This set covers Irish materials in general collections up to 1800 and in Irish collections up to and including Petrie's Ancient Music of Ireland (1855). Some 6,000 songs and dance tunes are presented, also including Scottish and English tunes. Included are Scottish tunes that were used by 18th-century Irish poets for their verses, and both English and Scottish tunes that are still current among Irish traditional musicians. Tunes of present-day currency which do not seem to be included may still be located by comparing their first 12 notes in the thematic index at the end of the volume. An index allows readers to locate a tune by its melodic incipit, by any of its titles, or by the first line of its text.


