Patrick Byrne part 11: England and Ulster in 1851

Header photo: Calotype E (detail). Heritage Collections, University of Edinburgh, Coll-1073, CC-BY

This post follows the traditional Irish harper Patrick Byrne on his travels over the course of 1851. Patrick Byrne was in Warwickshire and Staffordshire for the first three months of the year; then he returned to Ireland, where he spent May and June around County Cavan; he spent the summer working in the fashionable seaside resorts of south County Down, and then he spent the autumn back in County Monaghan working for aristocratic patrons at their enormous country houses. We will work through the sources to try and reconstruct his itinerary and see the places that he was visiting.

As usual, you can read about his life and work up to this point, in my previous posts about him:
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.
Part 8 covers Byrne’s trip to the south of England over Christmas 1848, where he played events in Hampshire and Wiltshire; and then the first half of 1849, when he went to Staffordshire and then came back to Ireland and met the antiquarian John Bell in Dungannon.
Part 9 covers his pursuit of Queen Victoria from Dublin to Balmoral in the summer of 1849.
Part 10 follows him from the end of 1849 through to the end of 1850, in the Scottish borders and touring Ulster.

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At the end of part 10, we left Patrick Byrne in Omagh, on 13 Dec 1850. I don’t know where he spent Christmas 1850, but early in 1851 he was over in England.

John Scully found an article in the Leamington Spa Courier (Sat 1 Mar 1851 p2) which details Byrne’s movements at the beginning of 1851. The article says that Byrne had “recently been on a visit to EARL FERRERS, at Chartley Castle”. I suppose it is possible he may have spent Christmas at Chartley Hall, Earl Ferrers’s moated manor house beside the ruined castle; or he could have been there in January, or just at the beginning of February.

The article also says that “a day or two before his arrival at the Spa, he was stopping at the hospitable mansion of E. J. SHIRLEY, Esq., at Eatington, – one of his earliest and best benefactors and friends”. Presumably Patrick Byrne was at Eatington Park in mid to late February; but we are not told how long he stayed there.

We are also not told when he arrived in Leamington Spa; just that he was already there by 1st March 1851. The newspaper says that Byrne “is now sojorning amongst us”; and we are told that “He has already performed at several private parties, and given specimens of the unrivalled power which he possesses over the primeval instrument which once in Tara’s halls…” So it sounds like he had been in Leamington Spa a few days at least.

The article in the Leamington Spa Courier (Sat 1 Mar 1851 p2) continues, “we have heard it suggested that MR. BYRNE should give a public entertainment…” However, I am not finding any record of a public concert in Leamington Spa.

It is notable to compare his visit to Leamington Spa in 1851, doing high status private events, to when he was working in the hotels twenty years earlier (see part 2).

Patrick Byrne was back in Staffordshire later in March, again staying at Chartley Hall. He played a concert at the Lyceum on Thursday 27th March 1851:

STAFFORD MECHANIC’S INSTITUTION. – The members and friends of this institution were very agreeably entertained at the Lyceum, on Thursday evening last, by Mr. Patrick Byrne, the blind Irish harper. Mr. Byrne is not unknown in this neighbourhood; and we have before had an opportunity of speaking in justly deserved terms of praise of his merits. On Thursday last he fully maintained his reputation; and made the simple instrument on which he plays “discourse most eloquent music.” We were glad to see Mr. Byrne in good health and spirits. He has been on a visit to his kind patron and benefactor, the Right Hon. Earl Ferrers.

Staffordshire Advertiser, Sat 29 Mar 1851 p4, via John Scully p77

Byrne had performed here in the Lyceum a couple of years previously, on Friday 2 March 1849 (see part 8).

Presumably Byrne was staying at Chartley before he went to Stafford to play this concert on Thursday 27th March, and then he returned to Chartley after the concert.

The census, Sun 30 Mar 1851

John Scully includes some details from the census in his book, Ah! How d’you do! sir! (Carrickmacross 2024 p77). But it is worth digging a little deeper into the census return because this is a fascinating insight into Patrick Byrne staying at the house of one of his patrons.

The census of England recorded, for each house, the names and details of all the people who stayed overnight at that house on the night of Sun 30 Mar 1851. Patrick Byrne was staying at Chartley Hall that night, and so we can find him listed on the census return. I discussed how the census operated in some detail in my post Irish harpers in the census records. I pointed out there how rare it was to find a traditional Irish harper, because most of them were in Ireland on the census nights, and the Irish census return information is almost entirely destroyed. But the English records are pretty complete. For the 1851 census, we don’t have the original household returns, but the information from each house was copied complete into big bound enumerators’ books, and that is what we have here.

The return from Chartley Castle is so big that it runs over two pages in the book. There are twenty people listed as staying at Chartley Castle (i.e. Chartley Hall, the manor house built beside the ruins of the actual medieval castle).

The printed headers for the different columns are “Name and surname of each person who abode in the house, on the night of the 30th March, 1851”; “Relation to head of family”; “Condition” (i.e. marital status); “Age” (in two columns, for males and females); “Rank, profession, or occupation”; “Where born”, and “Whether blind, or deaf-and-dumb”.

