The provenance of the 'Londonderry Air'

The internationally known Londonderry Air carries the status of a cultural symbol of Ireland. Both its collector and its publisher claimed in 1855 tha t the music was very old, a belief which has passed into conventional wisdo m. In 1934 and 1979 two writers cast doubts on the tune's age and suggested that its 'collector' had more to do with the moulding of the tune than the process of tradition. Subsequently, doubts about the music have prevailed in academic circles but remained unexamined. This article queries the deduc tions of these writers and explores the musical origins and evolution of th e Air. The methodology is historical and musicological. From an examination of collections of Irish traditional music evidence is presented in support of the tune's age and fashioning by tradition. The lost verses of a song k nown to have been accompanied by the tune in the nineteenth century are rev ealed as the likely original words to the music.