at the Limerick Athenaeum.
Limerick is famous for its music. The Athenaeum offers insights into the origins of that tradition. In April 1857, the international opera star, Catherine Hayes returned to her native city to perform Italian opera at the Theatre Royal. The Limerick Harmonic Society told her of their plans to locate at the new Athenaeum. Their prime object was to raise funds for local musicians to purchase an organ and other musical instruments. Catherine Hayes immediately offered to help the fledgling society. In April 18th, an advertisement appeared in the local newspapers stating that she would perform with the society on the 29th April in their production of Handel's "Messiah "at the Athenaeum. The Conductor of the Choir was Mr Rogers and the Orchestral Leader was Mr Leavy with guest appearences of Mdlle Corelli and Signor Bardiali who were performing Italian Opera at the Theatre Royal. Tickets were priced at five shillings and were available at Mr P. Corbett's Apollo Music Warehouse, 38 George Street, Limerick. A review in early May described the concert as a brilliant success. The reviewer was quite critical of those leading citizens who did not pay to attend or make a donation to the organ fund despite being given complimentary tickets. This was the first performance of the cash starved Harmonic (Choral) Society with an orchestra. High praise was given to Miss Hayes and to her guest singers. The review goes on to give a brief account of the fourteen productions by the Harmonic Society since their foundation in 1850. That concert did however launch the Athenaeum Organ Fund. Over the next fifteen years, support for the fund came from all over Ireland.
Catherine Hayes(1818-1861) was a legend in her own lifetime and afterwards. She was born at 4 Patrick Street, Limerick, the third daughter of Arthur and Mary Hayes. Her father who was Bandmaster of the Limerick City Militia deserted his family causing great financial distress. The young Catherine Hayes helped her cousin, Mrs Carroll who worked as a charwoman at Lord Limerick's home at Henry Street. The young Catherine sang as she worked and was heard by a Dr. Knox, the Church of Ireland Bishop, who lived nearby. He described her as having "the most beautiful voice I have ever heard" and immediately set about helping the young girl to have her voice trained. He arranged sponsorship for her to study under Antonio Sapio in Dublin where she gave her first public performance at the Rotunda in 1839. She travelled to Milan where she studied under Signor Roncono. By the year 1846, Catherine Hayes was prima donna at La Scala, Milan and in 1849 gave a Command Performance for Queen Victoria with the Royal Italian Opera Company. Catherine Hayes returned to Limerick in March 1850 where she gave a performance of Bellini's La Somnambula at the Theatre Royal. She started tradition in Limerick by singing to the people outside St Mary's Parish Church where she had been baptised. ( Joseph O' Mara followed the tradition by singing to the people of Limerick from the balcony of his father's home at Upper Catherine Street, now Ozanam House) Over the next three years, Catherine Hayes toured extensively in America and Australia. In San Francisco, her manager, William Avery Bushnell, whom she married in 1857, arranged huge fees for her performances. Her earnings were in excess of £650 per month. Catherine Hayes died in August 1861 and is buried in Kensal Green cemetery in London. She left an estate of £16,000. She was a generous woman who never forgot those who had helped her in Limerick. For example, on her return Limerick in April 1857 to perform with the Royal Italian Opera Company at the Theatre Royal in Henry Street, she spoke to members of the Limerick Harmonic Society who told her of their financial difficulties in procuring musical instruments for their new orchestra. Immediately she offered to help them with a free benefit performance of Handel's Messiah at the Limerick Athenaeum. In the audience was Dr Henry Griffin, a successor to her old mentor Dr Knox as the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick in 1854. Someone told