Patrick Byrne is seventh on the list. His entry reads
“Patrick Byrne | Harper | U | 51 [m] | Irish Harper | Irland | Blind”.

I find it interesting that “harper” is given as his relationship to the head of family, as well as his profession. “U” is for “unmarried”. His age is put in the “Males” column.

His age is a slight problem; this age of 51 at the end of March 1851 would make him born in 1799-1800, which is younger than any of the other records I discussed in part 1. There are interesting questions about who filled in the form; presumably one of Ferrers’s senior servants, and they may have guessed Byrne’s age or got it slightly wrong.

The other thing that is very interesting about the entire return is the order of the people. I think there is a kind of hierarchy of status within the household. What I think we can see here is that after the aristocratic family, of the Earl and Countess Ferrers and their two infant children, there is the hierarchy of servants. First comes Thomas Leadbetter the butler; second comes Thomas Hewlett the Valet; and then Patrick Byrne is the next in seniority. After that comes Jane Smith the housekeeper, and then there are the other servants: a Head nurse, Under nurse, Cook, Upper Housemaid, Under Housemaid, Kitchen Maid, Stillroom maid, Footman, Under butler, Coachman, Groom, and last of all an 11-year-old Usher. This fits with what we know from elsewhere, about Byrne being treated not as a house guest but as a senior servant.

There is a lot more interesting information about the running of the household that could be extracted from this census return but that will do for now.

I don’t have any information at all for what Patrick Byrne was doing in April. At some point he travelled back to Ireland.

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Around County Cavan, May 1851

In May 1851, Patrick Byrne played two concerts in County Cavan. The first was, I think, on 16th May, in Bailieborough Court House.

PATRICK BYRNE, THE IRISH HARPER. – Our old acquaintance, performed on Friday week to a large and respectable audience in the court-house of Bailieborough. Large numbers of the gentry, merchants and others, of the town and surrounding country were present, all of whom, by frequent plaudits, expressed their delighted approval of Mr Byrne’s very pleasing entertainment…

Anglo-Celt Thu 22 May 1851 p2 Byrne, via John Scully p77-78

The court house has recently been renovated as a community events space.

And then on Monday 19th, Patrick Byrne was in Virginia, though we are not told the venue.

… On Monday evening last he performed in Virginia with great success.

Anglo-Celt Thu 22 May 1851 p2 Byrne, via John Scully p77-78

Patrick Byrne continued on to Cavan town, and performed at the Globe Hotel on Fri 30 May 1851:

ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC. – We were glad to hear yesterday of the arrival in Cavan, of Patrick Byrne the celebrated Irish harper. The old man and his famous instrument look as well as ever they did. We understand he is to give a public entertainment on tomorrow (Friday) evening in the Globe Hotel which we have no doubt will be well attended – indeed all of our neighbours who love to hear the harp touched by a master-hand should strive and be present on the occasion. Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal of Sept. 19, 1840, in referring to Mr Byrne said: – “The harp appears to have been the national […] delightful performer on his instrument.”

Anglo-Celt Thu 29 May 1851 p2, via irelandoldnews.com

This is the usual long quote adapted from Chambers’ which I discussed in part 8.

The Globe Hotel is listed in the 1852 street directory as being on Main Street, run by Jas. M‘Gauran. We can check the Griffith Valuation (1857) and we see “Reps. James M‘Gauran” holding plot 56 of “part of Main Street” in Townparks townland, comprising House, offices, yards and garden, held from Thomas Plunkett. This may be the hotel, but the plot numbers in Griffiths obviously do not match the street numbers of Main Street on the associated town plan. Later on, according to an article in The Anglo-Celt, Sun 9 May 2021, the premises were taken over by Bernard Brady who ran a spirit and grocery store, and then later became the Ulster Arms Hotel (I think in the early 1950s). The building was demolished at some point, and I think the site is now occupied by Dunnes Stores. I am not 100% certain of this though.

ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC. – Patrick Byrne, the celebrated Irish harper, is performing in Cavan. Mr. Patrick Byrne is one of the few blind Irish Harpers now remaining.

Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent Tue 3 Jun 1851 p5, reprinted in Leinster Express Sat 7 Jun 1851 p4

As usual we can check my timeline to see that there were about 20 traditional harpers alive in 1851; and in Belfast, Patrick Murney was teaching the next generation of harpers to play the traditional wire-strung Irish harp.

Anyway we have a review of the concert in the Globe Hotel, Cavan, on Fri 30 May 1851:

THE IRISH HARP. – Patrick Byrne, the distinguished Irish Harper, played on Friday night before a respectable audience in the large room of the Globe Hotel, Cavan. The audience appeared highly pleased with the performance. On Monday, Mr. Byrne w[e]nt to Bellamont Forest House, Cootehill, on the invitation of the hospitable proprietor, Richard Coote, J.P.

Anglo-Celt Thu 5 Jun 1851 p2, via irelandoldnews.com

I am sure Byrne had other private engagements in town, not noteworthy enough to get into the newspaper, but on Monday 2nd June he headed off to Bellamont House, to visit Richard Coote (1803-1852).

