in association with
in association with

James Goodman

manuscripts

The labour of writing has been rendered easy by my desire to preserve the music of my native province, which is fast becoming extinct, and should this work come into the hands of anyone desirous of becoming a proficient on the Irish pipes, he will have without any trouble, a supply of suitable music which it cost me some years to collect and set down in this form...James Goodman, 1861

The Project

James Goodman (1828−1896), a native of Dingle, Co. Kerry, was a canon of the Church of Ireland and Professor of Irish at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). During his lifetime he compiled an exceptional music and song manuscript collection which was deposited in TCD Library following his death.

Now in collaboration with TCD, ITMA has digitised and made freely available online the six manuscript volumes. They contain over 2,000 melodies and upwards of 80 songs or poems compiled by James Goodman from oral, manuscript and printed sources at his disposal in mid-19th century southern Ireland.

This notable digital project enhances the published scholarly editions Tunes of the Munster Pipers Volumes 1-2 edited by Hugh and Lisa Shields (ITMA, 1998 & 2013) and interactive score access via port.itma.ie.

An annotated index to volumes 1-4 of the manuscripts is available here in pdf, html or Excel spreadsheet format.

Volume 1

TCD MS 3194

Volume 2

TCD MS 3195

Volume 3

TCD MS 3196

Volume 4

TCD MS 3197

Volume 5

TCD MS 11320

Volume 6

TCD MS 11321

Acknowledgements

The Irish Traditional Music Archive would like to sincerely thank the Board of Trinity College Dublin; Roy Stanley, Music Librarian, TCD Library; and Dr. Bernard Meehan, Head of Research Collections and Keeper of Manuscripts, TCD Library, for their co-operation in bringing this project to fruition.

More Information

The print editions of Tunes of the Munster Pipers Volumes 1 & 2 may be purchased online at:

https://www.itma.ie/shop

The Irish Traditional Music Archive's website has a number of other Goodman related resources which can be found here:

Discover Goodman @ itma.ie

Interactive scores of Tunes of the Munster Pipers Volumes 1 & 2 are available online via Port, ITMA's interactive resource for traditional Irish music manuscript sources:

Volume One

Volume Two