Patrick O’Neill 1765-1832

Patrick O’Neill of Owning, Piltown, Co Kilkenny, was born in 1765, the son of Hugh O’Neill and Johanna Coughlin. He was born into a period of Irish history in which English was the language of the ascendancy, of commerce and authority, and where a rich Gaelic linguistic and musical culture was almost destroyed. Some took a position against the destruction of a Gaelic way of life and Patrick O’Neill, a cultured and educated man in touch with his own Gaelic roots, attempted in his place and time to preserve what still could be saved from the erosion of an Irish way of existence.

A descendant of the once powerful O’Neill clan, he gained a reputation as an historian, folklorist and collector of traditional music and Gaelic manuscripts. Patrick O’Neill relished life as a member of his farming community and his work derived from this. His intelligent and scholarly pursuits were inspired by his deep ancestral roots, leaving manuscripts and writings in both Irish and English as important social documents. They represent the life of a member of the community who was in the unusual position of being on familiar terms with people of a different class, and of different political and religious allegiances.

His collected work represents and preserves the traditions of the wider community surrounding him. The earliest date in his MSS seems to be 1786 preceding Edward Bunting’s collection at the Belfast Harp Festival in 1792. He was about 20 when he began to collect songs and airs, later developing an interest in English and Scottish music, song and poetry. The MSS contain music from several different musical traditions, including those of Ireland, Scotland, England and Central Europe. This is indicative of the cultural and social changes of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Patrick was a singer, uilleann piper and fiddle player and his life overlapped with the beginning of the Gaelic revival, which was to gather momentum in the latter part of the 19th century, bringing a burgeoning sense of accompanying cultural confidence.