Another consequence of the Anglicisation of Ireland was the gradual loss of traditional Irish music. Knowledge of Gaelic songs decreased with knowledge of the Irish language in general. Old Irish melodies were partially forgotten, while the use of traditional Irish instruments, namely the harp, the Irish pipes, and the fiddle, declined. As a wave of cultural nationalism swept Ireland in the late 1800s and early 1900s, various individuals and groups sought to assert Ireland’s distinct cultural identity by reviving its fading musical tradition. Perhaps foremost among these groups was the Feis Ceoil Association, which was founded in the late 1890s by a group of Irish individuals with the intention of promoting Irish music. Another prominent group was the Irish Folk Song Society, which was established in 1904 with the goal of collecting and publishing Irish folk songs and ballads. The books of music pictured below illustrate Irish cultural nationalists’ attempts to preserve Ireland’s rich musical heritage.
Feis Ceoil Collection of Irish Airs Hitherto Unpublished, 1914
This volume contains the scores of old Irish melodies collected and written down by members of the Feis Ceoil Association. The Association located these melodies partly by offering prizes for the discovery and performance of unpublished Irish melodies. The volume’s introduction, which discusses the many books of previously unpublished Irish melodies that were released in the years before this volume’s publication and mentions that it was becoming increasingly difficult to find unpublished melodies, is a testament to the success of the Feis Ceoil Association and other groups in their efforts to preserve Ireland’s musical heritage during the early 1900s.
Four Irish Songs, compiled by Charlotte Milligan Fox, 1904-1907
This volume contains the scores and lyrics of four old Irish folk songs collected and arranged by Charlotte Milligan Fox, a notable collector of Irish folk music during the early 1900s. Milligan Fox was a founder of the Irish Folk Song Society, one of the most prominent groups involved in preserving Irish music during this period. She dedicated this particular volume to her society.