Percy French
Percy French (born May 1, 1854 in Clooneyquin House near Elphin , County Roscommon , † January 24, 1920 in Formby , Merseyside ) was an Irish songwriter and entertainer.
French studied civil engineering at Trinity College Dublin . He was about to emigrate to Canada, but in 1881 he got a job as a drainage inspector in County Cavan. Even as a student he began to write songs, such as the popular Abdul Abulbul Amir in 1877 for the duel between two boastful heroes in the ongoing Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Ivan Skavinsky Skavar and the Turkish title hero. After he was fired in 1887 due to public savings, he was first a journalist (two years in the funny weekly magazine The Jarvey ) and then full-time songwriter and entertainer, who wrote funny songs like Phil the Fluters Ball (about a ball in the country), Slattery's Mounted Foot , Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff , The Mountains of Morne (about an Irish worker from the Morne Mountains in London) and Are Ye Right There Michael (about the poor condition of the railroad in County Clare). The music was often from his friend Dr. He found WH Collisson and the topics while traveling through Ireland or from his circle of friends. He himself toured with a self-written revue with songs, sketches and stories, from 1900 also in the musichalls of the metropolis of London.
In the late 1880s he was briefly married to Kathleen Armitage-Moore, but his wife died giving birth to a daughter who also died in 1891. The following year he married Helen Sheldon a second time, with whom he had three daughters.
He is also known for watercolors.
literature
- Brendan O'Dowda: The World of Percy French, Dundonald: Blackstaff Press 1981
- Alan Tongue: A Picture of Percy French: an illustrated life of the Irish songwriter, entertainer, poet, and painter, Greystone Books 1990
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | French, Percy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish songwriter and entertainer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1854 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Clooneyquin House at Elphin , County Roscommon |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 24, 1920 |
| Place of death | Formby , Merseyside |