Chief Francis O’Neill
August 28, 1848–January 28, 193
"The greatest individual influence on the evolution of Irish traditional dance music in the twentieth century"
– biographer Nicholas Carolan
– biographer Nicholas Carolan
Francis O'Neill was born in County Cork, Ireland, worked as a cabin boy and eventually became Chief of Police in Chicago..
Read his biography at these links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_O%27Neill
http://interactive.wttw.com/a/chicago-stories-francis-oneill
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AMusic/FrancisONeil.html
During his long tenure at the Chicago Police Department, O’Neill recruited many young Irishmen to the police force. As an accomplished flutist, fiddler and piper, O’Neill became the center of Irish music in Chicago. After retiring as Chief of Police in 1905, O’Neill dedicated his life to the collection, preservation and performance of traditional Irish music.
His publications archived more than 3,000 traditional Irish tunes:
1903: O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1,850 tunes)
1907: The Dance Music of Ireland (1001 tunes)
1910: Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby . Appendix A contains O'Farrells Treatise and Instructions on the Irish Pipes, published 1797-1800; appendix B is Hints to Amateur Pipers by Patrick J. Touhy.
1913: Irish Minstrels and Musicians (biographies of musicians)
1915: 400 tunes arranged for piano and violin
1922: Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (365 tunes)
In 2000, a life-size monument of Francis O’Neill playing a flute was unveiled next to the O'Neill family homestead in Tralibane, Co. Cork.
Chief O'Neill's life is memorialized in the 2012 musical Music Mad: How Chief O'Neill Saved the Soul of Ireland.
Read his biography at these links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_O%27Neill
http://interactive.wttw.com/a/chicago-stories-francis-oneill
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AMusic/FrancisONeil.html
During his long tenure at the Chicago Police Department, O’Neill recruited many young Irishmen to the police force. As an accomplished flutist, fiddler and piper, O’Neill became the center of Irish music in Chicago. After retiring as Chief of Police in 1905, O’Neill dedicated his life to the collection, preservation and performance of traditional Irish music.
His publications archived more than 3,000 traditional Irish tunes:
1903: O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1,850 tunes)
1907: The Dance Music of Ireland (1001 tunes)
1910: Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby . Appendix A contains O'Farrells Treatise and Instructions on the Irish Pipes, published 1797-1800; appendix B is Hints to Amateur Pipers by Patrick J. Touhy.
1913: Irish Minstrels and Musicians (biographies of musicians)
1915: 400 tunes arranged for piano and violin
1922: Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (365 tunes)
In 2000, a life-size monument of Francis O’Neill playing a flute was unveiled next to the O'Neill family homestead in Tralibane, Co. Cork.
Chief O'Neill's life is memorialized in the 2012 musical Music Mad: How Chief O'Neill Saved the Soul of Ireland.