Simon Chadwick's
Early Gaelic Harp Emporium

Books by Turlough Carolan

1st edition for sale, click to enlarge

Donal O'Sullivan
Carolan - the life, times, and music of an Irish harper
2 vols, Routledge and Paul, London, 1958
Vol. 1 has a life of Carolan, as well as notes on such things as his skull, his portrait (though unfortunately not his harp), and 213 tunes reconstructed as single melody line. Vol. 2 has the lyrics (usually only the first verse is given), extensive notes on each tune, the people connected with it, sources and also "The Memoirs of Arthur O'Neill". A first edition copy is available now, £250. Vol 1 has no jacket; vol 2 has dustjacket in mylar cover. Pencil notes on a few of the tunes, otherwise in good condition all round. Click the photo to see this set enlarged. contact me to enquire about postage and availability. (Feb 2010)

Donal O'Sullivan 's Carolan - the life, times, and music of an Irish harper was re-issued in a 2 volume paperback reprint by Celtic Music, Louth, England (1991). Secondhand copy of the Celtic Music 2 vol paperback reprint occasionally available but currently out of stock.

A single-volume paperback edition of Donal O'Sullivan's Carolan - the life, times, and music of an Irish harper was published by Ossian in 2001, and new copies are available. This book re-sets the music and words on larger format pages, and includes an appendix by Bonnie Shaljean which adds a number of tunes by Carolan, or attributed to him in early sources. Many of the new tunes are from the otherwise unpublished Maclean-Clephane manuscripts.
£30 + £3.50 (UK only - select for overseas postage) £5.00 (Airmail within Europe) £8.00 (Airmail outside Europe)

Tomás Ó Máille
Amhráin Chearbhalláin: The Poems of Carolan
Irish Texts Soc., No. 17, 1916
The Irish words to the songs of Carolan, and other North Connacht and South Ulster poets, with an introductions in Irish and English and detailed notes on the manuscript sources and their language, meter and vocabulary. Includes an Irish to English glossary to help you read the poems in Irish. Modern hardback facsimile reprint from the Irish Texts Society.
£33 + £2.50 (UK only - select for overseas postage) £4.00 (Airmail within Europe) £6.00 (Airmail outside Europe)

Liam P. Ó Murchú (ed)
Amhráin Chearbhalláin: The Poems of Carolan - Reassesments
Irish Texts Soc., Subsidiary Series No. 18, 2007
This slim volume contains five essays from a conference held in 2006, on various aspects of Carolan's songs. Nicholas Carolan's article on the Music is old-fashioned, and seems to show no awareness of Gaelic harp scholarship of the last decades. Emily Cullen on Bards and Irish harping in the 18th and 19th centuries is disappointing, and appears to plagiarise this website by lifting 2 paragraphs almost verbatim and unacknowledged. The other essays are on Carolan's audience, his verse, and on Tomás Ó Máille.
£25 + £2.00 (UK only - select for overseas postage) £3.00 (Airmail within Europe) £4.00 (Airmail outside Europe)

Other Irish Text Society volumes are available by special order; please contact me for details.

Complete Collection of the Much Admired Old Irish Tunes The Original and Genuine Compositions of Carolan the Celebrated Harper and Composer (1670-1738) Suitable for Most Instruments
Ossian Publications, 1984
This rather odd book reprints Donal O'Sullivan's 1958 editions of the tunes, although you need to read the small print to find this out - the tunes are presented without commentary or notes, and also without the words - as a parade of melodies. There is also a 5 page instroduction by Gráinne Yeats, containing a brief life of Carolan. The book is of interest as it also reproduces 13 pages of music facsimile, from the anonymous Carolan Fragment, Neal, The Hiberenian Muse, Lee, one of Bunting's set mss and his printed books, Mulholland, Moore's Irish Melodies, and O'Neill. Reprinted 1989 with the title The Complete Works of O'Carolan Irish Harper and Composer (1670-1738) Suitable for All Melody Instruments. The two editions contain different facsimile plates.
Not in stock. This book very rarely appears on the market. If you would like me to look for a copy for you please contact me.