I don’t know how long Byrne might have stayed at Bellamont; a week seems a typical length of time. We next find him at Bailieborough, three weeks later on Tuesday 24th June 1851.

MASONIC. – The members of Bailieborough Masonic Lodge (No. 796) assembled in this lodge room on Tuesday evening, the 24th June, at six o’clock and dined. Very few members were absent, and the Lodge was visited by three or four brethren from other lodges. Among the number was the celebrated Irish Harper, Patrick Byrne, a member of the “Celtic Leith” Mason Lodge, Edenburgh. Some candidates were admitted and all spent a very pleasant evening up to 11 o’clock, Brother Byrne playing some favourite tunes, such as Burns’s Farewell, the Camels are coming, God save the Queen, &c. &c.

Anglo Celt Thu 26 Jun 1851 p2

Bailieborough Lodge 796 is still going; the present meeting house was only acquired in about 1880 so I don’t know where their “lodge room” was in 1851. It is interesting to see “Brother Byrne” taking part in a St John’s day meeting; we can wonder if he took it seriously or just did it for a professional fee.

The tune list here is kind of interesting. “Burns’s Farewell” is the tune of the Parting Glass, and tunearch suggests that other titles include the Freemason’s farewell, and Sweet Cootehill town. We should listen to the song, but I don’t know if Patrick Byrne was singing; the report sounds more like he was just playing the tune on the traditional wire-strung Irish harp.

“The Camels are coming” is an unfortunate misprint for The Campbells are coming. This is a nice recording made in 1899, just forty-eight years after Byrne played it on the traditional wire-strung Irish harp for the Bailieborough masons:

As for “God Save the Queen”, we can listen to an interesting classical guitar arrangement by Giuseppe Torrisi, who seems to have made a bit of a speciality of arranging national anthems:

That’s all I have from County Cavan at the moment. The following month we find him heading over to south county Down to some of his regular haunts there.

South County Down, July – August 1851

THE IRISH HARP. – The sojourners at our local watering-places, who have an ear for sweet sounds, will learn with pleasure that opportunity is now afforded them of hearing the harp of our country discourse most exquisite music. Mr. Byrne, the blind Irish harper, is at present, we understand, visiting Warrenpoint, Rostrevor, &c. We are confident he will everywhere experience a cordial welcome and that general patronage he so well merits.

Newry Telegraph Thu 24 Jul 1851 p3

He was presumably just visiting private patrons; but a week later, Byrne played a public concert in the Court House on Monday 28 Jul 1851. We have already seen Byrne performing at the Court House in Warrenpoint the previous year; I worked out in part 10 that I think this was on the site of the present town hall.

THE HARP OF IRELAND. – Byrne, the blind Irish harper, whose name is so long familiar to our readers, has been entertaining the townspeople and numerous visitors of Warrenpoint and Rostrevor, for the last few evenings, with the strains of this delightful and national instrument. He performed, on Monday evening, in the Court-house of Warrenpoint, before a large and very respectful assemblage; and, on Wednesday evening, he had the honor of presenting himself at Carrigbawn, the elegant residence of Ross of Bladensburg, and adding to the enjoyment of the assembled rank, and beauty, and fashion of that neighbourhood.

Newry Telegraph Thu 31 Jul 1851 p3

On Wed 30 July he was at a private party at Carrickbawn, on the edge of Rostrevor village. The house was built in the late 1830s, replacing an older house on the same site. Both the old house and the replacement were known as “Carrickbawn” at least as late as 1867, though the name had changed to “Rosstrevor House” by the time the 1904 OS map was drawn up (in 1901-2). Rostrevor house was offered for sale in 2017 and was bought by a local person in 2018. You can see from the satellite view that the modern extension was demolished in 2021-2, as part of restoring the house.

David Ross of Bladensburg JP (1804-66) was apparently a Greek scholar, who travelled in the eastern Mediterranean area collecting ancient inscriptions. His father was General Ross who had won the battle of Bladensburg in Maryland, and then advanced on Washington and burned the White House and the Capitol, after which he died, and his memorial stands just outside Rostrevor. And hence the General and his descendents being Ross “of Bladensburg” (see David Whitehead, ‘David Ross of Bladensburg: a nineteenth-century Ulsterman in the Mediterranean’ Hermathena 164, Summer 1998). David Ross of Bladensburg’s second wife was Lord Massareene’s sister, and so yet again we see connections between the women in the aristocratic families who were Byrne’s patrons. I am sure it would be useful to try and build a full diagram of the connections between all these women – wives, sisters, daughters etc. – but I am trying to ignore the patrons as much as I can, to concentrate on the harpers.

Whitehead (1998 p95) says that David Ross of Bladensburg purchased some land in Rostrevor after the death of his cousin David Robert Ross (1797-27 July 1851), and then guesses that this was when he acquired the house. However he contradicts this by a reference (p96) to David Ross of Bladensburg’s widowed mother Elizabeth Ross of Bladensburg living at Carrickbawn in 1831. Timothy Ferres says that Ross had inherited the house in 1845 on the death of his mother Elizabeth Catherine née Glassock, the widow of General Ross.

