Patrick Byrne (musician)

Patrick Byrne or Pádraig Dall Ó Beirn (c. 1794 – 8 April 1863) was the last noted exponent in Ireland of the historical Gaelic harp and the first Irish traditional musician to be photographed.

[1] He then moved to London playing in various houses of the nobility and in 1829 was presented with a silver medal by the Shakespearean Club of Stratford on Avon in recognition of his abilities.

The series of calotype images taken by Hill & Adamson are thought to be the first photographs of any harpist worldwide and the first of a traditional Irish musician.

He could make the strings whisper like the sigh of the rising wind on a summer eve, or clang with a martial fierceness that made your pulses beat quicker" [5] Edward Bunting collected two pieces from Patrick Byrne, Nurse Putting the Child to Sleep and Rose McWard.

In 1855 Patrick Byrne was honoured at a meeting in the Shirley Arms Hotel in Carrickmacross and presented with "a purse of gold collected from the inhabitants of his native town".