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Capturing O'Neill: Dedication pages of books on Irish traditional music, signed by Capt. Francis O'Neill

Timothy A. Downing (1906)

This page is referenced by:

Timothy A. Downing (1906) To my esteemed friend
T.A. Downing
with compliments of the
compiler and editor
Daniel Francis O'Neill
Gen. Supt. of Police
Chicago USA
Xmas 1906

Biography: Timothy Downing, born 1821, was a neighbor of the O’Neill’s in Tralibane. Francis called Downing “a gentleman farmer of illustrious ancestry,” who played equally well on the flute and the fiddle. Francis went to his house for lessons on the flute. Although Downing could read music he taught Francis to play by ear. He had, "a chest full of music manuscript which he possessed,” Francis wrote, "and from which he selected the tunes for my lessons. On his visit to Ireland he was able to see the manuscripts then in the possession of Downing's daughter, Jane, who still lived at “the old homestead,” and from his son Timothy A. Downing, who then lived in Wales. The dedication here is to the son, Timothy A. Downing.

From O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland, "Two unique unpublished tunes, Nos. 364 and 449, and a rare setting of another, No. 450, were found among the manuscripts of my boyhood friend; Mr. Timothy Downing, a gentleman farmer but an accomplished musician. His death left a musical void in West Carberry."

From O'Neill's Irish Folk Music, A Fascinating Hobby (page 15), "Few tunes learned in boyhood days left such an indelible impression on my mind as 'The Blooming Meadows,' which I heard Mr. Timothy Downing, a gentleman farmer at Tralibane, play in his own home. Although instructed by him on the flute, I did not venture to be too inquisitive in regard to tunes not a part of my studies, and therefore did not learn its name at that time."

[Biography by Michael O'Malley]

Provenance: From the personal collection of Kristina Igoe, who writes "In the early 1990s I was studying music in south-west England and doing a dissertation on influences of traditional music on classical music and my music teacher (Dr. Richard Hall) gave this book to me as a gift. The first tune I learnt from this book was "Lannigan's Ball" and when I moved to London I heard about a session in a pub in Edmonton, and played this tune to Eamonn Igoe, whom I later married. We played this tune many times over in London and Spain before eventually settling in Ireland."