Thirteen newspaper clippings containing stories about people from Walsh's home county, Co. Wexford. Newspaper titles and dates have been cut out, but there is a handwritten 'Wexford people' title and the date 23 January 1976 in Walsh's hand at the top of one of the clippings. These are stories, legends, and songs from the county.
Even before she began writing her 'Songs of your county' column, Nellie Walsh was an avid collector of traditional music. This collection includes lyric sheets, tonic sol-fa, and staff notation made up of handwritten sheets, many photocopies, newspaper clippings, and two booklets of songs. The handwritten selections are largely on the back of envelopes, notes, letters, postcards, and many are on the back of Old Wexford Society minutes/memos, for which Walsh was Honorary Secretary. There is even one on the back of a photograph and one on the back of a pastry bag. These are largely Irish songs (and a few are even in Irish), but also includes Scottish, Austrian, American, and English traditional music. In additon to the songs, there are also letters asking if Nellie could identify songs (including a letter to Patrick Gallagher from the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts in 1985, Raymond Flynn), notes for herself on ballad history, performance lists, and a map of Lambay.
This collection of music books, manuscripts, correspondence and sheet music was created by Nellie Walsh mainly during her time as song columnist at the magazine 'Ireland's own.'
Songs, newspaper clippings, and editorials about the tune 'The Londonderry air,' including a list of songs set to the air, letters from Nellie Walsh and letters responding to her request for information about the tune, several packets of sheet music in staff notation for songs composed to the air, and a collection of materials about its most famous interpretation, 'Danny boy.' Several of these are duplicates or photocopies of each other.
Song sheets, and the occasional tonic sol-fa, of songs sent to Nellie Walsh that she did not assign to a county and no county is immediately attributable. Many are about Ireland in general, or contain multiple counties which include Derry, Kildare, Antrim, Dublin. Two are religious poems/stories unrelated to Ireland, both sent by Captain P. Darcy, called "Shalom! Shalom!" and "Footprints in the Sand". Includes correspondence to Walsh refering to songs or poems to be included in her column, but unattached to the poems to which they refer.
Nellie Walsh's handwritten index of songs included in 'Songs of your county', organised by county. There are four inserts taped into the book to add more songs to the index. There are numbers included next to each song or groups of songs that may refer to the issue or order in which she included them. Others have 'x's next to their names, perhaps indicating that she did not end up using that song in a column. Considering the completeness of this index, we can assume she kept it from the beginning to end of her column.
Nellie Walsh published a column in 'Ireland's own' entitled 'Songs of your county' from the mid 1960s to just before her death in the mid 1990s. 'Songs of your county' included the lyrics of songs tied to 32 counties across Ireland, and each column was often dedicated to one specific county, though many included features from multiple. In order to find these songs, Walsh compiled lyrics from across the Island from her own experience, but also received submissions from citizens of songs they had heard throughout their lives. Though published only as ballad sheets, many of the songs were submitted or noted in tonic sol-fa, and occaisonally with accompanying staff notation. The two sub-series in this series show the published 'Songs of your county' column, and the handwritten notes that show how Walsh constructed her column, divided by county.
Handwritten, typescript, and newspaper clippings of songs from Co. Wicklow. These are mostly lyric sheets, but several include tonic sol-fa. Mostly transcribed by Nellie Walsh herself, but others sent to her or clipped from newspapers. Some attached to letters addressed to Walsh.
Handwritten, typescript, photocopied printed, and newspaper clippings of songs from Co. Wexford. It is no surprise that this is one of the larger collections, as Walsh was from Co. Wexford herself and the 'Ireland's own' magazine is published out of the same county. These are mostly lyric sheets, but several include tonic sol-fa or staff notation. Mostly transcribed by Nellie Walsh herself, but others sent to her or clipped from newspapers, and a few are printed leaflets with intricate headers. Some attached to letters addressed to Walsh.
Handwritten, typescript, and photocopied printed songs from Co. Westmeath, mostly lyric sheets but one contains tonic sol-fa. Several of these are written by John Nestor and composed by Bobby O'Driscoll. Mostly transcribed by Nellie Walsh herself, but others sent to her or clipped from newspapers. Some attached to letters addressed to Walsh.
