Cainteanna Dé Sathairn (Saturday Talk)

Martin Hayes in conversation with composer Seán Doherty and historian Richie Piggott.

In this special lecture, music historian Richie Piggott and composer Seán Doherty present the remarkable rediscovery of Irish Rhapsody by Selena O’Neill (b. 1893), a pianist long associated with the work of the Chicago-based collector Francis O’Neill. Unearthed through Piggott’s archival research, Irish Rhapsody is the first known evidence of O’Neill’s work as a composer: a substantial and virtuosic work for violin and piano that bridges Irish traditional idioms and early twentieth-century art music. Piggott and Doherty explore the historical context of Selena O’Neill’s life and work within the Irish diaspora, alongside a close examination of the music itself. Combining archival insight with musical analysis, this event offers a rare opportunity to encounter a newly recovered voice in Irish music history.