and the Earliest Degrees in Music Awarded by the University of Dublin’, Hermathena, cxlvi (1989), 53–60
W.H. Grindle: Irish Cathedral Music (Belfast, 1989)
M. Egan-Buffet and A.J. Fletcher: ‘The Dublin Visitatio Sepulchri Play’, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, xc (1990), 159–242
Barra Boydell: ‘John Baptist Cuvillie, Ferdinand Weber, and the Organ of Trinity College Chapel, Dublin’, The Organ, lxxii (1992–3), 15–27
Brian Boydell: Rotunda Music in Eighteenth-Century Dublin (Dublin, 1992)
Barra Boydell: ‘St. Michan’s Church, Dublin: the Installation of the Organ in 1725 and the Duties of the Organist’, Dublin Historical Record, xlvi (1993), 101–20; rev. repr. in JBIOS, xix (1995), 74–96
E.J. O’Keeffe: The Study of Irish Musical Sources: the Case of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (diss., U. College, Dublin, 1993)
T.J. Walsh: Opera in Dublin, 1798–1820: Frederick Jones and the Crow Street Theatre (Oxford, 1993)
Brian Boydell: ‘Jonathan Swift and the Dublin Musical Scene’, Dublin Historical Record, xlvii (1994), 132–7
Brian Boydell: ‘Organs Associated with Handel’s Visit to Dublin’, JBIOS, xix (1995), 54–73
K.A. Daly: Catholic Church Music in Ireland, 1878–1903 (Dublin, 1995)
A. Fleischmann: ‘Music 1850–1921’, The New History of Ireland, vi: Ireland under the Union, II: 1870–1921, ed. W.E. Vaughan (Oxford, 1996), 500–22
D. Neary: ‘Organ Building in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Dublin, and its English Connection’, JBIOS, xxi (1997), 20–27
J. Allen: ‘Italian Opera in Dublin’, Music in Ireland 1848–1998, ed. R. Pine (Dublin, 1998), 56–64
R. Pine and C. Acton, eds.: To Talent Alone: the Royal Irish Academy of Music 1848–1998 (Dublin, 1998)