Madam, - Dr Una Hunt (January 5th), responding to Anthony Garvey's Irishman's Diary of December 28th, rightly advocates an increased interest in the songs of Percy French.
She and like-minded readers will be glad to know that there is already a substantial collection of French-related materials available for public listening and reference in the new premises of the Irish Traditional Music Archive at 73 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, from 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday without appointment.
The collection comprises several hundred items: sound recordings (from 78s of the 1920s to recent CDs), sheet music, videos and DVDs, books and articles by and about French (including editions by his daughters and studies by Brendan O'Dowda), and even a copy of one of his pieces on a broadside.
Percy French is of relevance to traditional music because several of his lyrics are set to traditional airs and because much of his work long ago entered the Irish oral tradition, and even (in the case of Abdul the Bulbul Ameerand its variants) the oral traditions of Britain and the United States. - Yours, etc,
NICHOLAS CAROLAN, Director, Irish Traditional Music Archive, 73 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.