Irish Themes in Sheet Music

An Exhibition of Irish American Sheet Music, 1850-1950

From the Collections of

The Ward Irish Music Archives
Milwaukee Irish Fest

with content and commentary by

Professor Mick Moloney
Glucksman Ireland House, NYU

This exhibit was originally put together at New York University and has been enhanced by sheet music from the Milwaukee Irish Fest and Edward and Cathy Ward collections at the Ward Irish Music Archives. Much of the content in this exhibit was written by Mick Moloney.

These were produced for the Irish American home market by Tin Pan Alley and other music publishers between 1850-1950. This exhibit uses examples to explore the range of genres (from comic to sentimental) as well as the variety of composers who made this an extremely lucrative business at the turn of the twentieth century.

For the past twenty years, Mick Moloney has pioneered the collection of Irish-American memorabilia. He is a renowned tenor banjoist, vocalist, and scholar who holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Global Distinguished Visiting Professor in NYU's Faculty of Arts & Sciences, teaching in the Department of Music and for the Glucksman Ireland House. His publications include Far from the Shamrock Shore: The Irish-American Experience in Song (2002) and Irish Traditional Music in America.

America’s popular music and song sheet covers are a panoramic history of the country's struggles, achievements, and celebrities. Early song sheets, rich in artistry and vivid colors, documented every major political, sporting, geographical, moral, andwhimsical event. Today, these covers are of great interest to collectors, often more so for their artistry than for their music.

Themes of Irish interest played a major role during the development of the sheet music industry in the United States. Presented are various composers and themes of the Irish American experience found in our sheet music collections here at the Ward Irish Music Archives.

The images found within this online exhibit are only a sample of the over 4,000 pieces of sheet music housed at the Ward Irish Music Archives.