Straddling the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Sliabh Beagh region encompasses portions of Counties Monaghan, Fermanagh and Tyrone – meeting at the suitably titled Three County Hollow. Like other cultural regions, the Sliabh Beagh region is not delineated by strict county or political boundaries, yet during the 20th century, the imposition of such boundaries played a crucial role in shaping its identity. In particular, the creation and enforcement of a national boundary under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty had significant repercussions for the region. Becoming an impediment to long-established economic and social networks, it contributed to the gradual modification of the region’s musical identity and a diminished understanding of its shared musical heritage.

This shared musical heritage was the source of fascination for local collector Eamonn Murray (1911-1966) who in various guises sought to record and promote the region’s musical traditions. Indeed, by following the pathway laid out by Murray in his columns for The Northern Standard newspaper during the 1930s, the music manuscript of regional collector James Whiteside was relocated in the USA. Long forgotten in both a local and national context, Whiteside’s manuscript reaffirms the cultural interconnectivity of the Sliabh Beagh region, allowing for the reclamation of a traditional music heritage forgotten with the passing of people and time.

James Whiteside

From Knockatallon, north Co. Monaghan, James Whiteside (1844-1916) served as the schoolmaster of Knockatallon NS during the 1880s, before relocating to Bray, Co. Wicklow where he became known as the ‘Bard of Bray’.

A fiddle player, uilleann piper and harper, Whiteside was a correspondent of two of the major collectors of Irish traditional music – P.W. Joyce (1827-1914) and Capt. Francis O’Neill (1848-1936). Included in O’Neill’s Irish Minstrels and Musicians (1913) publication, Whiteside was in the estimation of the Chicago collector a “genius” in equal parts “scholar, poet, musician and composer.” Central to Whiteside’s communication with both collectors was his manuscript of music collected in the Sliabh Beagh region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Later described by uilleann piper Leo Rowsome as representing “a great asset to the Nation”, Whiteside’s manuscript was lauded at early Feis Ceoil and Oireachtas competitions, winning prizes in the “Best Unpublished Airs” category. No doubt aware of the manuscript’s inherent quality, P.W. Joyce had intended to include material from Whiteside’s manuscript in a second volume of his ‘Old Irish Folk Music’ publication. Unfortunately, due to his death in 1914, this volume was never completed, and Whiteside’s material remained largely unpublished until recently, with his own manuscript slipping from public consciousness.

Importance

The relocation of Whiteside’s manuscript, therefore, represents a discovery of cultural significance for the Sliabh Beagh region. Providing a unique snapshot of the musical practices of the area during the second half of the 19th century, the rich tapestry of place and people evoked within its pages – an indication of the naming processes of a localised, community-based musical tradition – serves as an important corrective to processes of nationalisation and standardisation that have marked later regional musical practice.

In a similar manner, while various 20th century developments – particularly the imposition of an international border through its midst – served to erode both social networks and a wider understanding of the region’s shared cultural attributes, Whiteside’s collection draws attention to the natural flow of people and tradition in the region. This is neatly encapsulated in his inclusion of a tune entitled ‘The Three County Hollow’, named after the location where the Sliabh Beagh counties of Monaghan, Fermanagh and Tyrone meet. Oblivious to the future whims of political cartographers, this location was at one stage, according to Whiteside, ‘a favourite dancing place’ in the region.

Of perhaps greatest significance, however, is the presence of repertoire associated with, or collected from, historical regional musical figures within Whiteside’s collection. Scarcely remembered previously within the local tradition, Whiteside’s manuscript allows a musical thread to be drawn across generations – uniting the earlier practice of celebrated fiddlers Owen McCaffrey (1776–1840), Mick ‘Dall’ Rooney (1826–1867) and Owen Connolly (1880–1950) with the musicians of today. Identifying the musical footprints of those who went before, the manuscript has unlocked a deeper understanding of the region’s musical heritage – allowing us to once again draw from the well.

Seán McElwain – June 2024