Tomás Ó Canainn (b. 1930)

Derry is the birthplace of Tomás Ó Canainn and his great musical abilities are inherited from his mother. He qualified in engineering in Liverpool, and following his marriage to Helen, the couple made the decision to rear their family at home in Ireland. He began his teaching career in UCC in the late 1960s where he became friendly with Seán Ó Riada who encouraged him to learn to play the uilleann pipes. Following the untimely death of Ó Riada in 1971, Professor Aloys Fleischmann, Head of the Music Department, asked Tomás to take over Sean’s position in the Department, a move which resulted in strong opposition within the college. In the recording he recalls his teaching career in the School of Music, as well as at UCC, and the people with whom he worked. He also recalls the setting up of the first traditional Irish music group in which he played, the Irish music of the 1960s and 1970s, and the projects which he assigned to his music students. Tomás’s wife, Helen, also made several valuable contributions during the course of the recording.