her of the enormous cost of the restoration of Limerick's ancient St. Mary's Cathedral. Catherine Hayes offered £10,000 to help defray the debt. Evidence of this story emerged in 1913 when Mr Alfred Percival Graves (1846-1931) visited Limerick as President of the Irish Literary Society. He was a poet and the writer of the well known ballad "Father O' Flynn" and a leading figure of the Irish Literary Revival. He was the son of Charles Graves, who succeeded Bishop Griffin as the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick in 1866 ( who established the second Organ Fund at the Athenaeum). Mr A.P. Graves is remembered as a leading figure in the development of Technical Education in Ireland and at the Limerick Athenaeum in particular. He was also the father by his second marriage, of Robert Graves, the poet who wrote "The White Goddess". The Limerick Chronicle quoted the following story from his 1913 speech to the Limerick Literary Society: "Mr Graves told a pathetic story of Catherine Hayes, the famous Limerick singer. Bishop Griffin first heard her singing in Lord Limerick's garden, which adjoined the Palace, Henry -street, and generously gave her the musical education which enabled her to become world famous. Years after, she heard the Bishop had sustained heavy monetary losses. She wrote to him saying she owed everything to him, and begged him to fill up the blank cheque she enclosed for any amount up to £10,000. The cheque, still blank, was found amongst the Bishop's papers." [ This account differs somewhat from local tradition where Bishop Knox is credited by Kevin Hannan and others
with funding her career. As Bishop Knox was Bishop between 1834-1849 they are likely to be correct]. Catherine Hayes was remembered in other ways. For example, Joseph Fogarty, Civil Engineer, son of John Fogarty, the engineer who designed the Athenaeum., practised in London where he became a celebrated railway engineer who designed the great circular railway in Vienna. He made her the subject of his novel "Catherina" which was published in London by Hurst and Blackett in 1887. The book is reviewed in the Limerick Chronicle in 1887 and according to the reviewer gives interesting insights in society life in the Limerick of the 1860s.
Organs!
The saga of the Athenaeum organ funds began in 1857 with the free concert given by Catherine Hayes. The procurement of an organ was the musical holy grail of all the musical societies using the Athenaeum. Organs were an expensive item and so over the next fifteen years fund raising drives took place to finance the project. In 1863 fund raising efforts were renewed. In May, the Limerick Harmonic Society's production of Hatton's Cantata, " Robin Hood" Mayor, Robert MacMahon into action. He set about the task with vigour and quickly received galvanised the support from the following names who agreed to become patrons.
Patrons of the Organ Fund
The Mayor of Limerick. The High Sheriff, Right Hon. Lord Mayor of Dublin, Right Hon. Earl of Clare, Lord Viscount Gort, Right Hon. Earl of Devon, Sir Richard de Burgho, Bart., Hon. Robert O' Brien, Hon. Spring Rice (MP for Limerick and later Lord Monteagle), Lord Bishop of Limerick, Right Hon. Wm. Monsell, MP, [later Lord Emly], E.J.Synan, Esq, J.P. (later MP for Limerick ), Robert Hunt, Esq.
Subscriptions
His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant ( Earl of Carlisle).£3; Right Hon. Earl of Clare£25; Colonel, the Hon. Charles Smith Vereker.£5; Messrs J.N. Russell & Sons.£3; Major Gavin, MP.£2; Alderman Wm. Lane Joynt.£10; Lord Bishop of Limerick.£10; C.R.Barry, Esq, Q.C..£5; Right Hon. Lord Gort...5 guineas; E.J,.Synan, Esq, J.P...£5; Hon. Spring-Rice., MP (later Lord Monteagle)...£3; D.C.Heron, Esq. Q.C...£3; Right Hon. Lord Mayor of Dublin. ( J.P.Vereker)...2 guineas; J.F. Cleary, Esq (President of Athenaeum)...£1; Robert Hunt, Esq.£1; Wm. J. Geary, Esq, M.D...£1; Peter Tait (Library Fund).£5; and also to (Organ Fund).£5; G.W. Bassett (Editor of Southern Chronicle) £1.
Letters re: Organ Fund
The letter from Lord Viscount Gort to the Mayor of Limerick enclosing his donation with an interesting proviso.
