"EILEEN AROON."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1390, 25 March 1912, Page 4

"EILEEN AROON."

Sir.—l read with interest your notieo of the Irish concert in the Town Hall mi Monday evening. That interest was increased when I saw the. "Eileen Aroon" (Eibhlin a Kim) described as an "Irish perversion oi' 'liobin Adah ,, ." I thought of the saying of La Hochefoi-icalt about the young Unuwing everything. Your musical correspondent must l>? verv young at his business when he makes himself responsible, for such a statement. The farts about "Kilcen Aroon" (or, if you like, "liobin Adair") nro us gross and palpable us ;i mountain and no one ought tn make any mistake about them. There is always tlie public library—;md it. is not so very far away. J called in there to-day, and I iind in Grove's "History of Music and Musicians," a fairly full history of the air, which was composed by Carroll O'Daly

as early ns 1385-G, snnio lniiuli'cds of yoni-s bi'forc linliin \ihiii- was born. The hiL't.i about. ()'J)ah's lilc and death may bo found in the 'lrivli :iiiiK.ls—tl;o fan.se ot' Hie coinpiisitioii of the ;iir is a vnmaiitin story still told in the (iaclUacht. Sliakcsiieare quotes wniii , of tin: words 01 the old Irish wnpr in "(.'oridlanus," as \v<"ll as the woll-kiiuwii lvisli wclcnmo."V Hundred Tliniisaiul Welcome.-." ("C'end mile iailte romliaf). -Moore has writton English words to the air in his "Melodic.-;." "ili-iii the Tear" has been n-ed as ;i school sol!); even in Now Zealand. Now, us to Ji'nbin Adiiir—ilie man. Jle was ;tii Iri-hman, and a member of I'arliament, living in Cniinty JJublin. He m.irried l.adv (.'aniline Keppel in 17511. It was she wlici wroSc the modern foiif

"Kobin Adah , ." '>nt the air was known in Scotland in 171!, havinsr been inlro-diu-.'d by Hampton the Irish liiirpi-r. Jjarliain,' the well-known singer, made the hoiij; iiopiilar in KiiK'lnud aljout 1811. 11 wns he v.-ho was resuoiv-iblo for the riilicnloiii; "snap" in din refrain. 1W the way, Stokos's "Dictiunary of i[nsic, and Musicians," also in the library contain the essential facts about this perverted version of "fiobin Adair."—l am. etc., C. O'LEAKV. Starch 19.