Many of the tunes O’Neill collected made reference in their names to the fairy folklore of Ireland: The Fairy Queen, King of the Fairies, The Fairy Boy etc. In Victorian Read More …

Cobh, or Queenstown as it was known until 1920, is where Francis O’Neill left Ireland as a teenager destined to travel around the world. The picture above dates from about Read More …

The broad Lee river flowing through Cork city is prone to flooding. At the point near University College Cork and The Presentation Brothers Secondary College (where Francis O’Neill might well have Read More …

One of the primary icons of Cork city, Father Matthew’s statue on Patrick’s street would have been newly erected in honour of the local son and temperance reformer when Francis Read More …

The nineteenth century Irish postal service was one of the best in the world. At the time, Ireland was a good laboratory for introducing new technologies such as the telegraph Read More …

Francis O’Neill was talented at music from a young age. He also was quite the artist. One possible option open to him was the Cork School of Art and Design. Read More …

Bantry in west county Cork was the nearby town to O’Neill’s homeplace of Tralibane. His family would have looked forward to “heading into town” for the regular fairs and festivals. It was Read More …

Where it all began. The homeplace of Francis O’Neill is a beautiful secluded part of West Cork in the highlands above Bantry. The little bridge is still there along with Read More …

  The Firkin Crane is an unusual round building in the Shandon district of Cork City. It is part of the Butter Market, a main depot for butter distribution in the nineteenth Read More …