On Thursday 7th August 1851, Patrick Byrne played a concert in Kilkeel, further along the coast. We are not told the venue. He had previously performed in Kilkeel in August 1847, but again the venue was not stated.

THE IRISH HARP. – Mr. Byrne, the well-known Irish Harper, who has been staying at Rostrevor for the last month, has been delighting the sojourners at that fashionable watering-place, by affording them an opportunity of hearing our native music exquisitely played on our national instrument. On Thursday the 7th inst., he performed before a highly fashionable audience in Kilkeel, who evinced how capable they were of appreciating sweet sounds by the rapturous applause which his performance elicited. On Monday, the elite of Rostrevor enjoyed a similar treat, and the satisfaction expressed by them on the occasion, must have been highly gratifying to the “aged minstrel.” We understand that Mr. Byrne intends to visit Newcastle in the course of the ensuing week.

Newry Telegraph Thu 14 Aug 1851 p3

On Monday 11th August, Patrick Byrne was back in Rostrevor to play another concert, though we don’t know where the venue was. And then the following week, he headed back East along the coast to Newcastle.

NEWCASTLE. – MR. BYRNE, THE IRISH HARPER. – This old and favorite “minstrel” has been performing on the harp to large and fashionable parties at this romantic and delightful watering-place during the last week. On Monday evening, he had the honor of playing at Donard Lodge, to the Earl and Countess Annesley, and a distinguished party, who were highly pleased with the tones of the old harp, evoked by the masterly hand of the bard. On Thursday, he played at Lord Annesley’s mansion, at Castlewellan, to his Lordship and a large party of guests. It is most pleasing to find the nobility and gentry cherishing a love for the music of Ireland’s national instrument, and generously patronising one of the last of that race who sang the glories and misfortunes of our country in airs of imperishable beauty. On Friday evening, Mr. Byrne appeared before a fashionable audience, in the large room of the Infant-School, Newcastle, which was kindly granted to him for the occasion by Lady Annesley. His performance elicited repeated and very flattering tokens of applause. Every year, Newcastle seems to be becoming a greater favorite with visitors. This season, it has been filled to over-flowing by a succession of parties of the highest respectability.

Newry Telegraph Tue 26 Aug 1851 p3, via John Scully p79

The line about the nobility and gentry patronising the traditional harp, reminds us of how much of Byrne’s attraction was his playing up his ancientness and how he was “one of the last of that race”. We don’t see them loving the traditional wire-strung Irish harp enough to go and patronise Patrick Murney‘s harp school on Little Donegal Street, where the three boys, George Jackson and (I think) Tom Hardy and Roger Begley were learning to play. We can wonder whether Byrne was doing his tradition a favour by bringing it to people with money and influence; or if his framing of himself as “the last minstrel” was actively harming the chances of the next generations of traditional players?

There is a wider theme of the patronage going to the performers and not to the teachers and pupils and the teaching infrastructure. We saw Edward Bunting half a century previously, focussing his attention on the oldest and most archaic of the harpers alive then, and totally ignoring the young beginner and his teacher who were working to to take the tradition forward into the next generation. There is definitely something profitable about the marketing spin of being “almost unique”, and there is definitely a lack of wider interest in the dull slog of actually keeping an inherited tradition alive by passing it on to the next generation.

We can also wonder if there is a class thing at play in this case, since Patrick Byrne, despite his modest origins, had deliberately climbed the social ladder; he was often described as a modest and well-behaved man who could be trusted to behave himself appropriately in the houses of the upper classes; perhaps Hardy, Begley and the like were a bit too coarse and rough and lower-class to have any chance of this kind of patronage.

Anyway we can extract hard dates and venues from this last article. I assume it was Monday 18th August 1851 that Byrne was at Donard Lodge, which was a grand mansion house just inland from the old end of Newcastle (up the hillside behind St John’s Church of Ireland). The house burned in 1941 and was demolished in 1966.

The Countess of Annesley was Priscilla Cecilia née Moore (1808-1891). She was a widow, and the Earl of Annesley was her son, William Richard Annesley, 4th Earl Annesley (1830-74).

Two days later, Priscilla and William had moved on from Donard Lodge to Castlewellan, a few miles inland, and Patrick Byrne joined them on Thursday 21st August 1851, to play for another big house party. Castlewellan Castle had not yet been built at that time, and so they must have gone to Castlewellan Cottage. You can see Castlewellan Cottage marked on the old OS map; you can also see the site of it on the satellite view, between the castle and the lake. It was demolished in the late 1850s when the castle had been finished. You can see a good photograph of Castlewellan Cottage on Nicholas Kingsley’s “Landed Families” website.

The next day, Friday 22 Aug 1851, Patrick Byrne was back in Newcastle, to perform what looks like a public concert, in the infants’ school. I think this must be the school that is marked on the 1834 OS map. The 1858 Belfast and Ulster street directory (p650) says “there is male and female and infant schools, supported principally by the Earl and Countess Annesley”. I checked the 1863 Griffiths Valuation for Ballaghbeg townland, and it shows just the one school still, on Bryansford Road. On the Griffiths map, the triangular plot (59) has two buildings, a new one (a) occupied by George Menary, and the older one, the school house, (b) listed as “Church Education Society’s School House, office, yard and garden”. So I am fairly confident in saying this must be the location of Patrick Byrne’s concert. The triangular plot of land is now empty, but the school house itself was about where 4 & 5 Hillyard House are now.

