Cornelius Lyons ( – c.1740) was an Irish harper and composer active in the early eighteenth century. Born in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, he came to be the harper of the Earl of Antrim. Donnchadh Ó hAmhsaigh, known in English as Denis Hempson was a great admirer of Cornelius Lyons. At the Belfast Harp Assembly of 1792, he played a number of Baroque-style variations that Lyons wrote on Irish traditional tunes such as "Eileen A Rún" and "The Coolin". Only one original piece by Lyons survives; this is "Miss Hamilton" (Inion i Hamilton), written in 1706.John Molineux: ''Douce Amère: Bitter Sweet'', AM R101 (LP, 1978).

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Chapter V: Famous harpers of the seventeenth and later centuries
Bill Haneman {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Cornelius 1670s births 1740s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century Irish composers 18th-century Irish composers Irish male harpists Musicians from County Kerry 17th-century Irish harpists 18th-century Irish harpists