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Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007)
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Subject: Obit: Tom Munnelly From: GUEST,Jerry O'Reilly Date: 29 Aug 07 - 09:01 PM Folk Song Collector, folklorist, and walking encyclopaedia on all things traditional, Tom Munnelly passed away today after a protracted illness borne with amazing courage, cheerfulness and fortitude. He was a staunch defender and champion of the art of unaccompanied singing and during his lifetime collected more pieces of folklore and folksong than any other Irish collector. Instrumental in the founding of the Irish Traditional Music Archive and prime mover in the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing he will be sorely missed by his family,many friends, acquaintances and colleagues all over the world. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly From: Fergie Date: 29 Aug 07 - 10:02 PM Sad news indeed Jerry. He was a walking institution. His contribution to the Irish Tradition of folklore, singing and music was unmatched in modern times. There will be great sorrow throughout this island and in particular in and around Milltown Malbay. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm. Fergus |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 30 Aug 07 - 04:39 AM The real Ally Daly! Tom's gone to Hilo. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: Folkiedave Date: 30 Aug 07 - 04:41 AM Thanks for that Jerry. A very sad day. Dave Eyre |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 30 Aug 07 - 04:46 AM Incidentally: those who never knew Tommy can get a quick idea of his contribution to traditional song by simply putting "munnelly" into the "Lyrics and Knowledge" search box here at Mudcat. Any serious discussion of a traditional Irish song inevitably involves a reference to him. A similar Google search will keep you entertained for hours! May he rest in peace. (It's far more likely he'll be stirring up controversy and demanding a chance to interview The False, False Fly over a couple of pints!) Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: Zany Mouse Date: 30 Aug 07 - 06:05 AM Very sad news indeed. Although I never knew him his contribution to the folk world is well known. Yet another member of Cloud Folk Club. Rhiannon |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes Date: 30 Aug 07 - 07:01 AM A fine ballad scholar - and a great conversationalist. It's a real loss. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: RoyH (Burl) Date: 30 Aug 07 - 07:07 AM A sad loss indeed. An enthusiast and activist par excellence, the folk scene will miss him. Condolences to the Minelly family. R I P Tom. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST Date: 30 Aug 07 - 09:48 AM Despite our many trips to Ireland I never got to know Tommy all that well I was slightly in awe of the bloke to be honest. But what I admired about him was not only his knowledge but his supreme abilty to be able to communicate his knowledge and love for the music he loved to an audience. Tommy was a wonderful speaker who could not have been dull if he tried. His lectures were always one of the highligts of any music festival. Condolences to all the family Ken Hall and Peta Webb |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,HarryB. Date: 30 Aug 07 - 10:41 AM Dear All, Tom was a man who never required my respect. He saw the world beyond himself in diamond clarity through an omnipotent sense of humour. Such rare talents. Regards, Harry. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Mike O'Leary-Johns Date: 30 Aug 07 - 11:32 AM Another brick gone from the wall.....In Tom's case a cornerstone. Mike. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 30 Aug 07 - 11:41 AM Here's a brief obituary from an Irish newspaper. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Philippa Date: 30 Aug 07 - 01:26 PM I saw Tom speaking at the Inishowen traditional singing weekend last March and noticed that he was "wile failed", as they say here in nw Ireland. The slimmer figure suited him, but I heard he had lost weight through illness. The seminar organisers gave Tom a task outside his field of expertise, to speak about the Flight of the Earls but Tom put in the research and delivered a talk that was both informative and witty. I didn't know Tom Munnelly well, but I always found him very approachable and helpful with queries about Irish folksong (whether the query was made in person or by letter). He will be greatly missed indeed. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Lillis O Laoire Date: 30 Aug 07 - 04:25 PM Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages; Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. Fear no more the frown o' the great; Thou art past the tyrant's stroke: Care no more to clothe and eat; To thee the reed is as the oak: The sceptre, learning, physic, must All follow this, and come to dust. Fear no more the lightning-flash, Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; Fear not slander, censure rash; Thou hast finished joy and moan; All lovers young, all lovers must Consign to thee, and come to dust. No exorciser harm thee! Nor no witchcraft charm thee! Ghost unlaid forbear thee! Nothing ill come near thee! Quiet consummation have; And renownéd be thy grave! -- William Shakespeare Cymbeline Act IV Scene 2 |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Guest: Marianne Date: 30 Aug 07 - 05:25 PM I met Tom through the Malone family in Miltown. I had seen a video interview he did with Tom Malone and then met him on a visit to the town a few years ago. He had a great wit and of course an encyclopedian (sp?) knowledge of songs and their origins. I got a chance to look through the tribute book written by his friends and admirers when I was at the Willie Clancy Week this summer. I also got to greet Tom at Malone's Pub that week. It was obvious how ill he was, but he was still out and about and enjoying the craic during the week. He will be sorely missed. RIP, Tom. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 30 Aug 07 - 06:30 PM There's a 2006 radio documentary on Tom archived HERE . Seems to have a few extraneous minutes of a news broadcast at the start. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: Desert Dancer Date: 30 Aug 07 - 06:40 PM Here's the text of the obit, since newspaper links are ephemeral: Evening Echo, Cork, Ireland Folksong and folklore collector Munnelly dies 30/08/2007 - 2:21:06 PM Ireland's greatest folksong and folklore collector Tom Munnelly died today after a long illness. Born in Dublin in 1944, Mr Munnelly moved permanently to Miltown Malbay, Co Clare in 1978 to devote more time to working in the field of collecting folksongs. He was responsible for recording the most comprehensive collection of traditional folksongs ever compiled in the country. Mary Cloake, council director, said he would be greatly missed. "Tom Munnelly began recording and collecting traditional songs as far back as 1964," she said. "He was a social historian and he belonged to a long line of distinguished field collectors that includes Seamus Ennis and Micheal O'Domhnaill. He will be greatly missed and we offer our condolences to his family." He had served for three years as a member of the Arts Council from February 1986 to December 1988. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST Date: 31 Aug 07 - 10:15 AM Tom was the "go-to" man for information on Irish songs, a person with whom to check a thesis or a single point of fact. He possessed a storehouse of knowledge which he could access, deliver and present with astounding ease and good natured flair. Like others here, I heard a good number of Tom's excellent lectures and can testify that he possessed great talent and fine kindness to the degree that he would never lose a single person in the room though his audiences were often very diverse. He could sing too. Tom is now tracking down the long departed singers of past generations. What ballads did they have and just how did they sing them? Dan Milner |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Alison McMorland and Geordie McIntyre Date: 01 Sep 07 - 03:49 AM Tom was a luminary; whose mighty endeavors are a matter of record and whose enthusiasm,erudition and peerless wit an abiding memory. It was a privilege to know him. With Tom's passing, we have another bright star in the sky... Condolences to his family Alison and Geordie |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Ken McLeod Date: 01 Sep 07 - 04:01 AM I last talked to Tom just over a week ago and even though we all knew, it is still a sad shock. In July we visited him with copies of the book which he signed. In my case he wrote 'Old friend and cause of many memorable and un-memorable days.' I am very proud of that. Rest in peace you king of men. Ken |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,one dub to another Date: 01 Sep 07 - 08:34 AM enjoyed many an amusing evening with Tom and Tom in Queallys bar. we enjoyed his wit and laughter. more days gone by. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,corinne male Date: 01 Sep 07 - 06:28 PM It's not just for the collecting and the talks we have to thank Tom; there's all the work he put into organising occasions when the traditional singers of Clare and their music could be shared by outsiders like myself. Through 13 Ennistymon festivals and, later two singing weekends at Spanish Point; I came to Ennistymon first in '92 as a novice in the Irish scene, and owe that weekend and Tom for so many friendships. Tom didn't just collect and record; he wanted the music to be shared and heard live. Like you, Ken, I always felt rather in awe of Tom, even though he was so approachable but more than anything else I know just how lucky I am to have known him. A great man in every sense. |