Around County Monaghan, September 1851

I have no references to Patrick Byrne for the month of September 1851, until the very last day of the month when we find him performing a public concert in Carrickmacross.

THE IRISH HARP.
MR. BYRNE AT CARRICKMACROSS.
On Tuesday evening last, Mr. Byrne, the celebrated blind Irish harper, gave an entertainment in the large Concert Room of this – the town of his nativity – which was attended by an assemblage of respectability, and numbers complementary to him, indeed. In fact nothing could have equalled the anxiety manifested to obtain cards of admission, and at an early hour the room was crowded to excess. His amusing anecdotes and songs called forth bursts of applause amounting to rapture; and his performance on the harp on this occasion clearly proved that the influence of “magic and persuasive sound could swell the soul to rage, or kindle soft desire.” Well might Cowley have said that
      “His sheep would scorn their food to hear him play,
      And savage beasts stand by as tame as they:
      Rivers whose waves rushed down aloud before
      Fame as their fish, would listen towards the shore Leander.”

Anglo Celt Thu 2 Oct 1851 p2

I am not finding any references to the Concert Room in Carrickmacross, and so I don’t at present know where the venue for this event was. It could have been a room in the Shirley Arms Hotel, or in the Court House, or the old market house (demolished 1861), or somewhere else. We can see how Byrne had a loyal local following here though.

In the second week of October 1851, Patrick Byrne appears to have done a number of public concerts in Ballybay, though I have no references to them except this one vague report:

THE IRISH HARP
——-
Our old friend, Byrne, the Irish Harper, has been playing to the inhabitants of Ballybay last week. His concerts there were numerously attended, and, as usual, the performer delighted his audience. Mr. Byrne is always a welcome guest to private friends in Monaghan, and his visits are looked forward to with interest; and we are certain that if he could be induced to give a public concert in Monaghan, he would have a bumper. We have frequently, and with pleasure, spoken of the high merits of our friend as a performer, and the first, on the Irish harp; and we hope our townsfolk will soon have an opportunity of listening to music as delightful as ever escaped from the chords of the Irish Harp.

Northern Standard Sat 18 Oct 1851 p2

The stuff about being in Monaghan town is interesting, because it makes it sound like Byrne is too busy at his patrons out in the county to be bothered coming in to town to do a concert.

Byrne apparently continued on to visit his old patrons, the Shirley family at Lough Fea. I have mentioned before how it could be useful to collate Byrne’s travels, with the movements of Evelyn Shirley between his Irish house at Lough Fea, and his English house at Ettington Park. But I have also mentioned before how, in this project studying the traditional Irish harpers in the long 19th century, I really want to try and stay focussed on the lives of the harpers and not the lives of their patrons.

John Scully found a clipping from the Anglo-Celt (published in Cavan town), from five days later. It reprints the Northern Standard article above, and then adds its own editorial comment:

…We are happy to perceive that our friend Mr. P. Byrne has been so well received by the lovers of national music in the town of Ballybay, where his concert was a bumper, and attended by the elite of that town and neighbourhood.
Mr. Byrne is at present on a visit at Loughfea castle and is expected to arrive from thence in a few days, at Bellamount Forest, on a visit to R. Coote, Esq. – ED. A.-C.

Anglo-Celt Thu 23 Oct 1851 p2, via John Scully p80

So towards the end of October he was planning to leave Lough Fea and travel back to Bellamont, where he had previously been back in June. I would guess he spent only about a week or so at Bellamont, because he had moved on already by the first week in November.

We can see Patrick Byrne’s movements through November from the Northern Standard, Sat 15 Nov 1851. This issue of the newspaper has three clippings about Byrne’s previous movements and future plans. An editorial paragraph promoting a planned concert has some very useful detail about where he had been in early November, presumably after finishing his brief visit to Bellamont.

We beg to call attention to the advertisement of our friend Byrne, the Irish Harper; and we trust that the inhabitants of Monaghan will afford [him] suitable inducements to make his visits of [more] frequ[ent] recurrence. Mr. Byrne has been [stay]ing fo[r th]e last ten days at Glasslough House, [the] reside[nce] of his friend and patron, C. P. Lesli[e, E]sq., M.[P.] during his stay with Mr. Leslie he [had] the h[ono]ur of playing to the Earl and Countes[s of] Cale[don,] and a large circle of fashionables asse[mbl]ed a[t Cal]edon Hill; he also gave a concert to [the i]nhab[itant]s of the village of Glasslough, who were much delighted with the eloquent, simple, and exquisite tones of his favourite instrument.

Northern Standard Sat 15 Nov 1851 p2

Glaslough House is much more commonly known as Castle Leslie. If Byrne was at Castle Leslie for the ten days before this article, he must have gone there about Wed 5 Nov 1851. Castle Leslie was one of Byrne’s regular stopping places, but we have very little information about him being there; we just have occasional mentions of him visiting the Leslie family there, a bit like this one. I mentioned other visits in 1847 (part 7) and 1844 (part 4). But I am sure there were many other visits there earlier than that, which so far I have no references to.

