The five letters, written between 1906 and 1914, provide an insight into O’Neill’s perspective during his seminal publishing and collecting work.

Following the recent publication of his book The Cry of a People Gone: Irish Musicians in Chicago, 1920–2020, Chicago-based Irish music historian Richie Piggott has now published five previously unpublished letters written by the renowned collector Francis O’Neill.

The letters, written between 1906 and 1914, were sent to O’Neill’s friend and supporter, the fiddle player Patrick O’Leary, who was originally from County Cavan but emigrated to Adelaide, Australia, in 1876. The correspondence was given to Piggott by Judith O’Loughlin, great-granddaughter of O’Leary. Piggott has published the original letters with transcriptions on his website, http://www.richiepiggott.com.

On 4 August 1991, at the famous Féile festival in Tipperary, I had never heard the Pogues live before. My friends and I had made the ‘Trip to Tipp’ to see the host of new British indie bands that had just swept the charts – The La’s, James, and the Wonder Stuff. It was a new sound that came with floppy hair, big shirts and moody dancing. We would fit right in.

My new book, ‘What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music’, will be published on 1 February 2024. Now available to pre-order. Full details: https://bit.ly/3uz7rGm

RTÉ has just published its document ‘A New Direction for RTÉ’, but where is the renewed vision for music, asks Toner Quinn.

It is noticeable in RTÉ’s new vision document, A New Direction for RTÉ, which was published this week and unlocked €56m of additional funding from the government, that of the 36 photos appearing in the manifesto, 25% of them are of musicians. From the rock band Thumper to the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, from the singer Mary Black to Seán Monaghan of the Máimín Cajun Band and accordionist Johnny Óg Connolly, the colour-tinted images clearly illustrate the role that RTÉ plays in music in Ireland.

‘Thank you, Sinéad!’, ‘We love you, Sinéad!’, they called as her cortège moved along the Bray seafront. They threw roses and white feathers onto the hearse, sang ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, applauded and wept. Messages written on small rocks taken from the beach were left outside her house. A note read ‘Thank you for the lessons and truth’. Sinéad O’Connor’s musical and activist journey, which for almost four decades was intertwined with her public suffering, has ended with her country mourning her, celebrating her, people of all ages saddened, shocked and grateful. The camper van leading the procession down Strand Road where she lived for fifteen years played Bob Marley’s ‘Natural Mystic’: ‘There’s a natural mystic blowin’ through the air / If you listen carefully now you will hear’.

RTÉ is immersed in a crisis that has long-term implications for the broadcaster, but what will the consequences be for music, asks Toner Quinn.

The more we learn about the management of RTÉ through the Board’s statements on the covert payments to Ryan Tubridy, the more we have to consider the role the broadcaster plays in music in Ireland.

It is not that anyone would want its contribution to be further reduced – that has been the trend for years already – but the organisation doesn’t seem to realise its own importance to the Irish musical ecosystem. In all of the statements and on-air discussions of RTÉ’s value to Irish society, the emphasis has been on its role as a news organisation with some reference to entertainment shows and sport. There has hardly been a mention of its wider musical and cultural role, and this should be of real concern to the music community.