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Subject: Funeral of Tom Munnelly From: GUEST,Pat 'the Verse' Burke Date: 01 Sep 07 - 06:52 PM Just back home having attended the funeral of Tom Munnelly in Miltown Malbay. Desperately sad occasion, as what can only be described as a living legend among folklorists and folk song collectors has passed away. A beautiful memorial service was held in St. Joseph's Church, Miltown, where all assembled heard a selection of poetry, prose, music and song, including Bob Blair's rendition of 'The Joy of Living' and the Crehan Family playing 'The wild Geese'. 'The Hour of Death,(an old Irish folktale) was read by Ríonach Uí Ógáin, and Pádraigín ní Uallacháin sang 'An Bhean Caointe', before Tom in his unique 'wickerwork coffin' was borne from the chapel to the sound of the 'Pilgrim's Chorus' from Richard Wagner's 'Tannhauser'. Tom was sent off on his final journey from nearby Ballard Cemetery by Uileann piper Éamon Brophy, playing 'Philip Séimh Ó Fatha', after which Maighread and Tríona ní Dhomhnaill sang the 'Greenwood Laddie'. A graveside oration was then given by Nicholas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, after which two members of Cór Cúil Aodha sang 'Mo Ghile Mear'. Jerry O'Reilly led all assembled in 'The Parting Glass', after which both he, Bob Blair and Terry Moylan sang Hamish Henderson's 'Freedom Come All Ye'. Tom Munnelly has finally departed from us, though God knows he will live on in spirit. That said, the Frank Harte Memorial weekend in Dublin this September just won't be the same you, 'Doctor Tom' ! |
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Subject: Tom Munnelly's hiden talents? From: GUEST,Pat 'the Verse' Burke Date: 01 Sep 07 - 07:08 PM As was pointed out to me at the graveside today, & unknown to all of us, Tom Munnelly was an accomplished flute player.....oh Yes!! Well, if we are to judge by his obituary, that appeared in the free morning sheet 'The Metro' the other day, he was anyway.I don't know who the flute player in the picture is, but its not Tom Munnelly, any idea anyone, who it might be? |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: Kevin Sheils Date: 02 Sep 07 - 05:54 AM I hadn't seen Tom since meeting him the late 60's in Cecil Sharp House and was pleased to renew the acquaintance briefly in Inishowen this year. His work and knowledge was well known to me and I'm sorry that too many years went by since we first met but will remember this years meeting with pleasure. Rest well Tom |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 02 Sep 07 - 12:08 PM Tom had prepared his own, essentially humanist funeral service. An enlightened Catholic priest in Miltown Malbay not only allowed his church to be used for the occasion, but took an active and appropriate part in the proceeedings. The rest of a long day and a night was spent by family and friends celebrating the life of one who had touched us all. Regards p.s. On the back of the "Order of Service" which Tom had designed for the occasion, was the following quotation: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend, Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Jerry O'Reilly Date: 03 Sep 07 - 03:05 AM On behalf on Annette,Colm,Tara,Eadaoin and the rest of the family can I just say thank you to all who have contributed to the thread. It has been a support to the family. "Ta ar Laoch Caillte" (our warrior/hero is gone), but we have to keep his crusade in promoting traditional singing going. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Sylvia Barnes Date: 03 Sep 07 - 08:00 AM Greatly saddened by this news. Tom was a great man, generous with his knowledge and unstinting in his support for songs and singers of any level. Just sorry I didn't get the chance to sing 'The Lailey Worm and the Mackrel o' the Sea' for him after he pointed me in its direction several years ago. Rest well Tommy - I will miss you Sylvia |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Wilbert Garvin Date: 03 Sep 07 - 03:40 PM Tom was a great wee man. I was fortunate indeed to have known him. I visited him just over a month ago when he signed a copy of his book for me. What an inestimable legacy of the cultural heritage of Ireland he has left. May he rest in peace. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Éadaoin Ní Mhonghaile Date: 04 Sep 07 - 09:36 AM Sylvia, In the week or so before Dad died, my husband Hamouda had been out fishing most nights and catching plenty of mackerel. Although Dad's appetite was very small towards the end, we had one memorable night with Pádraig Ó Héalaí and his wife Máire Áine where we all dined on mackerel fresh from the sea and fried in butter. A few nights before he died, we were telling Dad that Hamouda had that day caught 72 mackerel in an hour and a half, while my brother Tara and his wife Samran had caught 83. Dad's reply? 'Great.... more fish' :-) Which ties in with a joke he was fond of - Q.'How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?' A. 'Fish' Éadaoin. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,andymac Date: 04 Sep 07 - 11:56 AM Like so many others already posting here, I was in awe of him as he was always so learned and I often felt so many of my questions would be dismissed as ignorant. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Always helpful, always informed and friendly. I found his talks at Innishowen to be a highlight of the weekend. Despite his illness and weight loss, this year he again had all of us by turns enthralled and laughing in equal measure. Another giant gone... |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Guest Date: 04 Sep 07 - 11:29 PM Refresh |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Roisin and Alwyn Date: 05 Sep 07 - 11:10 AM Attended the funeral of our good oul' pal Tommy last Saturday. We have shared many good times with himself and Annette around the dinner table in Miltown. Long may our frienship continue as if he wre her, he's not too far away we are sure. Sad to hear of the sudden death of Colin , the tall man who always did the door in the Metropole at the Whitby festival. He was always friendly and helpful to all of us who were going i=on stage to sing/play. Peace to both of them. Keep singing and playing the =music!!!Roisin and Alwyn in Armagh/Miltown Malbay. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Derek Williamson & Mags Cunningham Date: 05 Sep 07 - 03:18 PM We are very saddened to learn of Tom's untimely death. My heart and sincere sympathies go out to Annette and the family. Tom, a great scholar, collator and collector of traditional music will be a sore miss indeed. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (29 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 06 Sep 07 - 05:09 PM Obituary from today's Guardian ________ Tom Munnelly A leading authority on traditional Irish songs sung in English Derek Schofield Thursday September 6, 2007 The Guardian Over the last 200 years, Irish traditional music and song have been noted and published by dedicated collectors, working mainly among ordinary people in rural areas of Ireland - and, in the case of Francis O'Neill, with Irish immigrants to America. A major focus of the collecting was instrumental music, and there has also been a fascination with the songs sung in the Irish language. Many people might assume that, by the late 20th century, there would have been little folk music left to collect from the oral tradition. Yet the largest collection of traditional Irish songs sung in English was made in this period, by Tom Munnelly, who has died of cancer, aged 63. Article continues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more than 30 years, Tom was employed as a folk song collector, but arguably one of his most important singers, John Reilly, was recorded before this, when Tom was still collecting privately, in his spare time. Reilly was an Irish Traveller living in poverty in County Roscommon when Tom first met and recorded him in 1965. It was the first time that the ballad The Maid and the Palmer had been collected from oral tradition for 150 years, and never in Ireland. Reilly called it The Well Below the Valley, and thanks to Tom's collecting, the song was given international exposure when it was recorded by the Irish band Planxty, whose singer, Christy Moore, also recorded several other Reilly songs, such as his version of The Raggle Taggle Gypsy. Tom was born in Rathmines in Dublin and educated at Clochar Road technical school, before starting work in a knitwear factory at the age of 15. His interest in folk song started at scout camp and then in the hostelling organisation, An Óige. He started collecting songs to enlarge his repertoire - there were precious few published collections of songs available at the time - and acquired a tape recorder. Soon, he came to prefer the tradition, rather than revival singers such as the Dubliners. In 1969, Tom's enthusiasm and rapidly expanding knowledge led to him becoming research assistant to DK Wilgus, professor of Anglo-American folk song at the University of California, Los Angeles. The following year Tom founded - with his mentor, Breandán Breathnach, an authority on Irish dance music - the Folk Music Society of Ireland, and he served on the committee until his death. In 1971, Breathnach persuaded Ireland's department of education to establish a national traditional music scheme, and Tom became its first full-time collector of folk song. Four years later, the scheme was merged with the department of Irish folklore at University College, Dublin (now known as the UCD Delargy Centre for Irish Folklore and the National Folklore Collection), and, in spite of his lack of formal academic qualifications, Tom became the department's folk song collector and lecturer. In 1978, he moved to County Clare to devote more time to his fieldwork. Still employed by UCD, he based himself in Miltown Malbay, where the great uilleann piper Willie Clancy had lived until his death five years previously. The Willie Clancy school - a week-long celebration of Irish music, dance and song with concerts, workshops, lectures and pub