Martin Ryan:

Thanks for the link to an earlier discussion some, 3 to 4 yeas ago, of "Shall My Soul...". In the version given in the post, the last verse contains the word/phrase "kill-ress-a-lenee". Is this phonetic Gaelic for "pure as a lily"? This is the first version I have come across that refers to or contains any Gaelic at all. You also mention that you first remembrance of this song was in a "manuscript" collection of your great aunt, sometime in the 1920s. Are you talking about published document /sheet music or handwritten verses.

I am, also, aware, from a post of yours on 9/21/00, that you live in or around Dublin City and are familiar with the Irish Traditional Music Archive(ITMA). I should let you know that I have tried to contact them; but they refuse to accept e-mails from the general public. I even tried to have the National Library of Ireland(NLI), whch has tried to work with me, attempt to send my e-mails to ITMA; but they refused to give their e-mail address even to the library.

Therefore, I believe I will wait until I gather most of my data and then fax ITMA and see if they will respond. I realize that they may be one of the better sources for establishing the earliest date for "Shall My Soul...", in some form. However, at this time, it may be like looking at the answers to the crossword puzzle before doing it. I would prefer that we fill in as many of the squares as possible, before contacting them, so that we can put their response in perspective, especially if their answer refers only to oral history.

I should. also, point out that I have been trying to ascertain whether Terence MacSwiney had children, to see how historically accurate the song was with the words "If you meet my little daughter". A thorough search of the web, reference books and any number of Irish history texts came up empty. I then tried to contact Dr. Francis Costello, who wrote one of the two biographies of MacSwiney. Apparently, he is currently living in Ireland, and is not that accessible. An inter-library loan of his book, may take me up to a month to receive. To shorten the time, I have contacted the Irish Studies Program at Boston College in Massachusetts, where Dr. Costello also has a degree from, and have placed the MacSwiney family question before them. I am currently awaiting their response. I should point out that for those interested in Irish Studies, including a major program in music, you might want to look at this program. Their site has a very strong links page as well. You can reach them at:

www.bc.edu/irish

cont. additional posts will follow responses to my posts of this date.