The letter from the Lord Mayor of Dublin reads as follows:-
Peter Tait (1828-1890) was born in the Lerwick, Scotland and married into the Abraham family of Limerick. He quickly spotted the opportunity brought about by new sewing machines and set up one of the first mass production textile factory in Europe from which he sold shirts and later uniforms to the British Army which he exported from Limerick on his own ships to the confederate army during the American Civil War, breaking the Yankee blockade at Richmond to effect delivery. Earlier in 1860 he had taken out an advertisement with William Lane Joynt in the Chronicle urging Professor Stone to repeat his 'interesting entertainment on mesmeric phenomena' at the Athenaeum. In the following week, Tait brought 250 of his female operatives to see the show. In February 1865, The Limerick Chronicle published a letter from Jerome Counihan, Hon. Secretary of the Athenaeum in what was to become the opening shot of Peter Tait's election campaign to become Mayor of Limerick. He chaired a lecture given in the Athenaeum by local MP, William. Monsell , who spoke on the question of "Impediments affecting the Development of Irish Industry". Tait introduced the guest speaker in an awkward and hesitant manner. Clearly he was learning the art of public speaking. But his election campaign showed an intuitive grasp of the power of the media. The text of the letter reads as follows:
The strategy worked brilliantly. In December, Tait was elected Mayor and served for three terms. In 1867, while serving his second term as Mayor, he was elected President of the Athenaeum. The Limerick Chronicle in June 15th reported that the full-dress amateur concert held there in aid of the organ fund the previous Tuesday had been an outstanding success for Miss Cooper harpist, who received a "furore of applause". The Mayor and President, Mr Tait was "so greatly delighted that he presented each lady with a ticket for a friend to attend a second (concert) on yesterday afternoon". Peter Tait resigned from his third term as Mayor in 1868 to focus on his shipping interests. He was honoured by Limerick with a memorial clock and by the Crown with a knighthood. In December 1868 he was defeated as a Conservative candidate for Parliament in Limerick in a brutal election campaign. The Bard
of Thomond's satires added to the bitterness of that election. Sir Peter Tait died in poverty in Russia in 1890. Finally in 1871, the apparent white knight in the Organ tale, Mayor Wm. Spillane, funded the installation of the Telford organ out of his own pocket. The city was overjoyed.
William Spillane(1839-1897) was a member of the well known Limerick family of tobacco manufacturers established in 1829. As a member of the Harbour Board, he initiated the construction of additional navigation lighthouses on the Shannon. One of these, at Ballinacurra Creek is still operational and known to generations of sailors as the "Snuff Box" lighthouse. In 1870 he was elected Mayor. As President of the Athenaeum Council, he was responsible for establishing the first Free Public Library in the city there and in 1871 he financed, by way of loan, the purchase of the now famous "Athenaeum organ". The Organ was installed on June 3, 1871 and by all accounts it was a magnificent instrument. The organ which cost £500 was hand crafted by Telford & Telford of Dublin and contained three benches of keys and a pedal organ with two thousand pipes and nearly forty stops. The Grand Opening Organ Concert was held on December 22 with a performance of "The Creation" by Haydn.
A few months later, on October 1st, Isaac Butt, the newly elected Member of Parliament for Limerick was impressed when Mr Handel Rogers played the new Athenaeum organ. William Spillane, then High Sheriff, took the chair as Isaac Butt proceeded with a brilliant lecture on the Intellectual Progress of Humanity. He praised the intellectual traditions of his new constituency "the city that is the birthplace of Gerald Griffin, we must always find some one with genius to illustrate our local traditions and our local history". In January 4, 1879 the Limerick Musical Society [est. 1878] gave their premiere gala performance of Sir Arthur Sullivan's Te Deum. with over 100 voices and orchestra of 30 performers. Without doubt, the Athenaeum organ boosted musical creativity in Limerick. But in the meantime William Spillane's loan remained unpaid. In 1885, he decided to remove it and recover his money. There was consternation in the city. An editorial in the Limerick Chronicle on April 30 said that the removal of the organ would be the "death of the Athenaeum" The same edition had a letter signed by an "indignant citizen' at the rumours. Mr. J. Armour Haydn, LL.D. saw the removal as the last straw for public music.