sessions - was already established in the town, and in 1978 Tom became its chairman. He founded the Folklore and Folk Music Society of Clare in 1982, and for its first nine years organised all the lectures, and later started the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing. In the mid-1980s he was a member of the Arts Council of Ireland, during which time it established the Irish traditional music archive. Tom served as the first chairman of the archive's board, and continued as a board member until recently. All the while, he continued to travel Ireland collecting folk songs. One of the most prolific singers he recorded, Tom Lenihan, lived just a few miles outside Miltown Malbay, and Tom Munnelly also recorded his wealth of lore and custom. A double album of songs, with an accompanying book written by Munnelly, was released in 1995, entitled The Mount Callan Garland: the Songs of Tom Lenihan. A typical tactic in a new village was for Tom to ask in the pub about local singers. But not all pubgoers were interested in old songs, and increasingly he found and recorded singers in their own homes. For example, one of his best, Michael "Straighty" Flanagan, was almost missed after inquiries at the pub drew a blank. John Reilly was not the only Traveller whom Tom recorded. "Singers are so easy to find among travelling folk," Tom once wrote, and an album of his field recordings, Songs of the Irish Travellers, was released in 1983. In all, Tom recorded, indexed and transcribed more than 20,000 songs as well as a considerable amount of folklore - a lasting testament to his tenacity, as well as to the continuing tradition. He was generous with his time and knowledge, a recognised authority and staunch advocate of unaccompanied traditional singing. His enthusiasm for his subject - and his humour - shone through whenever he was invited to lecture. Tom contributed to a range of periodicals including Dál gCais (the Journal of Clare), Béaloideas (the Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society) and the relatively new Journal of Music in Ireland. He did not confine his writing to Irish publications, but also contributed to England's Folk Music Journal, the publications of the International Ballad Commission and the internet magazine Musical Traditions. Last June, Tom received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland at Galway for his services to Irish traditional music. A festschrift, Dear Far-Voiced Veteran: Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly, was published just a few months before his death, with a distinguished list of contributors. In the introduction, the director of the Irish traditional music archive, Nicholas Carolan, described Tom as "an iconic figure in the world of traditional music". Tom leaves a wife, Annette, who supported him in all his work, two sons, Colm and Tara, and a daughter Éadaoin. · Tom Munnelly, folk song collector and archivist, born May 25 1944; died August 30 2007 ______________________________ |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 06 Sep 07 - 05:46 PM And from The Scotsman ___________________________ Tom Munnelly KEN HUNT Irish folk music and folklore collector, singer and social historian Born: 25 May, 1944, in Dublin. Died: 29 August, 2007, in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, aged 63. IN 1978, London-based Topic Records issued the Dublin-born collector Tom Munnelly's first commercial release. Sung by the Co. Leitram-born John Reilly, an Irish tinker - pedlar in old Scots officialese - from Co. Roscommon, The Bonny Green Tree - Songs of an Irish Traveller was revelatory. Through Reilly, Munnelly captured a repertoire of utmost influence. Over the course of his life, Munnelly, a world authority on his homeland's folkways, would gather the largest collection of Ireland's traditional song amassed by one individual. Munnelly was a man made for the word "eminent". By the time it appeared, Reilly was years dead at the age of 44. Yet the energy in those songs still ripples outwards. Reilly's sexual blustering in Rozzin Box and the One Morning I Rambled From Glasgow (describing, Munnelly said, "the conflict of Catholic seasonal workers from Ireland with non-Catholics in Scotland and elsewhere") had their impact. What really shone were Reilly's brooding, ancient ballads such as Lord Baker; that most harrowing tale of incest and hellfire The Well Below The Valley; and the more joyful account of the perils of gypsy seduction, The Raggle Taggle Gypsy. All three informed the repertoires of Ireland's notable folk band Planxty and the singer who eventually became so charismatic, Christy Moore. And through Moore, Sinéad O'Connor, who recorded Lord Baker. In 1972 Munnelly had played Moore his then-private tapes of Reilly. Moore connected instantly. "I believe that when Tom Munnelly presented his recording of John Reilly singing The Well Below The Valley to British folklorists they wouldn't accept that it was genuine," he told me in a detailed biography-through-song