Raising Kane
One of the characters often mentioned with Dublin singer-songwriter James Kearney (1822-62) is‘Kane’. PJ McCall tells us that Kearney’s songs were all purchased by him from others – all Liberty men, or natives of the district – from the witty […]
From Rogues to Riches
This month’s treasure is a new song by tinsmith and entertainer James Kearney (1822-1862) or, perhaps I should say, an old song newly attributed to him. I’ve been researching James Kearney for the past six months or more, along with […]
A Curious Christmas Carol: Carúl Nollag Neamhghnách
FIND OF THE MONTH, DECEMBER 2023 For the month that’s in it, here’s an intriguing broadsheet or slip ballad that I came across in a box of songs recently donated to UCD Special Collections. It’s a Christmas carol, in fact, […]
A Cord and Discord Between Two Ballad Printers
Cook Street in Dublin was a centre of Catholic printers from at least the 18th Century, and of the broadside ballad trade in the 19th century. Two printers on the street, John F. Nugent and Peter Brereton, produced a large […]
A Poet and a Pantomime
James Kearney is an enigma of 19th century Dublin singing and songwriting, described variously as ‘a tinker from Clare’ and ‘a labourer from Limerick’. Songs attributed to him include ‘Courtin’ in the Kitchen’, ‘Paudeen Rhu, or A Tinker’s Travels’ (his […]
A Rare Sketch of a Dublin Street Poet
A Rare Sketch of a Dublin Street Poet (Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland) The tenement poets of 19th century Dublin are elusive beings, more likely to be mentioned in petty court cases than to be memorialised in […]