| (Daniel)
Francis O’Neill was born on August 28, 1848, the youngest of
seven children in the west Cork townland of Tralibane (near Bantry
Bay). The son of a well-to-do and educated farmer, “Frank” and
his siblings were spared from the ravages of the Great Famine that
devastated the western regions of Ireland.
O’Neill
grew up in a largely Irish-speaking rural society in which music,
song, and dance were an integral part of life. His maternal grandfather,
a latter-day chieftain named Donal O’Mahony, kept open house
for travelling musicians; his parents, sisters, and himself, were
all great singers; and his parish supported two professional pipers
in the years after the Famine. At a young age, Francis began learning
the wooden flute, a skill that would help him to read music quite
proficiently some years later in America.
|