in the magazine Swing 51. "They reckoned it was a put-up and they couldn't accept this song had appeared in the west of Ireland, because it had never appeared there." A Dubliner, Munnelly grew up in Crumlin at a time when hooley sing-alongs were part of community singing practice and after he joined the Rambling Association, camp-fire and hostel sing-alongs reinforced his interest in folk song. On leaving school he worked in the textile industry - knitwear - in various capacities, but had begun making field-recordings of traditional song as early as 1964. It is illustrative of the promise he showed and respect he engendered that he was encouraged by the best, by people a generation older than himself. He gained further experience assisting UCLA's professor of English and Anglo-American Folksong DK Wilgus, their introduction effected by the English folklorist Bert Lloyd. The Irish Uilleann pipe player, storyteller and folklorist Séamus Ennis shared experiences and tips about collecting in the field. He corresponded with the Scots folklorist Hamish Henderson of the School of Scottish Studies. Those were circles not lightly entered into. Their faith in him was well placed. In 1970 he co-founded Cumann Cheoil Tíre Éireann (the Folk Music Society of Ireland) with Seóirse Bodley, Breandán Breathnach and Hugh Shields. The following year he became the society's first full-time collector as part of the state-sponsored National Traditional Collecting Scheme. After that project merged with the Department of Irish Folklore at University College Dublin in 1975, he continued collecting and lecturing while the next year he oversaw the selection and recruitment of performers for the republic's contribution at the bicentennial celebrations in the US. Long based in Dublin, in 1978 he relocated to Co. Clare. It ushered in a new chapter in his folkloristic activities. That same year Topic released his Paddy's Panacea - a collection of performances from the singer Tom Lenihan, another Miltown Malbay local, and another great repository of traditional material, with whom Munnelly's name was instantly linked. Mount Callan Garland (1995) advanced Lenihan's legacy enormously. Munnelly also chaired the Féile Amhrànaíochta an Chláir (Clare Festival of Traditional Singing). In 2007 Dear Far-voiced Veteran: Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly - a Festschrift in his honour - was published, containing contributions in English and Irish Gaelic on a range of subjects from Irish famine songs and the iconic Irish composer Seán Ó Riada to the Norfolk singer Walter Pardon and comparisons of traditional singing in north India and Ireland. Munnelly's contributions to today's understanding and appreciation of Irish folklore and folk music are beyond tally. He contributed immensely to the literature, aural and printed. This June the National University of Ireland at Galway made him an honorary doctor of literature for his services to Irish traditional music. It wasn't so much a breath of overdue recognition, more a sigh of relief that he had fitted the DLitt ceremony into his workload. Tom Munnelly is survived by his wife, Annette, his sons Colm and Tara and daughter Éadaoin.
-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Guest Date: 08 Sep 07 - 07:36 AM Refresh |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,GeordieCarole Date: 09 Sep 07 - 02:34 PM Sad to hear this news, though not entirely surprised considering how poorly Tom looked in Donegal in March. He will be organising things up there now in time for our arrival!! God Bless Tom |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 14 Sep 07 - 05:09 PM From The Times : Tom Munnelly Ireland's greatest song-collector – an indefatigable champion of his country's musical heritage and folk tradition With an unrivalled collection of more than 1,500 folk-songs assembled in a lifetime devoted to traditional music and social history, Tom Munnelly was revered by all with an interest in Irish folklore. A singer and field collector who played a large part in founding the Irish Traditional Music Archive, he became one of the great authorities on Irish song, and his proud legacy is the rich array of material now performed all over Ireland and the world. Born in Dublin in 1944, Munnelly grew up in the Southside suburb of Crumlin, where community choirs and campfire singarounds sparked his interest in folk-song. He had no academic training and on leaving school he tried various jobs – as a machine operator in a textile factory, a store-man and a bookkeeper – but the lure of folk-songs soon gripped him and he went on his first field recording trip in Ireland in 1964, gleaning precious material from travelling singers. He was encouraged by other collectors and folklorists such as Seamus Ennis and Bert Lloyd, who introduced him to the eminent American academic D. K. Wilgus, Professor of Anglo-American Folk Song at the University of California, Los Angeles. He subsequently became Wilgus's research