Francis O'Neill

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Francis O'Neill (born August 28, 1848 in Tralibane , County Cork , † January 26, 1936 in Chicago ) was an Irish-American police officer, musician and editor of several collections of traditional Irish music.

Life

O'Neill was born on August 28, 1848 in Tralibane near Bantry in West Cork. At sixteen he ran away from home, reached Cork and worked for a ship passage to Sunderland in northern England and finally after several years made it to San Francisco . He worked as a shepherd, teacher, and railroad clerk in various parts of the United States until he reached Chicago, where he joined the police force in 1873. He ended his career with the Chicago Police Department in 1905 as Chief Superintendent.

O'Neill learned to play the flute early on . At fourteen he was a recognized player, but he was never able to write down music. This task was eventually taken over by a colleague in the Chicago police force, Sergeant James O'Neill. Together, the two put on paper the many tunes Francis O'Neill had learned in his youth from his parents and Irish musicians such as Peter Hagarty, Cormac Murphy and Timothy Dowling.

The two also collected tunes from Irish immigrants in Chicago, and as Chief, O'Neill put many Irish musicians into police jobs, including Patrick O'Mahony, Bernard Delaney, Patsy Touhey, John McFadden and James Early. 1903 published the collected pieces as "The Music of Ireland" . This collection contained 1850 melodies: 625 airs , 75 pieces by Carolan , 50 marches and 1,100 dance pieces ( reels , jigs , hornpipes and others). Other collections and books on Irish music and Irish musicians followed.

Works

  • O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1903), 1850 tunes
  • The Dance Music of Ireland (1907), 1001 dance pieces, mostly from the first collection
  • Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby (1910)
  • Irish Minstrels and Musicians (1913)
  • O'Neill's Irish Music, 400 tunes arranged for piano and violin (1915)
  • Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922), 365 pieces

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Neill, Francis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish-American police officer, musician and editor
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Tralibane , County Cork
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1936
Place of death Chicago