Tag: places

Mary Kellett of Cornashesk, patron of traditional harp music

I am not usually paying much attention to the patrons of the traditional harpers, because it is enough work for me to simply track down the harpers themselves, who they were and what they were doing.

However I want to try and pin down Mary Kellett of Cornashesk, because she is mentioned in an anecdote from Patrick Byrne in the early 19th century, and we need to date the anecdote, so as to fit it in to Patrick Byrne’s life story.

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Harp Society House, Pottinger’s Entry, Belfast

Arthur O’Neill taught a harp school in Belfast from 1808 to 1812. The school was at a house in Pottinger’s Entry from May/June 1809 through to about the summer of 1812. This post is to collate different references to try and work out where the house was, and what more we can say about it.

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Patrick Byrne part 1: 1790s to 1822

Patrick Byrne is perhaps the best-known of the 19th century Irish harpers. We have a huge amount of information about him, too much for a single post. So I thought I would deal with sections of his life in turn. This first post in a series on Patrick Byrne will gather together all the information I can find about his birth, his family, his place, his early years, and his education up to the point where he was discharged from the harp school with his certificate and harp.

Continue reading Patrick Byrne part 1: 1790s to 1822