Breandán Breathnach (1 April 1912 – 6 November 1985) was an
Irish music
Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.
The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...
collector and
uilleann piper. In addition to
collecting Irish music, he is known for his ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'' (Dance Music of Ireland) series.
Life
Breathnach grew up in the
Liberties
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...
of Dublin, where his father was a silk weaver. His uncle Joe was a player of the uilleann pipes and a member of the Piper's Club. He started learning the pipes from John Potts of Wexford and William Andrews, then with the renowned piper Leo Rowsome.
Breathnach started work as a
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
with the Department of Agriculture, but in 1965 switched to the Department of Education where he was responsible for collecting music from around
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
In the 1950s he decided to publish some of his music collection. Tunes were contributed by pipers such as his uncle Joe, John Potts,
Tommy Reck, Matt Kiernan and Willie Clancy, fiddlers such as John Kelly, Donncha Ó Cróinín,
Tommy Potts
Tommy Potts (1912–1988) was an Irish fiddle player and composer from Dublin who gained iconic status in traditional Irish music circles for his virtuoso musicianship. Potts' given name is also frequently spelled Tommie. His music has influenc ...
and Tom Mulligan, flutists and whistlers such as John Egan, John Brennan and
Michael Tubridy
Michael "Mick" Tubridy (born 1935 at Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland) is an Irish musician, step dancer and structural engineer.
Career
In November 1962, he was a founder member of the traditional Irish music group, The Chieftains, with whom ...
, and box-player
Sonny Brogan. The collection was called ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'' ("Dance Music of Ireland").
The first volume of his collection was published in 1963. A second volume appeared, to great acclaim, in 1976. This included music from, amongst others, James McEnery (
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
),
John Doherty (
Donegal),
Micho Russell (
Clare) and
Denis Murphy (
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
). Additional volumes based on his work were published in 1985, 1996 and 1999.
By the time of his death he had collected over 7,000 tunes. His efforts were responsible for saving numerous tunes and he is generally recognised as a major figure in the preservation and continuation of traditional Irish music.
Personal life
He married in 1943 Lena Donnellan, with whom he had five daughters. His daughter
Niamh Bhreathnach
Niamh Síle Bhreathnach (; born 1 June 1945) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education from 1993 to 1994 and 1994 to 1997. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1992 to ...
is a former
Labour Party politician and
Minister for Education.
Bibliography
* "Willie Clancy the man and his music"', ''Ceol''; 2/3 (1965), 70-77
* ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'', vol. 1 (1963), vol. 2 (1976), vol. 3 (1985)
* ''Folk Music and Dances of Ireland'' (1971), . Revised Edition, 1977,
* "Tribute to
Seamus Ennis
Seamus may refer to:
* Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin
Film and television
* Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy''
* Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore''
* Seamus Mc ...
", ''Musical Traditions'', no. 1 (1983)
References
Bibliography
*Ó Canainn, Tomás: ''Traditional Music in Ireland'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978); .
*
Ó Riada, Seán: ''Our Musical Heritage'' (Dublin: The Dolmen Press, 1982); .
*Carolan, Nicholas: ''Breandán Breathnach (1912–1985)', in: ''Ceól'' vol. 1–2 (1986, p. 3–10.
*Vallely, Fintan: ''The Companion to Irish Traditional Music'' (Cork: Cork University Press, 1999; 2nd edition, 2011); .
Irish Music Centre, Boston College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breathnach, Breandan
1912 births
1985 deaths
Irish musicologists
Irish uilleann pipers
Irish civil servants
20th-century Irish musicians
20th-century Irish civil servants
20th-century musicologists