Clare based song collector Tom Munnelly will feature in a television documentary on TG4 on Christmas Eve.
During his lifetime, Tom had the foresight to collect over 20,000 songs from the oral and aural tradition, many of which are sung today by artists such as Lankum, John Francis Flynn, Ye Vagabonds and the late Sinéad O’Connor
Featuring music from Christy Moore, Thomas McCarthy and Lisa Lambe, this documentary tells the story of a remarkable man who left school with a primary education but went on to leave an indelible mark on Irish song and culture.
It tells the story of his friendship with the traveller John Reilly, whose songs were popularised by bands like Planxty, as well as his friendships with people like Junior Crehan, Nora Cleary, and Tom Lenihan, whose songs and lore he collected for the Irish Folklore Commission and later for the National Folklore Collection in UCD.
Featuring contributions from Christy Moore, Thomas McCarthy, Lisa Lambe, Paddy Glackin and Maighréad Ni Dhomhnaill, Tom Munnelly Fear na nAmhrán brings to life these forbearers of the song tradition in Ireland and illustrates how important the work of Tom Munnelly was to contemporary Irish culture.
Produced and directed by Sorcha Glackin for Get Reel Film, Tom Munnelly; Fear na nAmhrán will broadcast on TG4 on December 24th at 8.15pm.
