The Growth of the Sound Archive

This is the third and final part in the history of the Sound Archive at the National Folklore Collection. The first and seconds parts can be found here:

Part 1 and Part 2

Reels to reels in the Audio Archive

This final part of the story begins in the 1960s, with open-reel technology being used by the collectors of the Irish Folklore Commission, the Sound Archive grew significantly, finally reaching over 12,000 hours of audio recordings in the Collection. This brought major advantages for the Archive, though it also had implications for the main manuscript collection.

As the number of recordings increased the collectors were under less pressure to transcribe material, since the new format was much more robust than the earlier wax cylinders and also cheaper and therefore could be kept. The Commission, for the first time ever, shifted from transcribing material for the Main Manuscript Collection to collecting and preserving audio material in its own right. This led to the development of a dedicated sound archive that complemented the Commission’s broader collections. In some cases, material recorded on open reels has never been transcribed.

The Commission also began collecting material in English on a large scale. Two collectors, Jim Delaney and Michael J. Murphy, were employed specifically to collect English-language material, while Ciarán Bairéad collected in both Irish and English. Meanwhile, Seán Ó hEochaidh, Tadhg Ó Murchú, Pádraig Ó Moghráin, Mícheál Mac Énrí, and Seán Ó Dubhda continued their work in the Gaeltacht areas.

Caoimhín Ó Danachair with collector Seosamh Ó Dálaigh

Two individuals who played a particularly significant role both the formation and the preservation of the Sound Archive were Caoimhín Ó Danachair and Leo Corduff. As we have seen, it was Caoimhín Ó Danachair who carried out the crucial recordings on the Isle of Man in 1948, which gave rise to the sound archive to begin with.

Leo Corduff Collecting

In 1950, Leo Corduff was initially hired to microfilm the Main Collection as part of the Commission’s preservation efforts at that time. He later went on to work directly with the Sound Archive, remaining in this role from 1950 until the Commission’s dissolution in 1970. He then continued his work at the Department of Irish Folklore at University College Dublin. Leo’s voice can still be heard on a lot of the recordings currently published on the website Dúchas.ie.

Anna Bale

When Leo retired, Anna Bale joined the Department and she would have a major impact on the cataloguing and preservation of the Sound Archive. Anna began working in 1989 and was responsible for making the audio material available to the public through the implementation of FileMaker Pro software used in the Archive. This indexing software greatly improved accessibility to the collection and is still in use today.

Simon O’Leary digitising reel to reel tapes

Anna has since retired, but my colleague Simon O’Leary, who has worked with the Collection for the past 20 years, is central to the preservation of our material, from digitization and publication on Dúchas.ie, to making the material accessible to the general public.

Dúchas website

Dúchas.ie is a joint project between the National Folklore Collection at UCD and Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge at Dublin City University. The project was launched in 2012. Since its inception, the website has received more than six million visits from the public, demonstrating its importance as a resource both for research and the general public.

Peig Sayers

Over the past year, we have made significant progress in making the Sound Archive available online, and we hope to have at least 450 hours of recorded material accessible on the site by the end of the year. This includes a selection of recordings from acetate discs. The quality of the digitized material from the acetate discs is incredible considering that the recording began in the 1940’s. Now users are able to listen to recordings from the Isle of Man, as well as material featuring the renowned storyteller Peig Sayers on the Dúchas.ie website.

In the coming years, we hope to make our earliest recordings, the already-digitized wax cylinders, available on the website. This will mark the first time ever that the wax cylinders archive will be accessible to the general public. The significance of this site, in my view, is that it allows a far broader audience, including the global community, to access and use this material. That is a core reason for preserving this material in the first place.

Tom Munnelly

One notable figure in the field was Tom Munnelly, the celebrated song collector who worked for the Department of Folklore at UCD. He was the first person inducted into the RTÉ Folk Awards Hall of Fame. His ballad collection is renowned worldwide. A version of the song “Henry My Son”, which Tom collected in 1972 from Ann O’Donnell, a 17-year-old member of the Traveller community, is preserved in the Archive. This same song has now become part of the repertoire of the contemporary group Lankum, who have received widespread recognition and awards in recent years. Members of the group have said that much of their musical inspiration comes directly from the Archive.

Lankum performing “Henry My Son“

Lankum – Winners of Best Folk Group and Best Album at the RTÉ Folk Awards 2024

It is incredibly inspiring to see the creative possibilities that arise from making this Collection available to musicians and artists across Ireland.

Collecting with the Edifone

So, where do we stand now, and where are we headed? It seems clear to me that the importance of the Sound Archive continues to grow with every new piece of material published on Dúchas.ie and with every visitor who seeks inspiration or knowledge from this vast collection.

A new generation of musicians, linguists, artists, and others are eager to explore and reimagine these old stories and songs, making them accessible in new ways for future generations.

Every day in my work, I hear these familiar voices, like listening to old friends, whether from the wax cylinders of the 1920s and 1930s, the acetate discs of the 1940s and 1950s, or the open reels of the 1960s and 1970s. Some of these voices bring laughter, others heartbreak, but one thing remains constant, and that is the value of the voices collected. They offer us a glimpse into who we are and it is our duty to continue this preservation work for the generations yet to come so that someday they might learn who they are too.

This post was written by Éamonn Ó hAdhmaill, Oifigeach Sinsearach Teicniúil | Senior Technical Officer, Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann | National Folklore Collection.

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The audio recordings in this blogpost are now available in the Audio Collection section on dúchas.ie