In May 5th, the newspaper published a letter from John F Murray, musical conductor pleading for financial support from the citizens to save the organ. In May 7th another letter said that the "prestige" of Limerick was at stake. But despite all the efforts by the musical community to raise cash, only £70 was raised to save the organ. The Mayor, Stephen O'Mara called a public meeting which was held on Thursday afternoon , May 14th at 3.00 in the Library of the Athenaeum. So important was the debate locally that the printing presses were held back at the Limerick Chronicle to allow the report to make the final edition. A large and representative attended amongst whom were: The Mayor ( Stephen O' Mara), Mr J. O' Grady-Delmage, Mr Joseph Matterson, J.P, Mr Robert Hunt, J.P, Mr Wm. Hosford, Mr P.S.Connolly, Mr J.Spillane, Mr A.. Murray, junr, Mr W.E. Corbett, C.E., Mr E.Corbett, Mt R.. J.Lee, Mr P.E. Bourke, Rev.C. Conway, Adm, Alderman J. Counihan, J.P, Mr N.A.Brophy, Mr S.McCarthy, Mr T.M.Cregan, J.P., Mr Gibbons, Mr J.F.Murray, Mr M.A.Hennessy, C.E., Mr Dyer, Mr James Quin, J.P., Mr Bryan O' Donnell, Rev. Mr Condon. O.P, Mr M. Cusack, Mr Andrew Murray, Mr Wm. Lloyd, Mr M. Egan, Mr James Hewson, Mr T.M. Bourke, and Mr P. Corbett, Treasurer of the Athenaeum. The Mayor took the Chair and said that the purpose of the meeting was to establish if the citizens of Limerick would repay Mr Spillane for the loan which he had lent the Athenaeum in 1871 and which had never been repaid. Alderman Jerome Counihan said that every effort had been raised to settle the loan and that he believed that it was still not too late to settle the bill to keep the organ in the city.
Acrobats and Theatre People
Nemine Contradicente
The Never-Ending Organ Story!
In the late 1940s, the city finally got a School of Music. The VEC took the credit. No mention was given to those countless generations of Limerick music lovers, starting with Catherine Hayes, the Limerick Harmonic Society in the 1850s, Mayor Peter Tait in the 1860s, Mayor Spillane in the 1870s, Mayors Counihan and O' Mara and others in the 1880s, and all those whose subscriptions to the Athenaeum organ fund helped finance the School of Music in the first instance. Generations of Limerick music lovers and subscribers deserve a symphony in gratitude. They preserved and embellished the musical traditions of the city, a city which was designated a centre of Excellence for Music by the Arts Council in 1995. Perhaps it is time to revise the historical revisionism of the 1930s and 1940s and give credit where credit is due. In March 1996, a tribute to that tradition revisited the city when an organ was finally installed in the Athenaeum Hall.
Non-sectarian Musical Society
Catching the canary!
Percy French (1854-1920), artist, singer, humorist and raconteur was a favourite with Limerick audiences. He played at the Athenaeum in 1894, 1899 and 1912. In the Limerick Chronicle of January10, 1908 there is an account of what might appear to be a dull report on the Viceroys Commission into the workings of the Irish Railways which was then sitting at Leinster House. Mrs Amy Griffin, member of the Kilkee Town Commissioners gave evidence pointing out to the Commission that fares to the seaside town were both expensive and unpunctual. She cited Percy French's song about the West Clare Railway as proof quoting the lines:
The following exchange took place between the Chairman and the witness:
[Laughter].
Percy French wrote the song "Are ye right there, Michael?" in the 1890s as a result of missing a concert at Kilkee due to the unpunctiality of the rail service. He successfully sued the West Clare Railway Company for £10 damages. In a biography of Percy French, Brendan O' Dowda writes that he was unable to find any evidence that the Railway Company appealed the court decision, citing Mr Thomas Mason of Dublin, a travelling companion of Percy French on that tardy trip to Kilkee, who recollected in later years that the judge in the case had a similar experience with the West Clare railway and was entirely sympathetic to the plaintiff, Mr French.