assistant, cataloguing, annotating and describing 1,750 song manuscripts for the Irish Folklore Commission in Dublin. In 1970 he linked up with three other distinguished folklorists – the uilleann piper Breandán Breathnach, the classical composer Professor Seóirse Bodley and the singer Dr Hugh Shields – to found the Folk Music Society of Ireland (Cuman Cheoil TÍre Éireann), serving on the committee for the rest of his life. The Department of Education then set up a traditional music collecting scheme and invited Munnelly to be its first full-time collector. The personable, sharp-witted 27-year old had found his vocation. He approached song collecting with a rare passion and zeal and after the scheme was transferred to the Department of Irish Folklore at University College Dublin in 1975 he lectured extensively on traditional song, his energy and charisma enthusing others with the importance of keeping the tradition alive. His love and passion for unaccompanied singing was sealed by his discovery of John "Jacko" Reilly, a penniless traveller from Co Leitrim. Reilly was in poor health (he was to die of pneumonia in 1969 aged 44) but he had a rich repertoire of songs which he performed in an earthy voice. Munnelly took him to Dublin to sing at the Tradition Club but was infuriated by the indifferent reaction. He resolved to overcome ignorance and promote unaccompanied singing. He introduced Reilly to Christy Moore, who was so deeply affected that he changed his whole approach to music and adopted many of Reilly's songs, including Raggle Taggle Gypsy, The Well Below the Valley, Lord Baker and The Navvy Boots, introducing them into common currency with the band Planxty. Munnelly's recordings of Reilly were eventually released commercially in 1978 on the album The Bonny Green Tree – Songs of an Irish Traveller. By then Munnelly was spending so much time researching and making field recordings in the West of Ireland that he moved permanently from Dublin to the heartland of Irish music in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare. There he became chairman of the Willie Clancy Summer School, a now famous annual gathering of students of Irish music held in Miltown, commemorating Clancy, a legend in the town and one of Ireland's greatest uilleann pipers. It was a position he held for 13 years and his song seminars, his love of the old " sean nós" style of unaccompanied singing, irrepressible humour, gregariousness and an infectious willingness to impart stories and share wisdom remained a key feature of "Willie Weeks" for the rest of his life. In 1985 he became a member of the Arts Council of Ireland, helped to set up the Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin, an indispensable resource of music and information in Merrion Square, which he chaired for five years. He also launched the Lahinch Folklore School and the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing. All through that time he maintained his first love – going out into the field collecting songs, many of which were to make a big impact on the folk music scene. With his big personality and bushy beard he was a driving force in Irish music for nearly four decades. He gave lectures in every university in Ireland and also wrote extensively – his publications include essays about John Reilly and Tom Lenihan, another West Clare traditional singer, and Willie Clancy Week, a stalwart whom he championed strongly, resulting in two albums of recordings. In May this year his career was celebrated with the publication of a book Dear Far-Voiced Veteran: Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly, presented to him at a special ceremony at Spanish Point, Co Clare, proudly attended by his wife Annette, and their three children. In June, though frail, he received the honorary doctorate in Literature from the National University of Ireland at Galway. Munnelly's determined work has sustained Irish traditional music in inestimable ways. Ireland's greatest music collector, he will also be remembered for the warmth, wit and generosity which typified an attitude that encouraged so many singers and musicians to share their heritage with him. Tom Munnelly, folklorist, archivist, collector and singer, was born in Dublin on May 25, 1944. He died after a long illness on August 30, 2007, aged |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 14 Sep 07 - 05:10 PM Sorry about the untidy ending to the above - but I'm sure you can do the math(s)! Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: GUEST,Christy MacHale Date: 18 Sep 07 - 08:13 AM Over the years it fell to Tom to communicate the news of the sad passing of such greats as Geordie Hanna and Junior Crehan to the irremediably out-of-touch such as myself. It somehow doesn't seem right now to be told of his own passing, especially when it's a machine doing the telling. Profound condolences Annette, Colm, Tara, Éadaoin. Miltown, Clare, Ireland and the World are much the poorer for his loss, but what a treasury of song and happy memories he has left behind him. Meanwhile the sessions up above are just getting better all the time! Christy |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 28 Oct 07 - 12:04 PM Just came across this online - and couldn't resist posting it here: Source: http://www.belfastfolk.co.uk/reflections/index18.asp?p=1&rf=11 Tom Munnelly A few friends of mine have died recently and, while each loss leaves an ache, one of them was an extra-special individual - Tom Munnelly, a friend of 40 years. Tom just loved - and I cannot stress that verb strongly enough - he LOVED Irish traditional music and song. So much so that he devoted most of his life into its collection, collation and, most important of all, its preservation. No boreen was too small, no hill too high - if Tom thought that there was a song to be heard (or pint to be drunk or crack to be had!) at its bottom or top, he was there with his battered recorder. The amount he collected, from some of the most unlikely sources imaginable, was both phenomenal and prodigious. According to Fintan Vallelly's mighty tome A Companion to Irish Traditional Music, Cork University Press, 1999, Tom was responsible for around 18,000 catalogued entries in (mainly) folk song but also in poetry and folklore, including some 1500 recorded tapes from 1971 onwards which is now considered to be the single largest and most comprehensive collection by any one individual in the history of the genre. I have copied below an obit from The Guardian listing his achievements and while it is factually correct and sincere, it slightly misses out on the humanity of the lad himself. Yes, he was fastidious in his research; yes, he was precise in the way he honed his eye and ear for the nuances of the performed music. But Tom was fundamentally one of the most entertaining individuals you could ever come across in a country full of blarney-kissers. While the piece below lists his academic (or not!) achievements, Tom himself hated the pomposity of the platform where some scholars of late have tried to elevate and diagnose to death the simple music of the peasant. For him, music/song was about crack and crack was 'life' and 'death' and everything in between. Warts and all, no prisoners taken. And, from this base, he gloried, as we all did, in his put-downs of the more anally retentive of the folk 'academics' as described above. An observation Tom made a few years ago is a case in point. There is this extremely opinionated, but gifted, accordion player whom everyone knows and both respects for his music and despises for his arrogance, with the latter taking precedence. He was rumoured to have a tumour but thankfully it proved not to be life-threatening. Tom's comment, when asked about the aforementioned's state of health, was, 'Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the tumour's not malignant, the bad news is that the rest of the f***ker is'. Brenda and I called to see Tom and Annette towards the end of the Willy Clancy week in mid July when he was quite ill but still seeing visitors. Typically, he was in the best of form while my good lady and I were somewhat restrained due to the seriousness of his condition. Nonetheless he kept us entertained for the while we were there until the next bunch of callers, of which there were hundreds. I can't even imagine where he got his energy from to welcome the myriads of well-wishers who called to see him. His courage, in the face of death, was awesome. The funeral which was, several months previously, preceded by a live 'wake' during which Tom himself officiated at his own impending interment, remarking at one point in the proceedings that 'the only thing missing was the 'box' in the corner'(!!), was sensitive, beautiful and the most brilliant crack - just as he would have wished. He will be sorely missed. Hugs and handshakes to Annette, his wife, to his sons, Colm and Tara, and to Eadhaoin his daughter. Anyway, the Guardian's piece is worth reading if even to get a clue as to the depth and breadth of Tom's achievements. Perhaps Finbar Boyle, one of BelfastFolk's contributors, who worked on the collating end of Tom's fieldwork for many years, would be kind enough to give us a few words on his knowledge of, and his collaboration with, Tom in their seminal work in the Irish Folklore Commission. Gerry McCartney _________________________________________________________ Regards |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 08 Dec 07 - 07:04 AM I see the book of essays in honour of Tom is on sale in the States via Ossian. Highly recommended. Click here for details Regards p.s. As I submitted this for a preview, I just spotted a Google-generated ad at the end of the page - for a biography of Adolf Hitler! Tom would have enjoyed the joke! |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Tom Munnelly (30 Aug 2007) From: MartinRyan Date: 08 Dec 07 - 07:07 AM Ooops! Here's the link again So much for checking the preview! Regards |
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