Chief Francis O’Neill of CPD Credited with Saving Irish Folk Music

How did a Chicago Policeman become known worldwide as a collector, publisher, and the savior of Irish traditional music?

After immigrating from Ireland as a young boy Captain Francis O’Neill (August 28, 1848–January 28, 1936) rose through the ranks to become Chief of Police of the Chicago Police Department serving from 1901 to 1905

Since so many individuals had fled the Erin Isle as result of the Great Famine much of the local traditions and cultures were at risk of being lost.

This was similarly true of many other European immigrant populations as well, ultimately making America a repository of cultural traditions which became frozen in time as emigres continued to perform customs and music that was slowly changing and eroding away in their native lands.

Chief Francis O’Neill was a lover of music and took it upon himself to collect the tunes he heard in the pubs, taverns, churches and on the streets of Chicago which had a sizeable Irish descended population.

He recorded much of the music he heard onto newly invented wax cylinders and transposed the tunes into written music that he published. His text quickly became the standard reference for both professional and amateur performers of this genre.

Eventually, these publications made their way back to Ireland during the latter part of the twentieth century where Chief O’Neill has been credited for essentially saving Irish folk music.

Dr. Aileen Dillane of the University of Limerick has written a thesis in which she makes the case that the city of Chicago itself is imprinted in the work of O’Neill.

She describes a perfect storm of opportunity that provided O’Neill not only with the raw material in terms of music and musicians but also the requisite entrepreneurial bedrock he needed to successfully assemble, print and distribute his published collections.

This program was recorded at the Irish-American Heritage Center by Chicago Access Network Television (CANTV).

*Many Chicagoans have become aware of Chief O’Neill through the popularity of the cozy Irish pub on Elston Avenue that bears his name.