Athenaeum Music Gazette
Comic Operetta
1863: In August, a Burlesque Anglo-Italian Opera. being a novel (though) confused version of the opera (not any one in particular) which was designed by Mr Maccabe and made by Mr Thomas Freeman, Consumier of the Theatre Royal in Dublin was performed at the Athenaeum.
1880: In January, Arthur Sullivans comic operetta "Cox and the Box" was performed at the Athenaeum. A new "lyric stage"and the "act drop" at the Athenaeum received favourable reviews from local newspapers.
1892: In January, The Limerick School of Art performed selections from "The Gondoliers" and from "Carmen" The production comprised a Chorus of 40 voices and Band of 20 performers. and was held in conjunction with the School's annual art exhibition.
1892: In May, Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "Trial by Jury" was performed in aid of the Limerick Lace School. Special "lime-light" stage effects were employed.
1911: In February, a production of Offenbach's Operetta "The Rose of Auvergne" conducted by Mr C Kendal Irwin, L.S.M.
1912: In October a Lecture entitled "Some Recollections of a Great Musician - Sir Arthur Sullivan" by Madame Bertha Moore.
1925: The Cecilian Operatic Society performed the comic opera "The Gondoliers" by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Athenaeum in April 1925. The production was given high praise in the Limerick Chronicle who said that the "preparatory work was thorough and efficient" and resulted in a "skilful, graceful, and pleasant" performance. The principal roles were played by Charles O' Connor as the Duke, Richard O'Connor as Luiz, Mr J. Shannon as the Grand Inquisitor, Mr J.Cahill as Guiseppa, Mrs L O' Carroll-Pearse as the Duchess of Plaza, Miss K. O' Connor as Casilada, Miss Erica
King as Ginnetta, Mrs Metcalfe as Tessa and Mrs Jack Hartigan as Inez. The musical director was Mr W. H. O' Shaughnessy and the stage manager was Mr H. Barry Lanchester.
Sacred Music
1857: In April Miss Catherine Hayes performed with the Limerick Harmonic Society's production of Handel's "Messiah "at the Athenaeum. The Choir Conductor was Mr Rogers. The Orchestral Leader was Mr Leavy with guest appearences of Mdlle Corelli and Signor Bardiali who were performing Italian opera at the Theatre Royal in Limerick. Tickets were 5/- each and available at Mr P.Corbett's Apollo Music Warehouse, 38 George Street.
1879: In January the Limerick Musical Society [est. 1878] performed Arthur Sullivan's Te Deum. with a choir of over 100 voices and orchestra of 30 performers. A review in the Chronicle noted that the audience was "the largest that ever assembled within the walls of the Athenaeum.....the performers consisted of thirty soprani, thirty contralti, twenty four bassi, five first violins, five second violins, roli, three violonelli, two contabassi, two fluti, two clarionetti, two corni, two trombani, and one bass trombone.... Mr J. Smith, organist, St John's Cathedral, conducted with great skill and efficiency, while the organ could not have been in better hands than those of Mr W.J.Gibbons".
1892: In March Advert for a performances of the African Native Choir in the Athenaeum. A note explains that "the aim and object of the visit of this choir is to interest the public on the internal, social and material progress of South Africa and its native population". The choir included representatives from seven named tribes.
