Irish Music Centers & Collections in the U.S.
The Francis O'Neill Collection - University of Notre Dame
The Francis O'Neil Collection, donated in 1931 by Captain Francis O'Neill, includes a large collection of Irish music, Irish music history, Irish music literature, and many rare music books.
The Ward Irish Music Archives - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Ward Irish Music Archives, an educational branch of CelticMKE, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Irish and Irish-American music in all its forms. Established in 1992, it houses one of American's largest public collections of Irish music. The archives consist of more than 50,000 pieces and ranges from the early 19th century to modern singers and bands including Bing Crosby and U2. The collection includes Irish recordings; paper ephemera (such as postcards, sheet music, and songbooks), instruments, photos, concert memorabilia, rare 78s, 45s and LPs, and even wax cylinders!
Irish Music Collections - Boston College
Boston College hosts a vast collection of Irish music materials available in two libraries (the Thomas P. O'Neill Library and the Bapst Library), their Irish Music Archives, and their digital recordings collection The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music, named after master fiddle player Séamus Connolly. To learn more about the Irish music collections of Boston College, click any of the links above or click here to see their Irish collections guide.
Eoin McKiernan Library - St. Paul, Minnesota
The Eoin McKiernan Library (EML) was founded on a gift of 3000 items from the personal library of Dr. McKiernan, Irish Studies pioneer and prolific promoter of Irish culture. The collection includes a physical library and digital archive collection, covering a broad range of topics relating to Ireland and the other Celtic Nations with a special focus on Irish arts (music, dance, theater, poetry, visual art), the Irish language, and the Irish in Minnesota.
U.S. Collections on Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was a famous Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his Irish melodies set in English text. His English-verse settings to Irish tunes marked a transition in popular Irish culture from Irish to English. The following collections focus primarily on the life and music of Thomas Moore.
Thomas Moore Papers 1804-1847 - Rice University
The Thomas Moore Papers collection consists of paper documents of Thomas Moore, including letters, photographs and engravings, newspaper articles and clippings, poems, and correspondence. These materials are currently open access for research at Rice University.
Thomas Moore Manuscript Material 1811-1847 - New York Public Library
Another collection of Thomas Moore material is the Thomas Moore Manuscript Material collection held at the Pforzheimer Collection in the New York Public Library. The materials consist of writings and correspondence, with the writings mainly consisting of poems and music. The bulk of the correspondence material dates from 1828-1832, discussing personal and professional matters, including his works on Lord Byron. Some of the correspondents include James Power, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and over fifty others.