While Patrick Byrne was staying at Castle Leslie in early November 1851, he made a trip of about 7km to Caledon, presumably for just a day visit, to play for James Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon (1812 – 1855) and Jane Frederica Harriot Mary née Grimston (1825 – 1888) and “a large circle of fashionables”, at Caledon House. The house is still the private home of the Earls of Caledon. This must have been quite an event for Byrne I think.

I presume Patrick Byrne went back from Caledon to Castle Leslie, and we are told that at some point that week in early November, he did a public concert for the ordinary people in Glaslough village, which is outside the gates of Castle Leslie. Unfortunately the report does not mention where in the village the concert was held, or anything more about it.

On Tuesday 11th November, Patrick Byrne travelled from Castle Leslie about 10km in to Monaghan town, to play for a meeting of Freemasons in the Westenra Arms Hotel.

MASONIC LODGE, No. 351.
The members of the above Lodge met in the Lodge-room of the Westenra Arms Hotel, together with a considerable number of visitors from neighbouring lodges, on the evening of Tuesday the 11th instant. – After the usual routine of business had been transacted, twenty-four of the brethren sat down to an excellent supper, which was served up in Mr. M‘Phillips’s usual good style, and to which ample justice was done. The visitors present included the distinguished and much admired Irish harper, Brother Patrick Byrne, who came expressly from Glasslough for the occasion. The cloth having been removed, the usual loyal toasts were given by the W. Master from the chair, after which the health of Brother Byrne was proposed, the entire company, in full Masonic costume, marching in procession round the Irish harp, each giving the distinguished bard a cordial welcome with all the honours. We are gratified to learn, that this ancient body is about to extend its usefulness, and that the above [number], with another in working order in this town, is likely to be considerably augmented, as proof of which, we may mention that four new candidates of respectability and unquestionable character, were admitted on the occasion above referred to.

Northern Standard Sat 15 Nov 1851 p2, reprinted in Belfast News Letter Mon 17 Nov 1851 p2

I don’t know if the procession of all the brothers “in full masonic costume marching in procession around the Irish harp” was a normal masonic thing to do; it looks like each man stopped in front of Byrne to give him the “cordial welcome with all the honours”, though I don’t know what that would consist of. Since Byrne was a Mason himself (see part 5), I wonder if he was dressed up in “full masonic costume” or if he just wore his usual suit. Perhaps there were advantages to being blind after all.

I don’t know what Patrick Byrne was doing for that week after playing for the masons in Monaghan on Tuesday 11th November 1851; perhaps he went straight back to Glaslough. but a week later he was back in town playing his concert, on Wednesday 19th November.

The advertisement, printed in the Northern Standard four days before the concert, is a very striking piece of graphic design, featuring the Kirkwood woodcut of Patrick Byrne’s own Egan traditional wire-strung Irish harp, and the headline “Ancient Irish Music” displayed as a kind of frame around the image. It almost seems like a piece of 1970s psychadelia.

ANCIENT
IRISH
MUSIC
[Kirkwood harp woodcut]
M^R. BYRNE,
THE BLIND IRISH HARPER,
WHO has been privileged to play twice before QUEEN VICTORIA, PRINCE ALBERT, and other illustrious Members of the Royal Family, and who has further the honour of being appointed Irish Harper to His Royal Highness Prince Albert – and patronised by a great number of the Nobility and Gentry of England, Ireland and Scotland – begs to announce to the Ladies and Gentlemen of Monaghan and its vicinity, that he intends to perform a number of
IRISH, SCOTCH, AND WELCH AIRS
ON THE IRISH HARP,
IN THE COURT-HOUSE,
On Wednesday Evening next, the 19th Inst,
when he hopes to be favoured with the same liberal patronage, in the Capital of his native County, which has been bestowed upon him in other towns where he has had the pleasure of performing.
Admission – 1s.; Children Half-price, by Tickets only, which may be had at the Standard Office.
Performance to commence at Half-past Seven, and end at Half-past Nine.

Northern Standard Sat 15 Nov 1851 p3

The Court House is in the centre of Monaghan. The triangular pediment at the top of the courthouse building still bears an impressive stone Royal coat-of-arms of George IV who was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the courthouse was built in the late 1820s. We see in the advert, Patrick Byrne pulling out all the stops to promote his Royal and aristocratic patronage. Presumably the concert-goers of Monaghan town in 1851 would be impressed by this kind of thing.

Three days after the concert, the Northern Standard printed a long and detailed review.

ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC.
——
On Wednesday night last, our friend Byrne, the well-known Irish harper, gave an entertainment in our Court House, which, we are delighted to say many of the gentry and inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood patronised. His programme was a highly attractive one, including many of our finest Irish melodies, immortalised by, while they immortalise, Moore – such as ‘The Harp that Once,’ ‘The Minstrel Boy,’ &c.
Amongst the happiest efforts of this ‘last of the bards’ may be mentioned his ‘Erin go Bragh,’ which he executed in fine style, linking to the lovely melody an attractive and artfully varied harmony, and finishing the whole with an exquisite grace which denoted the man with music in his soul. ‘Brian Boroihme’s March’ was also much appreciated by the audience for the peculiar effects introduced into it by representations of the approaching of the Irish host, the crash of battle, the mournful moments following the hero’s death, the spiri[t] of war triumphing over the unavailing sorrow of the soldiery, the rousing again to conflict and the hurry and passion of pursuit. There was a good imitation of the pibroch in the ‘Campbell’s are Coming’ which was altogether excellently played. Some merry Planxties of the olden time set every light foot in the room on the jig, and every head beating time.
There is something in Irish music generally which characterises the people; and though this may be said to some extent of all national music, in none else is there that individuality oneness sparkling through apparently conflicting and opposite styles. It is as if men essentially Milesian had infused their whole souls into the music they composed, making them at once Hibernian and immortal! In what other national minstrelsy can be heard alternately the wild cadence that bears sadness and woe on its very vibrations – woe for Innisfail more exquisite than the sorrow of a lover for his mistress dead? – and the martial minstrelsy, pulsing the heart with passion, and revealing in its merest melody more than historian, sage, or politician ever dreamed of; telling of musterings of mighty myriads, long ago from the field – from the town – from the bridal – from the altar – from the death-bed – gathering to follow to the fight those strains that told of passing woe, and of the coming conflict for his clan? – and then the soul-stirring, heart-warming Planxty, lighting up every face with smiles, even in defiance of efforts to the contrary? We challenge the solidest old stoic in the country to sit unmoved while Byrne plays Planxty Connor as he did on Wednesday.
It is a tempting theme to write upon – that of Irish music; and we have already wandered beyond our limits in a mere preface to all we could find it in our hearts to say in praise and in exemplification of it. Can we further applaud Mr. Byrne than to say he interprets the feeling of these compositions well and truly? – need we say more upon the theme when our readers can hear this true interpreter for themselves?
Mr. Byrne varied the entertainment by occasional songs which were well received by his hearers, and a racy and well-told anecdote of his Munster friend, the ci-devant dancing master, whose dining-out adventures caused roars of laughter, again and again.
Mr. Byrne must be a welcome visitor wherever he appears; and we trust that he will often and often favour this town with a visit, and that often and often our neighbouring gentry and our townfolk will give him “CEAD MILLE FAILTHE!”

Northern Standard Sat 22 Nov 1851 p2

I find this a very interesting article. As well as concrete details of the tunes Byrne played, I think the impressionistic opinions of the writer give us a fragment of insight into Byrne’s style of presenting his material. We can see that the main thing that impresses our reviewer is the unaccompanied solo harp playing; the songs and stories are seen very much as intermissions, breaking up the programme for light relief from the perhaps too powerful sound of the harp. I am curious about the ci-devant dancing master from Munster; I don’t know these stories. It would be interesting to find out more.

Our reviewer gives us two impressionistic hints about Byrne’s method of playing. When describing Byrne playing ‘Erin go Bragh,’ (I think this is the tune of Savourneen Deelish), the reviewer writes that Byrne linked “an attractive and artfully varied harmony” to the melody. My instinct is to presume that this is a layman’s description of the powerful resonance and harmonics produced by the traditional way of playing the traditional wire-strung Irish harp using the traditional fingering techniques and system of organising the music. The reviewer also mentions the “peculiar effects introduced into” Brian Boru’s March. It is less clear to me what Patrick Byrne is doing here. We have other descriptions of his performance of this tune as a kind of programme piece, with spoken titles describing the various sections of the story, and seeming to describe literal sound effects produced using the harp. It is also interesting to see the way the “planxties” are described, with people tapping their feet and nodding their heads along to the rhythm, though as usual we don’t get titles; only Planxty Connor is named.

The long digression about the nature of Irish music is also very interesting, and gives us quite an insight into what was considered the essential features of Irish music in the mid 19th century. We can also see that Patrick Byrne’s harp playing fitted right into these preconceived ideas, and also perhaps helped to shape them. This role of the traditional harper in forming the attitudes of what the national music was and could be, also reminds us what a national tragedy and disgrace it was that the tradition-bearers were betrayed, that the inherited tradition of playing the traditional wire-strung Irish harp was allowed to come to an end in the first decade of the 20th century, and how classical-style harp playing was promoted at that time as a suitable replacement for it. It seems like an act of cultural vandalism that we are still only now in the process of trying to repair.

We have a brief line that shows how Byrne’s activities were reported beyond the immediate area:

Byrne, the well-known harper, has been delighting the inhabitants of Monaghan with his performance of some of our beautiful Irish melodies.

Anglo-Celt Thu 27 Nov 1851 p4, via John Scully p81

I include this here because sometimes this kind of thing is all we have. Imagine if we didn’t have any of the concert advert or review, what we would be missing! And yet I am sure there is a lot more that could potentially still be found. Were there printed concert tickets and programmes? Surely some of the concert-goers must have mentioned the event in their diaries or letters to friends. And thinking a bit further back, at these visits to the big houses such as Caledon with the great grouping of “fashionables” at a country house party, there must have been some of the wealthy educated guests who wrote their thoughts or opinions into private letters or journals, or even took out a sketch book and made a drawing of Byrne. I think there must be a lot of this kind of stuff out there hidden in private and public archives waiting for someone to stumble upon them.