1901: In November the Limerick Musical Society gave their first concert of the season. Sir Thomas Cleeve, JP is the President of the society. The advertisement notes that Mr Kendal Irwin has made up an attractive programme with selections from "The Redemptorist", "the Holy City", "The Creation" etc. In the secular part of the programme the vocalists include Mr W. Cuthbert-Nicholson, Mrs O' Brien, Mrs Frank Fitt and Miss Shaw. The Band and Choir will consist of 100 performers. It may be noted that if the weather is inclement or cold, the Hall will be heated for the occasion. The orchestra was composed as follows: First violins- Mrs O' Brien, Mrs J.Cleeve, Miss Olive Cleeve, Miss Hanrahan, Mr G.Hare, Mr D.Tidmarsh, Mr Paul Bernard, and Mr J. Bain. Second violins-Miss Hodgeson, Miss A. Moran, Mr Belshaw, Mr B.Cremin, Mr T. Drake and Mr J. Hoyland. Viola-Mr C..Swan. Cello- Mr J. Brewer. String Bass- Mr C.Dungworth and Mr E. .Sparkes. Pianaforte- Miss Ruby Laird, Sch, R.I.A.M.
1908: Concert by St Munchin's Choir.
1921: In July, there is a review of a Concert for Mr Patrick Sheehan, the young Limk vocalist who won the Herbert Rooney scholarship. Performance by The St. Alphonsus Choir.
Theatre Royal.
In 1989 the performance of "live music" returned to the Theatre. To celebrate the re-conversion of the building back to its musical origins as a music hall from a cinema; the owner renamed the venue the Theatre Royal. This was intended to celebrate both the return of live music performances and also to recall the name of a legendary city theatre, the old Theatre Royal which was part of Limerick's earlier theatrical history. That famous theatre burnt down (accidentally) in 1922. The new Theatre Royal became an immediate success with the public.
Opera and pop may seem poles apart and to occupy wildly different parts in the musical spectrum. Talented performers would not accept this at all. Harmony is harmony linked by melody and tradition. For example in September 1995, RTE performed "Maritana" by Wallace at the University Concert Hall. The concert was a sell-out. That same week, international operatic superstar, Pavarotti, teamed up with Limerick's Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, to sing for his home town at Modena in Italy.Limerick's musical traditions flow through each generation. For example the brothers Noel and Mike Hogan, of the Cranberries have found their great grandfather, Michael Hogan, the Bard of Thomond in the Athenaeum archives. The Bard was a poet and musician who melodious satires have entertained generations in the city, a man who contributed greatly to growth of another tradition, the limericks of Limerick. The names of hundreds of musicians from the past are buried in the Athenaeum archives. Those who wish to trace their ancestry from a musical perspective can use the Index to the Chronology of Events to guide them into history. Every performance at the Athenaeum Concert Hall since its opening in 1856 are indexed. Tradition harmonises with the emerging new talent of the present day, each generation adding glitter and brilliance to the evolution of harmony.
East Cowes Castle,
Isle of Wight,
11th August 1863.
My dear Mayor,
I enclose you half notes for five pounds and postage stamps for five shillings
to make up a subscription of five guineas for the purchase of an organ for the lecture
room of the Athenaeum. Upon acknowledgment of the receipt of this, the remainding half
notes and stamps will be sent.
I am, my dear Mayor,
Very Sincerely yours,
Gort.
Mansion House
Dublin
12th August.1863
My dear Mayor,
I enclose you a cheque for two guineas, and will thank you to add that amount to the
fund now raising for the purpose of erecting an organ in the Limerick Athenaeum.
Hoping your efforts will be successful, and that the new organ will add a new feature
of interest, instruction and utility, not only to the Athenaeum but to my native city.
Believe me, yours faithfully,
J.P.Vereker
Dear Sir,
Will you please oblige me by stating in your journal that Alderman Tait
has this day, in the most liberal manner, handed me and my fellow secretary
(Mr A. Langley) the sum of £10, his second subscription to the fund for the
Organ, which is proposed to erect in the fine Hall of the Athenaeum. When
Alderman Tait was informed that our object was to afford Cheap Concerts and
other musical treats to the humble as to the higher classes of the community, his
reply to the application made to him was "Put me down for £10 for the sake of the
Working Classes". It is hoped by the Committee that this act will be emulated,
and that the balance required the fund will be soon subscribed.
Your obedient servant,
Jerome Counihan,
Honorary Secretary.
Limerick Athenaeum
February 4, 1865
The Editor
Limerick Chronicle
Dear Sir,
As one who had so frequently had the privilege of performing both publicly
and privately on the Athenaeum organ, and I would fain hope, ministering to
the musical gratification of many, I too ask you to insert my heart-felt
expression of regret at its threatened removal. If it not be beyond recall,
a tremendous effort ought to be made to keep it, and I personally will, if
such effort be possible, subscribe to the utmost of my ability. It is the last
straw; and if that organ goes, public music in Limerick goes with it.
Yours faithfully
J. Armour Haydn, LL.D. Nantenan Glebe. May 1st, 1885.
Mr P.S. Connolly, solicitor, said that the Athenaeum management had "given the greatest possible dissatisfaction to the citizens. The terms of the lease had been departed from. The institution had been handed over to acrobats and theatre people, contrary to the intention of the founders which was that it should be devoted to the promotion of science and art". A sharp discussion took place on the state of the Athenaeum finances where it emerged that even the caretaker, Mr Cronin was owed £100 but had settled for £20.
Mr Murray then proposed the following resolution: "The Mayor of Limerick, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and the High Sheriff of the City, all three for the time being, and Messrs Wm. Spillane, J.P., and Joseph Matterson be appointed as trustees to purchase the organ at the Athenaeum, on behalf of the citizens of Limerick". Mr R. Lee seconded the motion and "it was passed nem con (nemine contradicente, without opposition)." The meeting however was far from over. There was a hidden agenda with a few more axes, or perhaps organs to grind. The Mayor, Stephen O' Mara got to the point straight away. He said that he did not make a personal attack on Alderman Counihan but he was insistent that "the Athenaeum had not been managed for the interests of the city, but for a clique...he thought that amusements given there ought to be on a larger scale and on a more popular basis than they were. He thought the way it was managed was in the interests of a few gentlemen and not for the benefits of the citizens." Alderman Counihan disassociated himself from the Mayor's comments saying that they were "utterly at variance with the history of the Athenaeum". He went on to explain that the Readings and Music concerts which he had organised himself had done "more for the development of music in the city than any effort made for the past thirteen or fourteen years. They were very different from the class of entertainment had spoken of as not of a popular character. If, by a clique, he (the Mayor) meant the Limerick Musical Society, he could say that the society gave splendid entertainment, which they could be proud of". Archibald Murray and James Quin, J.P were unanimously appointed secretaries of the meeting. Over £70 had been subscribed in the room and a committee appointed to collect further funds for the organ throughout the city. The meeting disbanded. The newspaper reporter rushed back with his copy to his editor and later that Thursday evening the city read his report. In the life of any city, it is often the apparently insignificant events that seem to matter. Readers of the Limerick Chronicle that night enjoyed the cut and thrust remarks between two of the city's leading politicians (Stephen O' Mara succeeded Athenaeum founder Maurice Lenihan as Mayor in 1885 was re-elected for a second term in 1886. Wm. Spillane had been Mayor in 1870 and Jerome Counihan had been Mayor in 1882 and 1883). Other readers might have argued over the definition of popular music. Newspapers, unless archived, have a short lifespan. The story was quickly forgotten when the organ was finally sold out of Limerick in June. The ambitions of local musicians for a secular grand organ in the city were by no means played out. The loss of the organ was yet another chapter in what was to become a never ending organ story. The gain from that marathon meeting was that the organ fund was now in the hands of trustees. The controversy raged for the next fifty years and grew to have major repercussions for the cultural life of the city in the 1930s and the 1940s. The link between the generations was James Quin, a Justice of the Peace who had been appointed secretary of the organ trust fund that afternoon of May 14, 1885.
