Header image courtesy of University of Glasgow Archives & Special Collections, Papers of Henry George Farmer collection, MS Farmer 332 f5r
This post is part 8 of my series about Patrick Byrne. Part 1 covers Patrick Byrne’s early years and education, down to his discharge from harp school in 1822. Part 2, looks at his early career, working for patrons in Ireland and England from 1822 to 1837. Part 3 covers his first visit to Scotland over the winter of 1837-8, and his tour of Ireland in 1839-40. Part 4 looks at him playing for Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle, and then touring mostly in Ireland and a bit in England in 1841-4. Part 5 covers just six months, from when he went to Scotland at the beginning of 1845 until he headed back to Belfast on 25th June, including the Waverley Ball and having his photographs taken. Part 6 covers the rest of 1845, and the whole of 1846, touring in the north of Ireland and the English midlands. Part 7 covers Scotland in the first half of 1847, Ireland for the second part of 1847; England in the first part of 1848, and back in Ireland in Autumn 1848.
By the end of 1848, Patrick Byrne was in his early 50s; he was well established as a touring performer in Ireland, Scotland and England, both as a public “celebrity” and with networks of private patrons right up to the top of the social hierarchy.
This post includes two very different but equally interesting episodes in his life. One is his professional tour of the south of England; and the other is when Patrick Byrne met the antiquarian John Bell, who wrote down a load of very useful traditionary information about the Irish harp tradition which Byrne had apparently told to him.
Patrick Byrne in the South of England
Patrick Byrne was obviously invited by some aristocratic patron to provide the Christmas entertainments at their stately home in the South of England. I don’t know who this was, because I don’t know where Byrne was at Christmas 1848; but we can try to reconstruct the trip from the other events he did before and after in Hampshire and Wiltshire.
… Mr. B. has lately been on a professional visit to the mansion of Thomas Thistlethwayte, Esq., at Southwick-Park.
Hampshire Independent, Sat 2 Dec 1848 p8
Southwick Park is a very interesting country house, a few km north of Portsmouth Harbour. It is perhaps best known for being requisitioned during the second world war, and being used as the headquarters for the D-Day invasion of northern France.
I think on Thursday 30th November 1848, Patrick Byrne gave a public concert in Fareham, in the Institution (now Portland Chambers). It looks to me like the building we see today was re-built in about 1860 (Illustrated London News, Sat 11 Aug 1860 p12)
This is the same news clipping we just looked at an excerpt from:
FAREHAM. – THE IRISH HARP. – The lovers of music had a novel and delightful treat on Thursday last, in the performance of Mr. Patrick Byrne, the blind Irish Harper, on the Irish harp, who gave a Morning and Evening Concert at the Institution. This ancient instrument, strung as it is with wires, and destitute of many of the advantages which science, aided by experience, has furnished for enriching the tone and facilitating the execution of modern instruments, is in this case in the hands of a master, and was frequently touched with a taste and pathos that completely rivetted the attention of the highly-respectable audiences who attended his concert. Mr. B. has lately been on a professional visit to the mansion of Thomas Thistlethwayte, Esq., at Southwick-Park.
Hampshire Independent, Sat 2 Dec 1848 p8
Poor Patrick Byrne seems to be much more out of context here on the south coast, than he even was in Warwickshire. I find it very interesting how the “Irish harp”, this “ancient instrument”, is contrasted with “modern instruments” (i.e. pedal harps) – as if Irishness and Ancientness were obviously connected. I think they still are somewhat in southern English consciousness, though this is expressed nowadays more by a vague idea of Celticness rather than Irishness. We see how “This ancient instrument, strung … with wires” is compared unfavourably with the pedal harp which most of the concert-goers would have been familiar; the Irish harp is “destitute of many of the advantages which science, aided by experience, has furnished for enriching the tone and facilitating the execution” of the pedal harp. I think this is to give even more praise to Byrne, “a master”, who managed to “rivet” the audience despie the deficiencies of his instrument.
I imagine that (apart from any of the house-guests at Southwick who were there), the listeners had never ever heard a traditional wire-strung Irish harp being played before. As an aside, I note that six weeks later, on Monday 15th Jan 1849, Dr. Thomas Rolph (c.1801-1858) gave a historical lecture on “the Origin of the British Bards and Minstrels”, at the Athenaeum on Bishop Street, Portsea (Hampshire Independent, Sat 20 Jan 1849 p8). Byrne is not mentioned in the news report and I presume he was no longer in the area having already headed north, but this might show that his presence in the area may have sparked off some interest in finding out more about Celtic ancientness.
Titchfield, December 1848
Patrick Byrne went to Titchfield and did a concert there on Thursday 7th Devember 1848, in the Assembly Room.
The Assembly Room seems to have been part of the Coach and Horses pub, at the very south end of South Street. The pub itself was rebuilt in the 20th century, and has since been closed and demolished and replaced with houses; but the old Assembly Room is still there behind the site, converted into a private house.
TITCHFIELD. The inhabitants were favoured with a visit on Thursday evening last at the Assembly-room, from Mr. Byrne, the blind Irish Harper, who performed a number of Irish, Scotch and Welsh airs on the Irish harp, most delightfully, and also gave several songs and recitations. We have no hesitation in saying that any thing which has appeared in print concerning his performance is not exaggerated, and would recommend those who have not yet heard him to take an opportunity of doing so.
Hampshire Telegraph, Sat 9 Dec 1848 p5
Presumably Byrne had shown the Telegraph editors his collection of news clippings, and presumably the end of this article is an invitation to wealthy people to book Byrne for a private evening at their homes.
Christmas 1848
We have a gap between 7th December and 5th January 1849, when we don’t know what Patrick Byrne was doing. Presumably he was staying at the house of a wealthy patron. It may have been at Thomas and Tryphena Thislethwaite’s house at Southwick, or it may have been some other patron in the area or further North-West towards Wiltshire. I don’t know how we could try to find out.
Salisbury, January 1849
At the end of December, we have a preview of a proposed concert in Salisbury:
We hear that Mr. Byrne, the ancient Irish Harpist to H. R. H. Prince Albert, will give a morning concert at our Assembly-rooms, either on Thursday or Friday next. Mr. B. is blind; his harp is of the most original description, and he plays Irish, Scottish and Welsh airs with much spirit. We anticipate a full audience.
Salisbury and Winchester Journal, Sat 30 Dec 1848 p4
Now we see that not only is Byrne’s instrument “ancient”, but that Byrne himself at age around 50 is an “ancient Irish harpist”.
The concert eventually happened not in the morning, but in the evening of Thursday 4th January 1849. We have a review of this concert (thanks to John Scully for finding this review and including it in his book about Patrick Byrne: Ah how d’you do sir, Carrickmacross, 2024).
A highly respectable but somewhat too select an audience assembled on Thursday evening last, at our Assembly Rooms, to listen to some delightful performances on the harp by the celebrated Byrne, the Irish harpist, who on this occasion fully sustained his high reputation. The melodies, whether they partook of a lively or plaintive character, were given with the most charming effect; and we feel convinced that with a little more publicity, and a knowledge of the very great treat provided for them, our fellow-citizens would have crowded the room to its utmost extent.
Salisbury and Winchester Journal Sat 6 Jan 1849 p4 (via John Scully)
We also have a one-line review on the same day, in the Hampshire Independent’s Salisbury column:
THE IRISH HARP. – Mr. Byrne, a blind performer on the ancient Irish harp, gave an entertainment at the Assembly Rooms, on Thursday evening last.
Hampshire Independent Sat 6 Jan 1849 p5
I find this entire trip down south very enigmatic. It seems a long way away from his usual stamping-grounds, and I don’t know of any other traditional Irish harpers through the long 19th century or before working for patrons in or around Hampshire. I think it looks most likely that some Gentleman or Lord had previously met Patrick Byrne, perhaps in Leamington Spa, or at the house of one of his patrons, and had decided to book him for Christmas 1847 at their stately home in Hampshire or Wiltshire; and perhaps then Byrne made the most of it by arranging these public concerts in Fareham, Titchfield and Salisbury to fit in with his travel itinerary. It is of course possible that more than one gentleman patron got together to share the cost of bringing Byrne all that way.
It is also poignant for me since it is quite close to where I was born and brought up; Titchfield is less than 10 miles away across the water from my childhood places.
I have added these places in the South of England to my map, and so we may as well look at it here before moving on.
On Tue 30 Jan 1849, Patrick Byrne was at Staunton Harold, in Staffordshire, visiting his patron Earl Ferrers. We don’t have any information about this visit to Staunton Harold except for a poem that was composed and dedicated to Patrick Byrne:
EXTEMPORE VERSES, Addressed to PATRICK BYRNE, the Irish Harper, while on a visit at the hospitable mansion of Earl Ferrers, in England. Like lightning in a troubled sky, Harper! thy trembling fingers fly! … [skipping eight lines] … Whether the harp when touched by thee Tells of some Irish melody: Of Tara’s (now deserted) tower – Ovoca’s vale – of Eveleen’s bower; Or, roused by thee to war’s alarms- The Danes are come – “To arms! to arms!” … [four more lines] … … [brief note on Byrne near Newry, see below] … STAUNTON HAROLD January 30, 1849.
Newry Telegraph, Thu 3 May 1849 p4, via John Scully p64
This little snippet reminds us that Byrne must have been doing a lot of this kind of thing, visiting an aristocratic patron and staying at the big house, but we don’t often have a record of it. In fact I am sure many of the 19th century Irish harpers were doing something like this, but leaving even less evidence. It is only chance references like this which can start to give us fragments of Byrne’s itinerary and work. In many ways these fragments on their own are not that interesting or informative; but I am working methodically through them all because I think we can start to build up a large-scale overview of his professional career as a travelling traditional harper from collating and discussing the fragmentary references. And Byrne’s life, being far more richly documented than the others, can help us understand his colleagues and contemporaries, the other traditional Irish harpers through the long 19th century.
The other thing I note about this romantic literary poem is the possible references to Byrne’s performances in the four lines I quote. Of course it is possible that the poet is spinning stereotypical Irish themes out of their head, but it is also possible that they sat in the big room at Staunton Harold while Byrne played The Harp that Once (Mailí Bheag Ó), the Meeting of the Waters, Eveleen’s Bower, and Brian Boru’s March.
Patrick Byrne played a concert at the Lyceum in Stafford town on Friday 2 March 1849.
The Lyceum, on the South side of Martin Street, was later renamed the Playhouse; it was burned down in 1912, and then the shell was used as a warehouse until 1920 when it was demolished. I don’t know if it had been rebuilt between when Byrne appeared here in 1849, and when this photo was taken after the fire.
LYCEUM, STAFFORD. ——— MR. BYRNE, THE BLIND IRISH HARPER, Who has had the honour of playing before the QUEEN, PRINCE ALBERT, AND THE QUEEN DOWAGER, And who has further the honour of being appointed IRISH HARPER TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT, BEGS to announce to the Inhabitants of STAFFORD, and the Neighbourhood, that he will perform a number of IRISH, SCOTCH, AND WELSH AIRS, On the IRISH HARP, in the LYCEUM, STAFFORD, on Friday Evening, March 2nd, 1849. ——— Tickets may be had of Messrs. WRIGHT, Booksellers. Boxes, 2s.; Pit, 1s.; Gallery, 6d. Children, half-price to the boxes and pit. – Performance from eight to half-past nine.
Staffordshire Advertiser, Sat 24 Feb 1849 p1
We also have a brief review of this concert:
Mr. Patrick Byrne, the blind Irish harper, gave an entertainment at the Lyceum, last evening. His audience was not so large as it ought to have been; but those present were highly gratified with the delightful manner in which Mr. Byrne executed a variety of Irish, Scotch, and Welsh airs on the primitive harp of old Erin, one of the most ancient instruments in the world. The wonder is that so much music, now tender and pathetic, then gay and spirit-stirring, could be produced from a source so inartificial. The great merit, however, is in the performer, not in the instrument. Mr. Byrne’s recitations and humorous songs were received with great approbation.
Staffordshire Advertiser, Sat 3 Mar 1849 p5
This review is interesting in that it has some similar themes from the Hampshire and Wiltshire reviews. I wonder if Byrne travelled with clippings form those, giving the Staffordshire reviewer ideas? Is this Byrne or his patron or agent feeding this stuff to the papers? Or is it indicative of general sentiment in England about the nature of Irish music?
Traditional wire-strung Irish harp made by Tim Hampson in 2023, copying John Egan’s 1820s design
It is also interesting to see Patrick Byrne’s harp, one of the big 1820s traditional wire-strung Irish harps, slated as “primitive” and, most fascinatingly, “inartificial”. It is almost like if you were to turn up today to do a concert with a shoe box mounted with elastic bands. Everyone would think the instrument was a joke, but then they would be all the more impressed when you created powerful moving music using it. The review states as much: “The great merit, however, is in the performer, not in the instrument”.
I think “inartificial” is being used to mean it is simple and natural, as opposed to high-tech. Really it is just that it is not mechanised and chromatic like a pedal harp. Nowadays we crave the “natural” and “simple” but I suppose that in 1849 this “arts and crafts” style reaction against “the machine” had not really started yet.
We also see that Byrne’s up-to-date twenty-seven-year-old Egan harp is described as “one of the most ancient instruments in the world”.
Back in Ireland
We now have a six-week gap in our records, between the beginning of March 1849 and the middle of April. At some point during this period, Patrick Byrne travelled back to Ireland, and we find him spending the second half of April in county Down.
The same news article that printed the praise poem from Staunton Harcourt (see above), includes this little note:
Mr. Byrne, we understand, has been staying for the last fortnight at Narrow-water Castle, the princely residence of Roger Hall, Esq., amusing the numerous visitors of that Gentleman.
Newry Telegraph, Thu 3 May 1849 p4, via John Scully p64
We already saw a report of Byrne being here back in 1843 (see part 4), which says that Roger Hall was “one of his earliest patrons” (Newry Telegraph, Sat 13 May 1843 p3). I imagine Byrne may have arrived at Narrowwater Castle in mid April. At some point in the first half of May he moved into Newry town and advertised a series of public concerts.
The adverts are headed by a woodcut of a “winged maiden” heraldic or symbolic harp. This is the same woodblock that was used for Byrne’s Newry adverts back in 1839 (see part 3); I have not seen it in any news clipping in the intervening 10 years. I wondered then if the woodblock might have been owned by Byrne and loaned to the newspaper; but its absence anywhere else suggests to me it either belonged to the Telegraph, or to whoever was acting as Byrne’s agent or patron organising these Newry concerts.
The first concert was scheduled for Monday 14th May 1849:
ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC. —– MR. BYRNE, the BLIND IRISH HARPER, who has had the hon[ou]r of playing before Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the Queen Dowager, and who has further the honour of being appointed Irish Harper to his Royal Highness Prince Albert – begs to announce to the Ladies and Gentlemen of NEWRY and its vicinity, that he intends, under the patronage of the Officers of the 9th Regiment, to perform a number of IRISH, SCOTCH, and WELCH AIRS, on the IRISH HARP, in the ASSEMBLY-ROOMS, SAVINGS’-BANK, On MONDAY EVENING, 14th MAY, 1849; When he hopes to be favored with the same liberal Patronage which has been bestowed upon him in other Towns where he has had the honor of performing. Tickets may be had at THE TELEGRAPH Office, or of Mr. ROBERT GREER, Bookseller, &c. Front Seats, 2s.; Back, 1s.; Children, Half-price. Performance from Half-past EIGHT to TEN o’Clock. —– (Extract from Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal, September 19, 1840.) “The harp appears to have been the national musical instrument of Ireland […] He is a delightful performer on his instrument.” 489
Newry Telegraph, Sat 12 May 1849 p3
Other things we can see in this advert is the more formal language that we saw in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Staffordshire, as if Byrne has new ideas about how to promote these concerts. We also get the usual quote from Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal (see part 3).
There is an editorial note on the same page, though it doesn’t really tell us anything useful:
THE IRISH HARP. – National music, performed on the national instrument, by a skilful and experienced hand, what Irishman has not the soul to appreciate? Our townspeople’s old and popular acquaintance, Byrne, proposes to entertain the community here, on Monday evening, by a “concert of sweet sounds.” Let us hope that the notification will be sufficient to attract an audience such as may give ample cause to “the blind harper to raise his head, and smile!”
Newry Telegraph, Sat 12 May 1849 p3
We have a review of this concert which was held on Monday 14th May 1849:
MR. BYRNE, THE BLIND IRISH HARPER. – We went to the Assembly-room, Savings’-bank, on Monday evening last, when, according to announcement, this almost last of the minstrels of Ireland was to perform on the emblematic instrument of his country. There is something peculiarly interesting in the appearance of Byrne, as the chords of his harp vibrate to his master-touch, and his whole frame seems to thrill under the influence of the “voluptuous swell” of music which he calls into existence. Some sweet Welch airs, Scotch Strathespeys, and Irish planxties were charmingly played. But the fine old Irish airs – “The Harp that once through Tara’s Halls,” “Savourneen Deelish,” and “Doth not a meeting like this make amends!” – were given in a style so touchingly, thrillingly, and exquisitely beautiful that we question if the same amount of melody, pathos, and grandeur, is at all attainable from any single musical instrument yet invented; and, as we listened, enraptured, to the performance, we marvelled no longer that such was the magic instrument and such the skilful artist that had been selected, in the olden time, to exorcise the evil spirit that troubled Saul. We were delighted to see the spacious Assembly-room so well filled in all its parts. The generous and gentlemanly patronage bestowed on the Irish Harper by Captain Elmhurst, and the other officers of the 9th Regiment, now stationed in our garrison, was gratefully and eloquently acknowledged by the recipient, in a short address. We hope Mr. Byrne will give the inhabitants of Newry another opportunity of hearing his “matchless strains,” in the same building, when we are sure he will again meet with the public support he so eminently deserves.
Newry Telegraph, Thu 17 May 1849 p3
I’m fascinated by how differently Byrne’s music and performance is received in Newry compared to in Fareham. The tune list is also interesting; I don’t now how seriously we need to take “Scotch Strath[e]speys”, or if it is just a handy poetical alliteration for Scottish tunes. The slow airs are clearly the high point for this reviewer, and I think they are the repertory where the traditional wire-strung Irish harp is at its best. We have three titles; “the harp that once” and “Savourneen Deelish” as usual, but “Doth not a meeting like this make amends” is more of a problem for us. This Thomas Moore song, unusually, was not published with a traditional tune title. Una Hunt (Sources and Style, Routledge 2017 p170) suggests the tune used by Moore may come from a “manuscript, possibly from Thomas Crofton Croker”, and lists variants of the tune “Round the world for sport” in Holden’s Quick and slow tunes and O’Farrell’s Collection of national Irish music as possible traditional versions of the tune.
We can also see that our reviewer is not being very technical – I don’t think that it was Patrick Byrne playing his traditional wire-strung Irish harp who exorcised the evil spirit that troubled Saul in ancient times. But the sentiment is well-meant.
I’m sure a military historian could track down Captain Elmhurst of the 9th Regiment, but we need to keep focussed and carry on with Patrick Byrne.
This next advert was placed 12 days after the review appeared; I don’t know if Byrne did other public concerts in between, or was working privately through the second half of May. But we see him advertising a concert in the same venue on Monday 4th June, three weeks after his first one:
ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC —– AT THE REQUEST OF MANY KIND FRIENDS,
MR. BYRNE, the BLIND IRISH HARPER, who has had the honor of playing before Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the Queen Dowager, and who has further the honor of being appointed Irish Harper to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, begs to announce to the Ladies and Gentlemen of NEWRY and its Vicinity that he intends to perform a number of IRISH, SCOTCH and WELCH AIRS, on the IRISH HARP, in the ASSEMBLY-ROOM, SAVINGS’ BANK, ON MONDAY EVENING, the 4th June, When he hopes to be favored with the same liberal Patronage which has been bestowed upon him in other Towns where he has had the honor of performing. Tickets may be had at THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE, or of Mr. ROBERT GREER, Bookseller, &c. Front Seats, 2s.; Back, 1s.; Children, Half-price. Performance from Half-past EIGHT till TEN o’Clock. 482
Newry Telegraph, Tue 29 May 1849 p3
Again, we have a newspaper editorial on the same page:
THE ANCIENT HARP OF IRELAND. – Mr. Byrne is to give another opportunity to the good people of Newry to hear his inimitable performance, before taking his departure for Scotland – kind, hospitable Scotland! where he has been received and welcomed, and caressed “like a vera brither;” and where, in many a “stately hall and palace fair,” like their own “last minstrel,” immortalised by Sir Walter Scott, “The varying cadence soft or strong He swept the sounding chords along.” Mr Byrne has made the harp of his country as familiar to the people of the sister island as to his own countrymen, and, in thus literally fulfilling the mission of an Irish minstrel, is entitled to the gratitude and patronage of every lover of ancient music. It will be seen by our advertising columns that this, his last performance, is at the instance of a number of persons of high respectability; and we need scarcely say how heartily we wish Mr. Byrne a “flowing bumper.”
Newry Telegraph, Tue 29 May 1849 p3
The reference to him planning to go to Scotland next is interesting; we can see below that he continued working in Ireland for the next three months before finally going to Scotland. I wonder how flexible his plans were, how much his aristocratic patrons changed their minds or commanded him to attend on them at short notice?
The concert advert was reprinted two days before the concert itself (Newry Telegraph, Sat 2 June 1849 p1), and we also have an editorial comment in that day’s newspaper:
THE IRISH HARP. – We beg to remind our local readers that, as they will perceive from the notification elsewhere, Mr. Byrne, the celebrated blind Irish Harper, appears here, for the last time, at the Assembly Room, Savings’-Bank, on Monday evening. Those who have not heretofore had the pleasure of witnessing his magical performance on the national instrument, would do well to avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered of listening to this singularly-gifted child of genius.
Newry Telegraph, Sat 2 Jun 1849 p3 (via John Scully p66)
I have not found a review or any more info about these concerts in Newry.
Rostrevor, June 1849
Patrick Byrne left Newry, but instead of going to Scotland he went to Rostrevor, and played a concert in the Barracks there on Friday 8th June 1849.
MR. BYRNE IN ROSTREVOR. – A Rostrevor Correspondent says: – “Mr. Byrne, whose name I have frequently met with in your valuable Paper, as the ‘Blind Irish Harper’ appeared here yesterday (Friday) evening, in the Barrack Assembly-room (which was tastefully ornamented for the occasion,) before an assemblage comprising all the rank, and beauty, and fashion, of this fashionable watering-place. The reception he met with must have been most gratifying to the old Minstrel, and his performance was truly admirable, and worthy of all the praise which you from time to time have bestowed on it.”
Newry Telegraph, Tue 12 Jun 1849 p3 (via John Scully p66)
This sweet little review show us how Byrne’s appearance was received by people who had heard about him but never actually seen or heard him play. Byrne had played in the Rostrevor Barracks in August 1847 (see part 7). I don’t know where the Barracks were.
Then we have a gap of a month, with no references, between 8th June and 9th July 1849.
Dungannon, July 1849
Patrick Byrne headed north-west to Dungannon, where he played a public performance on Mon 9 Jul 1849.
I don’t have any kind of advertisement or preview in the newspaper for this concert, which is quite interesting because it shows us how gappy the public record is. However, what we do have for this concert is the printed handbill or flyer advertising the event.
Courtesy of University of Glasgow Archives & Special Collections, Papers of Henry George Farmer collection, MS Farmer 332 f5r
I think this kind of flyer or handbill would have been quite common for advertising concerts; I have written before about references to other traditional harpers advertising their concerts in this way, e.g. Martin Craney in 1832, O’Connor and Rennie in 1845, and Andrew Bell in 1858 and 1860. But being very ephemeral, they do not survive; this one for Patrick Byrne’s concert is the only one I know of that survives. Some of these other references to handbills indicate that they would also include the concert programme; but this one does not.
This handbill was kept by the antiquarian John Bell, who attended the concert and then met up with Patrick Byrne the next day. We will discuss his information later, but first of all we will deal with this public concert.
ANCIENT IRISH [ ] MUSIC ——— MR. BYRNE, THE BLIND IRISH HARPER, Who has had the honor of playing before QUEEN VICTORIA, PRINCE ALBERT, and the QUEEN DOWAGER, and who has further had the honor to be appointed IRISH HARPER to his Royal Highness, PRINCE ALBERT – begs to announce to the ladies and Gentlemen of this Town and its vicinity, that he intends to perform a number of IRISH, SCOTCH, AND WELCH AIRS, ON THE IRISH HARP, In the Hall of the Literary Society, DUNGANNON, On Monday evening, July 9th, 1849. When he hopes to be favored with the same liberal patronage which has been bestowed upon him in other towns where he has had the pleasure of performing. —— TICKETS MAY BE HAD AT THE PRINTING OFFICE, MARKET-SQUARE, Price, One Shilling. Children half price. PERFORMANCE FROM EIGHT TILL HALF-PAST NINE. —– (Extract from Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, September 19th, 1840) – “The Harp appears to have been the national musical instrument of Ireland from a period beyond the range of authentic history. It continued, from the days of antiquity, down to the close of the Eighteenth century to be practised by a body of men, generally blind, often of good families and respectable acquirements, who travelled about the country, receiving, and giving entertainment in the houses of persons of condition. Mr. PATRICK BYRNE is a worthy representative of the fraternity, and one of the few blind Irish Harpers now remaining. He makes a livelihood by playing to parties, and for this purpose visits the principal towns of the United Kingdom. He is a delightful performer on this instrument. (Douglas, Printer, Dungannon.)
Glasgow University Library, MS Farmer 332 f5r
We see this handbill showing basically the same kind of text as Byrne had been using in his recent newspaper adverts, The quote is from the Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal describing his appearance at private events in Edinburgh during his first visit there, from the end of October 1837 through to February 1838 (see part 3). It is not a verbatim quote from the article, but a interesting selective paraphrase which gives a somewhat different slant than the original article.
Courtesy of University of Glasgow Archives & Special Collections, Papers of Henry George Farmer collection, MS Farmer 332 f5r (detail)
At the top of the poster is the fascinating wood-block of Patrick Byrne’s harp. I know of two impressions of this wood-block; this one, and one in a newspaper advert from a couple of years later (Northern Standard, Sat 15 Nov 1851 p3). The engraving is clearly based on a drawing of Patrick Byrne’s own harp, since we can recognise its overall shape as being an Egan-style traditional wire-strung Irish harp, and we can recognise the attempt to indicate the distinctive large circular rose-briar foliage design on the soundboard of Byrne’s harp, and the shamrocks starting at the bass end of the neck and coming only part-way down the pillar, both clearly visible on recent photos of his harp and also in the 1845 calotype portraits of Byrne (see part 5). The engraving is signed “H KIRKWOOD EDINR”; I assume this is Harry Kirkwood who is listed as a “seal and general engraver” at 3 South St Andrews Street, Edinburgh, in the 1844 and 1847 directories. I don’t know if he was related to Robert Kirkwood, the publisher, who had patronised Byrne, or to Anne Chambers née Kirkwood who had written to him in 1848 (see part 7). I presume that Patrick Byrne owned this wood block, and had commissioned it from Harry Kirkwood; It is an interesting question as to when it might have been done for him. It is also worth wondering why it was not used more; perhaps there were technical reasons why the Newry Telegraph would prefer to use their own “Winged Maiden” woodblock rather than Byrne’s rather nice one. Finally, we can note that the engraving shows the left “off” side of the harp, with the bridge pins visible, rather than the right “display” side that the audience would usually see, and which is the side shown in the portraits.
The concert was held on Mon 9 Jul 1849 in “the hall of the Literary Society, Dungannon”. I have been trying to track down some information about this Society. It was formed in 1847 (Tyrone Constitution, Fri 7 Mar 1890 p3). We can track the Society through the street directories; The 1861 and 1868 street directories say “There is a literary society in a flourishing condition, with a library and museum”, and lists the Gentlemen of the management committee, but does not tell us where it was. I checked the Griffith Valuation, from 1860. It lists “Literary Society (Wm. Davis, Sec.)” at 2, Thomas Street. The premises are described as “Library and Yard”, and are held from the Earl of Ranfurly, with a rateable value of £18. The Literary Society is still listed in the directories in 1877, 1880, and 1890. The Tyrone Constitution, Fri 7 Mar 1890 p3 describes “the Society House, a spacious and substantial building in Thomas street, which contains library, museum, and furniture.” By this date the society was almost defunct, and the article describes an attempt to revive it and keep it going. The Society is still listed in 1894, but it is not in the 1901 directory, and may have been wound up by then.
We can see on the 1834 OS map, that Thomas Street had not yet been laid out by that date, but it is clearly shown on the 1839-40 map, but with only a couple of buildings along it, behind Market Square. Griffiths only lists three premises on Thomas Street, one of them a garden. The Griffiths map shows what looks like a small building on the north-east side of Thomas Street (where the masonic hall is now), and a larger building on the south-west side. According to Fred Wilson (The History of the Assembly of Christians in Dungannon), “the Dungannon Assembly … moved into a room in the Society Rooms (now the Masonic Hall) in Thomas Street. Around 1897, the Society Rooms becomes the Masonic Hall and the Assembly moved to the building next door (the old Primitive Methodist Church)”. The Masonic Hall is still there; I am not finding any information about whether this is the same building that the Society occupied in 1849, or if it had been demolished and rebuilt in the interim. But I think at this stage we can tentatively suggest that the Masonic Hall is the old Dungannon Literary Society rooms where Patrick Byrne performed.
I went to the National Library and looked at The Sixth Report of the Dungannon Society for promoting Science, Literature and the Arts (1853). The report was done in Feb 1853, covering the previous year’s activities, and so it gives a nice picture of the Society’s activities in 1852, three years after Byrne was performing there. It describes a course of lectures in zoology by Professor Allman from the University of Dublin in the spring or early summer of 1852 (p7), and lectures in electricity by Dr Barker of the Royal Dublin Society in the autumn (p8-9). Then there is a list of donations to the Society, including books, and specimens (p10). There is an interesting list of the newspapers and periodicals which the Society subscribed to, for its reading-room: The Quarterly Review, The New Quarterly Review, TheDublin University Magazine, TheLondon Art Journal, TheLondon Athanaeum, Chambers’s Journal, The Mechanic’s Magazine, The Gardner’s Chronicle, as well as The Times, The Dublin Daily Express, Saunders’s Dublin Advertiser, The Tyrone Constitution, The London Illustrated News, and The Northern Whig (p11). I think this selection would have a particular political slant suitable for this Society, but it also shows us how the newspapers would be disseminated, with the Gentlemen of Dungannon having regular access to news and events from London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast. The report concludes with a brief description of the Society’s Library, Reading room, and the start of its Museum (p11-12), and is signed off by the Chairman at “The Society’s House”. On p15 is the accounts for 1852, which includes a line “Novr. 1. … Building Co., 1 year’s rent to this date, … [£]26 2 10”. So presumably the “Building Co.” was the landlord of the “Society’s House”. The V&A has a copy of the Ninth Report (1856), though I have not seen this. I am not finding any of the other reports; it would be nice to try and track down the Third Report (1850) which I imagine might mention Patrick Byrne’s concert.
Anyway, two days after the concert, John Bell (c.1793-1861) wrote an enthusiastic review for the newspaper:
THE IRISH HARP. – Our friend, Mr. Bell, the antiquarian, writing to us from Dungannon, the 11th inst., says: – “On the evening of Monday, the 9th inst., we had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Byrne the Irish Harper. He performed in the hall of the Literary Society to a full house, and the audience was of the most respectable class. I have seldom enjoyed so delightful an evening. Who would not feel charmed with the melody of Conollan’s compositions, or the sprightly originality of Carolan’s planxties! If we had existed for a time amidst the ancient forests of our ancestors, previous to the coming of St. Patrick, and been striken with the enchantment of Druidic Bards, our measure of delight could not have been more full. We were in imagination transported to the halls of our ancient princes, to fields of high emprise, and felt as if conversing with the ghosts of heroes. Mr. Byrne is certainly a superlative performer, and has a complete command over his instrument. In this evening’s rich entertainment we had all that Ireland could wish to enjoy in her happiest times. I truly compassionate those who may not feel the stirrings of patriotism, on hearing such a master as Byrne on the Irish Harp.”
Newry Telegraph Sat 14 Jul 1849 p3
I think this tells us a lot more about John Bell’s imagination and antiquarian learning than it does about Patrick Byrne’s music and traditions.
Traditionary information from John Bell’s notebook
Probably the reason it took John Bell two days before writing to the newspaper, is because he seems to have spent some time on the Monday and Tuesday with Patrick Byrne. John Bell was an antiquarian and a collector; he loved finding out information about ancient Irish stuff, and he liked getting hold of old artefacts to add to his bulging collection. He wrote down jottings of information in a little notebook, which is now preserved in Glasgow University Library (MS Farmer 332). The handbill for the concert is attached into this notebook, and there are also some scattered pages which have jottings about Patrick Byrne, or recording information that Byrne has told him. The information was published by H.G. Farmer, ‘Some Notes on the Irish Harp’, Music & Letters vol XXIV, April 1943, but some of Farmer’s transcriptions of the jottings are not very accurate and he misunderstands some of the information. A later study of Bell mentions the meeting with Patrick Byrne, summarising the contents of the notes and referencing Farmer’s article (R. G. Haworth, ‘John Bell of Dungannon 1793-1861 Part II’, in Ulster Local Studies vol.8 no.1, winter 1982 p14). Keith Sanger independently discovered the information in John Bell’s notebook and published a transcription and commentary in Folk Harp Journal no.53, June 1986. And more recently, Brendan McAnallen transcribed the information in his article ‘John Bell (1793-1861) Dungannon Antiquarian’ in Dúiche Néill vol 23, 2016.
In 1846, John Bell was professor of drawing at the Royal School in Dungannon (Slater’s 1846 directory). According to Haworth (‘John Bell… Part I’, Ulster Local Studies vol.7 no.1, winter 1981 p2), John Bell is listed in Slater’s 1856 Directory at 48 Perry Street, and by that time someone else had replaced him as professor of drawing at the Royal. I don’t know whether Bell was at 48 Perry Street in 1849. I don’t know if Byrne would have gone to Bell’s residence for the interviews, or if they would have met both days in the Society House. Perhaps this is less likely since John Bell’s name is not listed in the list of officers and members of the Society for 1852 (Sixth Report, 1853, p13-14). I suppose he could have been a member in 1849, and left the Society for some reason in the next couple of years. I also wonder if Bell may have had rooms in the school premises while he was on the staff there. Anyway, the house at no.48 is long gone and replaced by a modern building.
There are a number of pages in the notebook which contain information connected to Patrick Byrne. Apparently on the day of the concert itself, Mon 9 Jul 1849, John Bell wrote down the technical specs of Patrick Byrne’s stringing, and information about other harpers. f1v and f2r of the notebook are facing pages, and this opening has a load of different information jotted on to it. One of the pieces of the information is dated “9th July 1849”, so we have to guess what is part of that day’s notes and what was added earlier or later.
At the top of both facing pages is other information, probably added some earlier time. At the top of f1v is information about the ancient tribes of prehistoric Ireland; on the top of f2r is information about a small lake in County Tyrone. A line has been drawn under the lake information and then on the main parts of both pages is the harp information. On f1v (the left page) is information about string gauges. The spelling is woeful:
From Mr. Byrne, the last travilling minster \ to be got in Flower the wire drawers Church St Dublin. Longest wire \ 5 wires of this 3 wires of the next size 6 of the next [6][7] of the next say 7 5 [6] of the next say 5 [7][8] of the next say 8 ____ 34 in all
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
You can see that the numbers have been overwritten or struck through, and the amended figures added to confirm the emended reading, for the three thinnest gauges. I think the heading should say “travelling minstrel”. We also have a mismatch because we can see 38 tuning pins on photos of Patrick Byrne’s harp. Armstrong reckoned that Byrne did not have strings fitted to the highest positions of his harp, though he claims to see 37 pins and 32 strings (1904, first supplemental page after p136). This string list that John Bell wrote down is what I have been using as the basis of stringing and setting up new reproductions of the 1820s Egan wire-strung harps; see my stringcharts page for more on this. The header and the list are kind of side by side with a wiggly vertical line separating them; I have tried to indicate this with the slashes; I am pretty sure we should not be reading “Longest wire to be got in Flower…” However we can try to unpick this interesting statement, that all of the gauges of wire required to string the harp, are “to be got in Flower the wire drawers Church St Dublin”.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, pins were usually mass-produced from brass wire, and part of the pin-making process was drawing the wire down to the different gauges needed for the different sized pins. (Nigel Cox, ‘Gloucester Folk Museum and the mechanisation of the pin industry’, Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology Journal 2005). Although pin-making was Mark Flower’s main business, since the pins were made from brass wire, it would make sense for him to also sell the wire in reels to retail customers at his shop. We have another earlier reference to harp wire being sourced from a pin-maker or pin-seller; in the mid to late 18th century in the West of Scotland, William McMurchy wrote in his notebook, “Widow Black who keeps a pinnery in Frances street sells all kinds of harp wire” (Keith Sanger & Alison Kinnaird, Tree of strings – Crann nan teud, Kinmor 1992, p167-8).
I tried to find more information about Mark Flower and his business. He would have been born in about 1783 if we believe his age at death. The earliest mention I have so far about him is a court case from 1825, where he prosecuted three revenue officers who assaulted him when they came into his house in Church Street to inspect some of his stock of paper (which would be used for packaging the pins for sale). The report of the trial says that Mark Flower’s business is “of eighty years standing” which implies it was started in the 1740s, perhaps by his grandfather or something like that. (Drogheda Journal, or Meath & Louth Advertiser, Wed 25 May 1825 p1). It seems that Mark Flower went bust in 1853 (Bankrupt & Insolvent Calendar, Mon 22 August 1853 p2), and Silver Acres mill was advertised to let (General Advertiser for Dublin and all Ireland Sat 7 May 1853 p4). Mark Flower was a member of the vestry of St Michan’s Church of Ireland, just 150m along the road from the house (Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent Tue 6 Jul 1830 p1); his only daughter, Anna, was married there on 21 Feb 1846. Mark Flower died on 2 Sep 1871, aged 88.
Silveracres Mill is labelled “pin factory” on the 1837 OS map; it was powered by water-wheels fed from a large mill pond to the east of the mill buildings. The mill was said to employ “from three to four hundred persons”, and to use “from 50 to 60 tons of brass wire annually” in the manufacture of pins (Freemans Journal Sat 17 Nov 1832 p3). Of course, as was usual at the time, children were employed to work the mill as well as women and men. The site is marked “flour mill” on the 1907-9 OS map; the mill was demolished after the 1930s according to South Dublin Libraries, but the mill owner’s house is still there. His house and shop on Church Street, where presumably Patrick Byrne used to go to buy reels of wire, was demolished after the 1940s; now there is modern housing there.
Anyway enough about Mark Flower, we probably know more about him now than Patrick Byrne ever did. Byrne only went into Flower’s shop to buy reels of wire! We’ll talk more about that later in this post.
In the wide margin to the right of the list of gauges, is a fragment of information:
Carolan is still travelling he & Byrne are now the only travelling harpers 9th July 1849.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
Patrick Carolan was a student of Arthur O’Neil, and may have been a classmate of Patrick Byrne in the early 1810s. We have a reference to him performing alongside his teacher, Arthur O’Neil, in 1816, and then a whole series of notices of him playing at variety shows in Dublin pubs in the 1830s. For more on this see my write-up of Patrick Carolan.
I find this comment from Byrne interesting for two main reasons. One is that it shows his awareness of the activities of his contemporaries, other traditional harpers working through the mid 19th century. The second reason is that we can check my timeline to see that there were at least 20 other traditional harpers at this time. Perhaps Byrne would not think of them as “travelling”; perhaps in Byrne’s mind there was something superior about “travelling” (from one big house to another) rather than having a permanent job, such as FitzPatrick working every evening at the Ship Tavern in Dublin, or Alex Jackson living in a terraced house in Belfast with a wife and family doing local events. Or perhaps Byrne did not know about what some of the others were up to at this point. Or perhaps this comment was in answer to a specific question from John Bell, who got the wrong end of the stick from Byrne’s response. There may be a connection here with the paraphrased Chamber’s quote, where it talks about the 18th century harpers as “a body of men, generally blind, often of good families and respectable acquirements, who travelled about the country, receiving, and giving entertainment in the houses of persons of condition”, and continues straight on to state that “Mr. PATRICK BYRNE is a worthy representative of the fraternity”. We can see this as Byrne making a bold (and almost certainly exaggerated) claim to be almost-uniquely continuing the old tradition of “travelling”; and so perhaps Bell was quizzing him about this and that’s why he also mentioned Patrick Carolan.
Underneath the stringing information is a little bit of info about traditional (18th century) Irish harpmaking lore:
Sally ie red sally for the trunk The fore fore pillar of the old Harps were many of them of Oak & richly carved,
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
I don’t know if this is information from Patrick Byrne, or if John Bell was also asking other people for information at the same time. This information was not current; Patrick Byrne’s harp did not have a soundbox of willow (sally), nor did it have a richly carved oak forepillar. But this information could be from an antiquarian text about the medieval Brian Boru harp, perhaps in the Literary Society’s library. Or Byrne could be repeating traditional lore he had heard from his old teacher Arthur O’Neill.
Next comes a fragment of information about Byrne:
Mr Byrne is a protestant he is a native Farney in the near Carrickmacr-<oss> Co Monaghan, Mr B Mr Sharley has
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
It looks like Byrne was chatting about Evelyn Shirley at Lough Fea but for some reason John Bell didn’t write down the information.
Next comes information about old harps. I think John Bell would be interested in finding information about surviving old harps, because he was a very acquisitive collector. He starts with the harp of Dennis Hampson, at Downhill house:
There is Hempstens harp it is <now> in the posession of Sir Harvey Bruce.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
Then he goes on about a harp that Byrne “is to get for” him – presumably Bell had asked Byrne if it he knew any “ancient” harps available to buy, and Byrne told him about this one that he reckoned he could get hold of:
Rainies Harp was made by James McBride <a wheelwright> near Omagh, <so> it is not an ancient harp, it is the one that Mr. Byrne is to get for me. it was the harp played upon Rainy played upon before Georg the 4th.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v
I already discussed this harp in my write up of Valentine Rennie. He had been Byrne’s 3rd and last harp teacher, and had signed Byrne’s certificate in 1822 (see part 1). Rennie had died in 1837 so I don’t know who would have owned this harp in 1849. Byrne reckoned he could get hold of it for John Bell, but I don’t think Bell ever did take possession of it and I have no further information about it. The maker, James McBride, is elsewhere said to have been the father of Edward McBride, who was Patrick Byrne’s second harp teacher.
Next, is more information about another old harp, which was destroyed probably in the late 1830s. This information is at the bottom of the left page (f1v) and continues across on the bottom of the right page (f2r):
O N Arthur O Neills <Harp> was burned <by> Samuel Patrick (a bad harper) in the Harp Society house that harp afterwards belonged to Rainy the harper [f2r] Patrick & others had taken umbrage at Rainies wife, it was burned as a bone fire because Rainies wife had gone out of the house. the brass pins were sold pickd out of Rainies harp & O Neils and <they> sold them for drink.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f1v-2r
I discussed this destroyed harp in my write up of Valentine Rennie, and also in my write up of the arsonist, Samuel Patrick. I think this must be a story told to John Bell by Patrick Byrne, as part of John Bell questioning Byrne about the availability of ancient harps to add to his collection.
There may have been confusion about the harp belonging to Rennie that was destroyed, and the harp belonging to Rennie that Byrne said he could get hold of:
Guinness the porter brewer ??? Frazer. The Harp Mr Byren will [????] to get for me was Rainies Harp. It & the Harp on which he played before George the 4th.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f2r
Into the middle part of the right hand page (f2r), below the information about the lake in County Tyrone, and above the information transcribed above, and separated from both the top and bottom text by horizontal full-width lines, John Bell has written another tranche of information. I do not know if this comes from Patrick Byrne or not. It could be traditionary information from someone else on another day. We may as well look at it here:
– Victory of the Co Meath was a great harper in his day he was of the Co Meath & his harp was the largest of his day. he was an older man and a better performer than Arthur O Neal yet a contemporary. Charles McCabe was a Cate Martin a woman <a native of> Co Cavan near Virginia was an older person than Arthur O Neal & played better than ever he did. [Of Her] Dennis Hempson Charles Fanning took premiums at Grannard as a harper.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f2r
If we think this might be information from Patrick Byrne based on the conversation on Mon 9 Jul 1849, then we have to think how Byrne may have got this information. I think all of these people would have been dead by the time Byrne was learning to be a harper (c.1810 onwards); so presumably this is all traditional lore that Byrne was told by his first teacher, Arthur O’Neill. I have written up Dennis Hampson, Kate Martin and Charles Fanning. Alexander Vectory of Meath is included in a list of “Second rate Players on the Harp alive in 1779” (John Lorne Campbell, ‘An Account of Some Irish Harpers as Given By Echlin O’Kean, Harper, Anno 1779’, Éigse, vol. 6, 1948-52).
Finally on the right page is a snippet of information about an antique harp that John Bell already owned, about its provenance from Joseph Kelly of Barleyfield via Peter Collins. I suppose it is possible that Patrick Byrne knew this harp and gave John Bell this info, but it seems more likely that this sentence is unrelated to the Byrne information.
The next day
On Tuesday 10 July 1849, John Bell write down some more information from Patrick Byrne. Perhaps Byrne had stayed with Bell, or perhaps Bell booked a meeting with Patrick Byrne for the Tuesday daytime to follow up on some of his questions about the harp tradition. There is a page of information later on in the notebook that is dated to the Tuesday; it has very interesting information about the method of tuning the harp.
G, on the violin, you tune the 5th to G which is D. then you tune the octave below to that D, then you tune the 5th. to the low D, which is A. then you tune the fifth above A which is E. then tune the octave to that E below. then you tune the 5th to E above which is B natural. then you tune the 5th to B. natural which is F sharp. then you tune the octave to F sharp below, then you sound the G on the violin & B & D, and and the octave above which is G and which makes a common chord, then you tune all the instrument up & down by octaves. The above is ancient way of tuning the Irish Harp. from Mr Byrne the Irish Harper, 10 July 1849.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f41v
Its my opinion that this description is not Patrick Byrne dictating the method for John Bell to write down, but John Bell watching Patrick Byrne actually doing it and trying to paraphrase what he is seeing and hearing. There are two things that make me think this. The first is that there is an obvious omission in the method – the note C is never tuned in this sequence. The first part of this description exactly matches the method written down by Edward Bunting from an unknown harper in the 1790s (possibly from Arthur O’Neill), as far as tuning the f sharps. But then John Bell misses the part where the C is tuned.
Then the next thing that John Bell writes is “then you sound the G on the violin & B & D, and and the octave above which is G and which makes a common chord”. I do not understand this, I don’t know what Patrick Byrne is doing to make Bell write this down. Sounding these notes does not have any function in tuning the harp – Bell does not say that Byrne is “tuning” these notes only that he “sounds” them. I wonder if this is some kind of flourish, or a fragment of a prelude, or a set-up, or something else that Bell is misunderstanding or mis-placing.
Two pages later, after information about urn burials, there is a couple of lines of information about the meaning of the word “planxty” and about James McBride who made the harp. I don’t know if this info is from Byrne or not (f42v). It could be from a different informant or source; a few pages later (f56v) is information about the harper Pat Murney, which is dated 27 Aug 1849. By that date, Byrne was already away in Edinburgh, so I think it very unlikely that he told Bell this information about Murney. I think we cannot assume that all of the harp information in the notebook comes from Patrick Byrne.
An undated page of notes
There is one more page in John Bell’s notebook which contains information from Patrick Byrne. It is not dated, so it does not necessarily come from this meeting on 9th or 10th July 1849; it is possible that John Bell met Byrne again at some later date and wrote this information down then. But since we don’t know when or where that might have been, we may as well look at this information here.
from Mr. Patrick Byrne The open on the bass string on the violin is one of the sisters on the harp The next note <string | or what should be might be the next note> lower on the harp is the other sister, these two notes were The next string belown on the harp and it, were tuned in unison, for which reason they were called the sisters. These two unison notes are sometimes called the and in ancient times were called Ne Cawlee – or the companions. Afterwards they were called the Sisters. Ne Cawlee. The harp is tuned <by> the Sister note, so the open on the bass on the fiddle is the note by which the harp is tuned It is then tuned The Harp is then tuned in 3ds. 5ths. 4ths & octaves on the principle of the piano forte. So when you eight s <get> seven strings tuned the rest are tuned in octaves.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f89v
Again I think we cannot take this as dictation from Patrick Byrne, but we should understand it as John Bell struggling to understand and articulate what he is seeing and hearing. He crosses out and edits the passage explaining na comhluighe more than once; I used to rely on Farmer’s transcription and mis-understood this as being Byrne’s purely theoretical not practical explanation, but it seems clear from looking at the manuscript that Byrne must have been showing the two unison tenor G strings, and telling Bell what they were called, and Bell trying rather unsuccessfully to write down an explanation of their use.
The text on this page continues:
One McKane an old Harper went over to the Highlands & in the house of one of the chieftains he kikt up a disturbance the chief had the nails of his fingers cut off & sent had him shipt for Ireland. after giving him a sufficiency of highland whisky.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f89v
Patrick Byrne’s old teacher Arthur O’Neil mentions Echlin O’Kane in his Memoirs, but not this story. This story about Echlin O’Kane may well have been told by Byrne, and he may well have learned it from his old teacher Arthur O’Neil. We have the story of Echlin O’Kane being punished by cutting his fingernails short, from John Gunn, An Historical Enquiry respecting the Performance on the Harp in the Highlands, &c, 1807, p.19. But Gunn calls him “O’Kane”, and does not mention the gift of whisky; it is not clear to me whether Bell is here paraphrasing from Gunn’s book, or if Patrick Byrne also knew a version of the story. Arthur O’Neill mentions “Ackland Keane” in his Memoirs but does not tell this nail-cutting story.
At the bottom of his page is a whole load of information a bit messily written, which appears to derive from John Bell’s conversations with Patrick Byrne.
Edward McBride from Omagh was teacher in the Harp school in Belfast & taught Mr Byrne McBride Edward McBride } Vallentine Rainnie & } James Mc.Mannigal } were the three who played before George the 4th in Dublin. ———- Rainney <then> played on the old harp I expect to get as Mr Byrne could depose of oath.
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f89v
This information is clearly related to John Bell hoping to acquire the old harp, which Byrne said he could get for Bell. This harp was mentioned above; it was supposed to have been made by Edward McBride’s father, James McBride, the wheelwright near Omagh. The harp was said to have been played by Valentine Rennie when George IV was in Dublin on 23 or 24 August 1821. I discussed these two Royal performances in my posts on Rennie, Edward McBride, James McMonagal and John McLoughlin, who are all four named on the programme for the banquet on 23rd. It is curious that this information only names three of them.
This information is also interesting in naming Edward McBride as Patrick Byrne’s harp teacher, which would have been from the beginning of 1820 to the end of 1821 (see part 1). We have already seen how McBride’s name is often airbrushed out of the story, and we are told that Valentine Rennie was the successor to Arthur O’Neil at the harp school in Belfast.
At the bottom of this same page we have a bit more technical information, squeezed in below and beside the information about the Royal performance.
½ lib each of the 3 first numbers of brass wire ¼ lib of next which will string the tennor then there are 2 oz of course & 2 oz of fine treble wire. this constitutes the whole wire
Glasgow University Library MS Farmer 332 f89v
This is a strange and enigmatic piece of information. It looks like this is a rule of thumb for how much wire to buy to string a harp from nothing. But we don’t usually string a harp from nothing, unless we are a harpmaker or a harp technician refurbishing a derelict harp. Normally we only need to carry enough spare in case a string breaks. So we can wonder what the purpose of this information is.
Also, John Bell does not say that this is Patrick Byrne’s information, but it matches the same number of gauges he uses (six). So we could try and calculate how much wire these instructions give.
Unfortunately, Patrick Byrne’s system (see above) does not tell us what actual gauges of wire he used. We have the lengths of the strings on his harp (measured by Ann and Charlie Heymann) and other Egan wire-strung harps, and they all have similar string lengths to with a few percent. I collated a few different sets of measurements back in 2017, and since then I have also written up a few more 19th century harp setups, in my posts on Patrick Murney and Paul Smith, and I have also done a detailed study of the Egan harp made for the Belfast harp school.
Using Byrne’s count of the different gauges (from f1v of John Bell’s notebook), and the lengths of the strings on an Egan wire-strung harp, we can calculate the amount of wire that is actually mounted on the harp, allowing 16cm for the windings on each string:
wire on harp
highest 8
next 5
next 7
next 6
next 3
lowest 5
length (m)
2.3
2.0
4.0
5.6
3.7
7.2
Obviously if the gauge is heavier, then the same length will weigh more. But we can use my suggested gauges from my working string chart, to calculate the weight of wire actually mounted on the harp:
wire on harp
highest 8
next 5
next 7
next 6
next 3
lowest 5
length (m)
2.3
2.0
4.0
5.6
3.7
7.2
gauge (mm)
0.44
0.48
0.6
0.7
0.8
1.0
weight (g)
2.9
3.0
9.6
18
16
47
weight (oz)
0.10
0.11
0.34
0.63
0.55
1.7
Compare these weights with what is in the notebook, and the length of wire each amount would give using my suggested working gauges:
wire in notebook
fine treble wire
coarse treble wire
tennor
3rd
2nd
1st
weight (oz)
2
2
4
8
8
8
weight (g)
57
57
110
230
230
230
calculated length (m)
44
37
47
70
53
34
We can instantly see that there seems to be far too much wire being specified. We have 5 times as much of the thickest as we need, and 19 times as much of the thinnest.
Even if my gauges are on the thin side (and I don’t really think they are), using gauges that were 40% thicker would only double the weight of the wire required, and would put a lot more stress on the harp, and we would still have a lot more than we needed.
5om and 100m reels of Rose wire
I don’t think this information is saying how much wire you need to get to string one harp. I think perhaps these are standard ready-made off-the-shelf reels of wire that you could get from Mark Flower. I get my wire from Leonie Richter Rose in England; she sells reels of 50m or 100m length. I suppose nowadays it is easy enough to set up the machinery to measure the wire by length, but in the old days wire was not sold by actual measured diameter; it was sold by gauge number (as we see in the information above), which only approximately corresponded to specific measured diameter, and could vary from one manufacturer to another. I think it would have been the norm to sell the wire not by length, but by weight; and so perhaps Patrick Byrne memorised these numbers (gauge and weight) for the reels he would buy when he was in Dublin and running short of wire.
Moving on from Dungannon
After playing the concert in Dungannon on 9th July 1849, and staying a day or two with John Bell, we have a gap of three weeks without any references to Byrne’s movements. We next find him in Dublin towards the end of July, ready for the Royal visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to Ireland. But we can wait and discuss that in the next part.
Thanks to the University of Glasgow Archives & Special Collections for providing me with high-quality photographs of pages from John Bell’s notebook, and for giving me permission to reproduce the concert poster here.
2 thoughts on “Patrick Byrne part 8: Christmas 1848 to July 1849”
Simon, I’m amazed at your prolific output. It is much appreciated.
Keep up the great work!
In the news today, that the council has approved permission to redevelop the Sean Hollywood Arts Centre in Newry, which includes permission to demolish the facade of the old savings bank building (reconstructed in the 1980s), where Patrick Byrne’s concerts in May 1849 were held.
Simon, I’m amazed at your prolific output. It is much appreciated.
Keep up the great work!
In the news today, that the council has approved permission to redevelop the Sean Hollywood Arts Centre in Newry, which includes permission to demolish the facade of the old savings bank building (reconstructed in the 1980s), where Patrick Byrne’s concerts in May 1849 were held.
Here’s the story on Newry.ie
image © Eric Jones CC-BY-SA