Looking for more aristocratic patrons?

At some point towards the end of November 1851 Patrick Byrne wrote a letter to Augusta née Stanley, Lady Cremorne (1823 – 1887), at Dartrey House.

Dartrey House was demolished in 1946. Its demense is now Dartrey Forest Park. In 1851, Dartrey house was owned by Richard Dawson, 3rd Baron Cremorne (1817 – 1897), who was a cousin of Dawson Richard Coote (1811-1850), the previous owner of Bellamont House. After Dawson Richard Coote’s death 1850, Bellamont passed to his (I think) half-brother, Richard Coote (1803-1852). The two houses, Dartrey and Bellamont, were less than one mile apart across the lake.

I have no references to any previous communication between Patrick Byrne and Lord and Lady Cremorne, and so I suspect that at the beginning of November when Patrick Byrne had been staying at Bellamont, his host Richard Coote might have suggested that Lord and Lady Cremorne would be good patrons to try and get an invitation out of.

We don’t have Patrick Byrne’s letter that he wrote, but we do have Augusta’s reply:

Lady Cremorne has received
M^r. Patrick Byrne’s letter,
& requests to say that she
& Lord Cremorne are leaving
home for the winter season
tomorrow; but should
M^r. Byrne be in this
part of Ireland at any
time next summer or
Autumn, it will give
L^d. & L^y. Cremorne much
pleasure

pleasure that he should
come to Dartrey.
Dartrey. Rockcorry
Dec^r. 1 1851

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, G3531/G/5

Patrick Byrne did not get to go to Dartrey house in 1851. I think he did get to come back the following summer as Augusta suggested in her letter. But that is for a future part.

Instead, Byrne headed east to the coast, to visit his old patron Roger Hall, at Narrowwater Castle, the Elizabethan style stately home of the Hall family, just up the hill away from the more famous and more visible Narrow Water Keep.

THE IRISH HARP. – Byrne, the celebrated Irish minstrel, has been lately sojourning at Narrow-water Castle, the hospitable mansion of Roger Hall, Esq. During his stay, his performances on the harp were much admired by the noble and other distinguished visitors at the Castle. We understand that Mr. Byrne proceeds next to Scotland, having an invitation to Dalkieth Palace, the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleugh.

Newry Telegraph Thu 18 Dec 1851 p3, summary reprint in Ulster Gazette, Sat 20 Dec 1851, and Northern Whig Thu 25 Dec 1851 p4

“Next” is not quite right, because Byrne did not leave Ireland at once. He must have spent the Christmas holidays with one of his patrons, but we are not told who. He did not leave Ireland until Tuesday 6th January 1852, when he took the ferry from Belfast.

Mr. P. Byrne, the celebrated Irish harper, sailed from this port on Tuesday evening, en route to Edinburgh, for the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, where he will be engaged for a shor[t] time. He expects to return again to this country in Spring.

Belfast Newsletter, Fri 9 Jan 1852 p2, reprinted in the Downpatrick Recorder Sat 10 Jan 1852 p2, summarised in Northern Whig Sat 10 Jan 1852 p2 and Catholic Telegraph Sat 17 Jan 1852 p2.

There was more than one ferry company operating steam ships from Belfast to Scotland. I checked the newspapers; the Banner of Ulster, Fri 2 Jan 1852 p3 gives a selection of schedules. There was a steamer from Belfast to Stranraer but I don’t think Byrne would have used that route. The Ardrossan Steam Navigation Company ran a fast steam ship, the Fire-Fly, which sailed three times a week from Belfast to Ardrossan (just a little north of Troon), where it was met by a special train that took the passengers on to Glasgow. Patrick Byrne could have got this ferry at 9pm on Tuesday 6th, and the train would arrive into Glasgow at 7am on Wednesday morning. I would guess 7 or 8 hours from Belfast to Ardrossan, and then an hour or so on the train.

More likely, I think, Byrne would have travelled on the Belfast and Glasgow Royal Mail Steam Packet, which ran a steamer that departed from Donegall Quay in Belfast (where the big fish is) every evening at 8pm, sailing for Greenock and continuing on to Glasgow. 10 shillings and sixpence would have got Byrne a cabin including the steward’s fee; he could sleep overnight and arrive in Glasgow the next morning. The Belfast News-Letter, Mon 5 Jan 1852 p4 lists Thetis as one of three Royal Mail Steam Packet ships running the Belfast to Glasgow route every evening.

The ferry crossing from Belfast across the North Channel to Scotland can be a bit rough in January, even today in big modern ships; let us hope the weather was fair for Patrick Byrne’s trip on one of the steamers that ran this route back then. We will leave him on the ship, hopefully sleeping sound in his cabin, with an attentive steward to bring him breakfast; and in the next part of this series we will re-join him when he arrives in Scotland.

As usual, I have added all the places mentioned here to my map. There are now 144 places associated with Patrick Byrne marked on this map. Touch a place to see its name; click to read about when Byrne was there. You might prefer to open the map full screen.