The Royal Irish Academy holds a relatively small, but significant, collection of Irish airs, mainly contained in the Forde-Pigot collection. This collection and a number of other items of musical interest have been described in a chapter on the Academy’s music holdings in Aloys Fleischmann (ed.), Music in Ireland: a symposium (Oxford, 1952), pp 322-32. The author, Miss Caitlín Bonfield, was Academy Librarian, 1961-9. The publishers of the book (now out-of-print) have kindly permitted us to reproduce the text here. The paper has been revised and updated by Siobhán Fitzpatrick in 2008.

In addition to the works cited by Miss Bonfield, a number of other manuscripts are deserving of attention. These are:

• MS 12 R 35, a Missale Romanum (14-15th century, probably Italian). Folios 139v-147r contain musical notation.
• MS D ii 2, a metrical dindsheanchas: folio 34r includes an illustration of a pig playing bagpipes.
• The Academy Library holds many printed works containing songs, music, etc. These may be accessed using the Main Catalogue. Some rare items are:
• Early nineteenth-century chap-books containing songs (Shelf mark MS 23 G 32; records accessible via the Main Catalogue).
• Albums containing cuttings of ballads and songs (Shelf marks MSS 3 C 37; 3 C 38; 3 C 39; uncatalogued).

The library also holds the book collection of Thomas Moore (1779-1852), author of the renowned Irish melodies, published from 1808 to 1834. The collection is mainly literary and historical and may be accessed via the Main Catalogue. The Academy also owns an Egan harp, formerly owned by Moore.

Last updated: iii/10