Identity area
Reference code
CMC-18594
Title
Cathal McConnell Collection
Date(s)
- 1960s-2000s (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
700+ sound cassettes
Context area
Name of creator
(b. 1944)
Biographical history
Cathal McConnell, flute player, whistle player and singer, was born in Bellanaleck, Co Fermanagh, in 1944, and has been immersed in traditional music all his life. He is from a musical family, being a fourth-generation flute player. His father Sandy, a well known traditional singer and musician, recorded for the BBC in the 1950s. An All-Ireland champion on whistle and flute at 18, Cathal has been a virtuoso professional musician for over forty years, constantly touring the world since 1967 with the Edinburgh-based traditional group The Boys of the Lough, of which he was a founder-member with Robin Morton and Tommy Gunn. Having absorbed the music and song of his native region from musicians and singers such as Big John McManus, John Joe Maguire, Eddie Duffy and Mick Hoy, Cathal has spread a knowledge and awareness of this local repertory widely through his own performances, and has added items from it to the national repertory. Cathal has lived in Edinburgh for many years now.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Cathal McConnell Collection comprises 700+ cassette tape recordings and dates from the 1960s up to the early 2010s. The non-commercial audio material was recorded both in Ireland and abroad in a range of settings including field recordings in houses, informal sessions, concerts, outtake studio recordings, music classes and workshops. Also featured are both domestic recordings of radio programmes including 'The Long Note', 'Airneáin' and 'The Irish Phonograph' among others, along with cassette recordings of various commercial LP, cassette tape and CD releases.