# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/O'Carolan

From volume 2 of the work.
​O'CAROLAN, or CAROLAN, Turlogh, one of the last and certainly the most famous of the bards of Ireland, was born in the year 1670, at a place called Newtown, near Nobber, in the county of Meath. He lost his sight at 16 years of age from small-pox, and, in allusion to this used to say, 'my eyes are transplanted into my ears.' He was descended from an ancient and respectable family in Meath, where a district is still known as Carolanstown. Turlogh began to learn the harp at 12 years of age, but owed nearly all his education to Madame MacDermot Roe of Alderford, a fine dame of the old school, who lived to 80 years of age, and survived her protegé. She it was who, when O'Carolan's father settled at Carrick-on-Shannon, perceived the talent of the boy, had him taught the Irish language and music, and provided him with a horse and an attendant, when, at 22, he became an itinerant minstrel. He was susceptible towards the gentler sex; his first love was one Bridget Cruise, and he must have preserved a tender remembrance of her, since long after they parted he recognised her fingers, as his hand touched them accidentally in a boat at Lough Dearg. He solaced himself for her loss by falling in love with Mary Maguire, a young lady from Tempo, Fermanagh. She became his wife, and they lived happily together. He now took a farm in Leitrim, but imprudent hospitality soon dissipated his means. He then (1692) adopted the life of a travelling minstrel. Wherever he went, the doors of the nobility and gentry were thrown open, and he was ever ready to compose both words and music in praise of those who welcomed him. Later in life O'Carolan was much addicted to intemperance; he required to be supplied with stimulants before composing, but after drinking, his muse rarely failed him. One instance however is recorded in which his invention was utterly at fault. It related to a Miss Brett. In order to celebrate her charms, O'Carolan tried and tried in vain, till throwing aside the harp in a fit of vexation he declared to the young lady's mother that after frequent attempts to compose for her, there was not a string in his harp that did not vibrate with a melancholy sound; 'I fear,' said he, 'she is not long for this world: nay,' he added, with emphasis, 'she will not survive twelve months!' The event proved the bard a true prophet, for Miss Brett died within that time. With a view to wean him from his inordinate fondness for drink, O'Carolan's friends made him promise to shun all places where liquor could be purchased, and he for a while abstained; but at last, visiting the town of Boyle, and chancing to pass a spirit-shop, he prevailed on the shopman to pour out a glass of the spirit, intending to smell but not to taste. His resolution however failed him, and he not only swallowed the one draught, but many others, until his mind had fully recovered its tone, and in this state of exhilaration he produced his famous tune 'The Receipt for drinking whiskey.' It was said that Geminiani and other foreign artists entertained a very high opinion of his musical talents, but though some stories are told of his immediately executing from memory long and difficult pieces which the Italian musicians had just played, these tales are musically improbable, and are inconsistent with the generally received accounts of his moderate skill on the harp. It is enough to allow him the decided talent for improvising music and words, to which his claim has been undisputed.
[ R. P. S. ]