Decade of Centenaries Programme 2020-23
Famous composer and harpist Turlough O’Carolan spent much of his life in Leitrim. In the 1680s, he moved to Carrick on Shannon with his family where his father was a blacksmith and farm hand on the St. George Estate. It was the McDermott Roe family in nearby Alderford that offered […]
“The Kingdom of West Breifne (Irish: Breifne Ua Ruairc) or Breifne O’Rourke was a historic kingdom of Ireland that existed from 1256 to 1605, located in the area that is now County Leitrim. It took its present boundaries in 1583 when West Breifne was shired and renamed Leitrim, after the village of Leitrim, […]
Cloone Céilí Band Probably the most “famous” céilí band in Leitrim’s history was Cloone Céilí Band. Owing to Fr. Peter Conefrey’s championing of traditional music and his ability to command national attention – Cloone Céili Band, founded by Conefrey and as pictured here appeared on RTÉ radio for a special […]
Mrs Lily Moffatt (nee Frayne/Freyne) was a great advocate for traditional music and dance. As a prominent member of Cumann na mBan and a lifelong republican, Lily had a unique insight into local political happenings in and round Leitrim and Roscommon from the years before and following the 1916 Rising. […]
Born in 1887 in Gowlaun, Killargue, Michael Gallagher was a multi-instrumentalist having taught himself the flute and pipes, he also played melodeon and tin-whistle. Here is a brief account of his early life and his musical accomplishments from Leitrim Guardian 2000 contributed by his namesake. For a more comprehensive overview, […]
Descended from the once powerful Leitrim clan, O’ Duigenan would be considered as a master of tradition, history, music and song. His ancestors would have been bards and official historians to the O’ Connors and O’ Rourkes and one of the four masters was an O’ Duigenan Access the Annals […]
The collector Stephen Grier (1824-1894) who was also an uilleann piper and a fiddle player lived for much of his life in Gortletteragh where he collected and transcribed over 1,000 tunes. Short Biography Born around 1824 in North Longford, Grier moved to Gortletteragh once he married Rose McGivney in 1852. […]
Alex Sutherland from Toome, Drumreilly was a fiddle player who was taught by Peter Kennedy (c1822 -1902) of Lisnatulla, Ballinamore. Sutherland, himself, became a prolific fiddle teacher and taught between approximately 1910 to 1960. His students were from within a 15 mile radius of Toome. Sutherland Heritage Thanks to the […]
Much has been written about William Sydney Clements, the 3rd Earl of Leitrim known most commonly as “Lord Leitrim”. Probably most famous due to his assassination in 1878, Clements also gained infamy because of his treatment of tenants and his supposed mistreatment of women. Lough Rynn Estate itself wouldn’t have […]
One of Leitrim’s best-known musicians and composers of traditional tunes was fiddle player and composer Joe Liddy. Born in Killargue in the early 1900’s, Joe, known as “The Leitrim Fiddler” came from a musical family and played with many of the greatest players from Leitrim and further afield. Liddy’s Loft […]
