The Irish standard., 1902-03-08
The Patriotic Corkonian Has Gathered
Lot of Grand Airs Never
Before Published.
More Irish Music is to be Found in the
City on Lake Michigan Than
in Ireland Itself.

Chicago as the home and storehouse
Of Irish music in all its pristine color,
Tilt, and swing, may seem an anomaly.
That the superintendent of police Of
this second city Of the United States
has found here and put into collec-
tions nearly 1,S00 pieces Of Irish mu-
sic, nearly half Of which never before
had been written out, is one of the
accomplishments that must be taken
into account when Chicago finally
comes to making her showing as an
art center, says the Chicago Tribune.
But without question, Chief Of Police
Francis O'Neill has one Of the most
remarkable collections Of Irish music
in existence, and after more than five
years devoted to the work, he is still
finding Chicago q mine of Irish mel
odies. Working with the chief in all
OF this has been Police Officer james
O'Neill, Of the Brighton Park Station.
The two men are not relations; the
chief is from County Cork and his
namesake is from the Belfast country.
Only the tie Of music makes them kin,
and In this co-partnership it is admit.
ted by mutual friends that the chief
has been furnishing the purpose and
the idea, against the talent Of the sub.
ordinate officer.
AS matter Of truth, most of the
facts concerning the particular part of
Chief O'Neill in the collections must
come from the chiefs friends. That
he has been more than five years at
the work, unknown to many OF his
neighbors, indicates that he has not
done much talking OH the subject, and
his silence OH that subject now would
be easy to set to music in quarter
rests.
1t Is known, however, that Chief
ONeill came away from Ireland at 1G
years old, bringing with him the rec
objections Of q mother, singing ut her
wheel, humming the old airs Of the
Green Isle as she went about her
household duties, and at nightfall
grooming the baby to sleep with cru
die song. AS lad he had been taught
by neighbor to play the flute, and
as stranger in the strange land Of
America it was not especially sgni1i-
cant that the boys heart turned to a
resurrection Of some Of the old folk
songs Of his childhood. Many Of these
songs were local, never having been
set to music, and Chief O'Ncilps
first volume was to have been devoted
to these.
Perhaps something more than boy
ish recollcctions Of Il mother made this
purpose strong. The music Of Ireland
was in the heart of Francis O'Neill as
boy, and when, as a patrolman, he
had post out at Desplaincs Street
Station, the history of Irish music was
in his head. The fate Of the Irish
harpcrs Of old, driven to exile and
death; the proclamations Of Elizabeth
that all Of them should be hanged, and
her appointment OF Lord Barrymore
as exccutiOnerin-ch chief, had filled the
Irishman with regret that the music
of his native land thus had been driven
to the homes Of the peasantry and even
there put under the ban Wars and
the efforts Of the Irish Mt simple self
preservation had strangled music in it's
growth, and the prediction Of Profess
sor Sullivan that the archae0logist Of o
dim future would have to resurrect
whatever of this music might be pos
sible, was an incentive to the young
collector.
Today that incentive has led not only
to the greatest collection of Irish music
in existence, but it has given to Chi
cagO more or less formal Irish music
lovers club, whose Inquest commit
tee" is sitting in judgment almost eve
ry Sunday upon the O'Neill collections,
accepting, alternating, polishing, and
discarding as it sees fit from oil the
seven volumes now filled with Irish
melodies. At this inquest the jury is
made up as follows: