Titles by: TURLOUGH O'CAROLAN
TURLOUGH O'CAROLAN
Turlough O'Carolan was born in 1670 in County Meath, Ireland. Little is known of his family or his ancestors, though his father may have been a farmer or a blacksmith. When Carolan was a boy, his father worked for the MacDermott Roe family. Mrs. MacDermott Roe must have seen something promising in young Carolan because she arranged for him to be well educated, but his promise as a student was cut short when he was a teenager - he contracted smallpox and the disease left him blind. Once again Mrs. MacDermott Roe came to Carolan?s aid. She placed him under the tutelage of a harper for three years until he was playing well enough to set out on his own. Then she provided him with a horse, a guide, and a bit of money, so at around age twenty Carolan began his career as an itinerant harper. There was a local legend about a battle between the fairies living in two nearby hills. Reynolds suggested the legend as the subject of a song, and Carolan?s resulting composition "Sheebeg and Sheemore" (meaning the little fairy hill and the big fairy hill) has become one of his most beloved and frequently arranged melodies. Carolan lived a long and full life as Ireland?s favorite composer of his day. Along with his ability to extemporize melodies and verse, he was known for his quick wit, his pranks, and his great love of whiskey. In March of 1738 Carolan returned to the MacDermott Roe home sick and feeble. He told his old friend and benefactor, Mrs. MacDermott Roe, that he had come home to die. He called for his harp and played the beautiful "Farewell to Music", his final composition. He took to his bed and died a few days later on March 25 at the age of 68.