Canon James Goodman

Canon James Goodman (1828-1896) was a collector of Irish music. Raised in Ventry, County Kerry, a Gaeltacht area, he was a native Irish language speaker.

Life

As a Cleric

Goodman studied at Trinity College, Dublin, having gained a scholarship in 1847. He was ordained curate of the Church of Ireland in 1851 (his father had been rector of Dingle) and married Charlotte King in 1852. They had three sons, one of whom later drowned while a student. Goodman's first date posting was to Creagh Parish in West Cork in 1852. In 1859 he moved to Killaconagh, on the Beara peninsula, where he preached in Irish. He was posted to the parish of Abbeystrewry in Skibbereen in 1866 as a Canon of Ross, remaining there until his death in 1896. In 1867 he self-financed the rebuilding of the local church.

As a Music collector

While still in Ventry he learned to play the flute; later in Beara he took up the uilleann pipes. Around this time Goodman began collecting music. His collection was first published in May 1861, at the time consisting over 700 tunes. Some 150 of the tunes were drawn from Tom Kennedy, a (blind) piper living on the Dingle Peninsula. In all his collections numbered over 2000 tunes annotated in both Irish and English. This collection was in manuscript form and now resides in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin.

He played a set of Taylor pipes which he later gave to his friend Alderman Phair.

As a Professor of Irish

Goodman was appointed Professor of Irish in Trinity College in 1879 and combined this position with his clerical duties, spending alternating six months in each location. Among his students were Douglas Hyde and John Millington Synge.

References

* Hugh Shields (editor), "Tunes of the Munster Pipers, Vol 1", Ossian Publications. ISBN 0-9532704-0-8.
* RTÉ Radio, Dublin Christmas 2002 "Tunes of the Munster Pipers".
* Padraig O Fiannachta (1990), "Seamus Goodman", West Kerry Development Co-op.
* "Abbeystrewry", A Parish Memoir, 1991, On Stream Publications.

External reference

* [http://www.ipba.ie/munsterp.html Munster Pipers]
* [http://www.myguideireland.com/james-goodman myguideIreland page with more information on James Goodman]