By 1888, the city had revived itself sufficiently to consider the purchase of a replacement organ. The following year, Dr Graves, Bishop of Limerick, established a new fund. In 1892, Mr Wm. Spillane, JP and now President of the Athenaeum called a public meeting where the propriety of establishing a School of Science and a School of Music were discussed. A decision by the Council of the Athenaeum to purchase a new organ, not to exceed £600 was agreed at a meeting. In 1894 a committee of musicians was appointed to establish specifications for the new organ. Nothing further happened until 1927 when it was reported that rooms at the Athenaeum are being reserved for a proposed School of Music. In July of the following year, the Limerick Chronicle reported the meeting of the Technical Committee (TEC) where Miss Doyle discovered the existence of the second organ fund, reiterating that it had originated with Dr Graves and that there was £800 in the kitty. There were three trustees of whom the last surviving member was Mr James Quin, who said that he would be willing to "give up his trusteeship". A sub-committee of the TEC was set up to go into the matter. Rumours in the city suggested that the fund had grown to a massive £20,000. Everybody got very excited and legal minded. The Committee met again in 1929, 1930 and in October 1931 when Mr James Quin reluctantly handed over the bank deposit. As trustee of the Athenaeum organ fund back in 1885 and as a member of the "old" Athenaeum society which had been hijacked by the Corporation in the 1890s, his distrust of the new management was well founded. He insisted that the legal clause stating that the fund should comply with its original objectives, i.e. the organ or a School of Music for the city at the Athenaeum should be honoured. James Quin died weeks later on November 17, 1931. Immediately the solicitors got busy to neutralise the clause. In 1932 the Court decides that the Organ Fund can be used for "any purposes" designated by the new Vocational Education Committee (VEC) who had taken over the functions of the old Technical Education Committee. The Athenaeum never got an organ. It did however get the use of the Themodist Pianola supplied by P. McCarthy & Sons. Music Emporium, 45 George Street, Limerick in 1909 which has remained in the building to this day. The VEC encouraged with the success of their legal victory over the organ fund immediately set their sights on selling the Athenaeum Hall. They finally succeeded in 1946. There was no one left to fight on behalf of the "old" Athenaeum. Only rumours that the Athenaeum had once "belonged" to Limerick. All the evidence; the original lease, minute books relating to the Athenaeum had disappeared. The only evidence lay hidden in the columns of old newspapers locked away in dusty archives.
Image #115 of Organ at the Athenaeum
A strange event took place in November 1880 at the Athenaeum with the formation of the "non-sectarianism" Limerick Musical Society. The fact that this event took place at all needs an explanation. The rivalry between the different sects of Christianity in the history of the city shows up the underbelly of an ugly tradition of religious intolerance that has now disappeared from city life. These separate Christian churches united in 1893 in their public indifference to the social pogroms against the Jews which continued well into the early 20th century. No Jew ever died in these pogroms but the behaviour of the Churches and some of their followers in the streets and even in the courts of the city makes unpleasant reading. The musicians of Limerick, with "their non-sectarian" orchestra are one group that emerges with honour. The Athenaeum was their only secular venue, a safe refuge and home.
Joseph O'Mara 
Image #118 I was born a boy and have remained one ever since".Percy French.
Self portrait
before the night,
You may not or you might,"
Chairman: "Is this a chronic state of things?"
Mrs Griffin: "A chronic state of things, not exceptional."
Chairman: "Is it exceptional that trains arrive on time?"
Mrs Griffin: " I should say that it was. Habitually they are late. I know a lady whose canary flew away, and the train waited while they were catching the canary!".
Image #119 Advert for John McCormack concert.
In 1905, an unknown Dublin tenor was engaged by a local impresario and comedian, Alf Hurley to perform at the Athenaeum. John McCormack (1884-1945) needed the finances to further his musical studies in Italy. Limerick's discerning audience were captivated by his performance. They went wild, heaping encores on the young man and demanded a repeat performance. McCormack never forgot Limerick. He returned again and again to the city which had given him so much encouragement in his youth. John McCormack became the first Irish performing artiste to be recorded on both the Edison Phonograph and on the Gramaphone machine in 1904.(Visit this site, The John McCormack Homepage.)
Image #122 Pavarotti & Friends for The Children of Bosnia
Image #123 Dolores O'Riordan & Luciano Pavorotti