Turlough O'Carolan

Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738) was an Irish harper and composer whose distinctive melodies combined Gaelic musical traditions with influences from European Baroque music.

Connect

Irish harp: A wire-strung harp central to Gaelic music in Ireland and Scotland. O'Carolan performed on this instrument while composing and traveling.
Carolan's Concerto: A widely performed instrumental tune attributed to Turlough O'Carolan. Its flowing melody and formal polish exemplify the style associated with his name.
Charles MacCabe: An Irish harper and composer who lived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. MacCabe was a contemporary harper in the musical world O'Carolan inhabited.
Blindness: The condition of having little or no functional vision. O'Carolan lost his sight after smallpox in childhood, a turning point in accounts of his musical training.
Irish harp revival: The modern renewal of interest in Irish harp performance, instruments, and repertory. O'Carolan's surviving tunes became central material for later harp revivalists.
Irish traditional music: The evolving musical traditions of Ireland, transmitted through performance and community practice. Its melodic idioms and social settings formed the foundation of his work.
Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór: An O'Carolan tune whose Irish title means “Little Fairy Hill, Big Fairy Hill.” This early composition is often cited as a meeting point of Gaelic and continental styles.
John and William Neale: Dublin music publishers active in the first half of the eighteenth century. Their printed collections helped circulate Irish melodies during O'Carolan's lifetime.
Smallpox: A contagious viral disease that was eradicated worldwide in 1980. Accounts of O'Carolan's biography say smallpox caused his blindness.
Irish traditional session: An informal gathering where musicians play traditional Irish tunes together. His melodies remain part of the repertory performed in sessions, often in arrangements for modern instruments.