Mr. O’Connor
Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) is of course the most well-known of the Irish Harper-Bards. As many of these early harpers, he contracted smallpox at a young age and lost his sight. He was then brought to a harper to apprentice – harping being a possible means of making a living for the blind at this time. He is largely known as a composer, and for combining traditional Irish music and song with the modern Baroque musical idiom of his time – in fact, he knew Italian musicians in Dublin, including the violinist and composer Francesco Geminiani. His many wonderful harp tunes have been collected and well documented. This long tune with its handsome jig appears only in the Carolan fragment dated from c.1742, which is possibly a section of the 18th c. Delaney publication of Carolan tunes. It is not found elsewhere.