Elizabeth Cronin

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Elizabeth Cronin (1879-1956), was a traditional Irish singer. Cronin was born in West Cork, daughter of Sean o h-Iarlaithe, schoolteacher and lived in Baile Bhuirne area all her life. She spent her teenage years on her uncle's farm nearby. She maried Sean O Crionin and lived at Carraig an Adhmaid, Ballymakeera. She was famed for the extent and quality of her songs and lore in Irish and English. The area was rich in traditional culture and music, and songs had been collected in the area for a long period. Among the collectors were Seán Ó Cuill and A. Martin Freeman, compiler of the famous Ballyvourney Collection.

Elizabeth (Bess) Cronin was recorded by Séamus Ennis in 1947 and 1952 he called her the 'Muskerry Queen of Song'. She often featured on BBC radio programmes. She was recorded by the American collector Alan Lomax in 1951, and some of her songs are included in the Irish volume of his Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music (New York 1955). Various recordings and archive material were assembled by her grandson for a book and CD collection, The Songs of Elizabeth Cronin, although said book provided little information about her life and received a critical panning from the Musical Traditions web magazine. Her songs have often been broadcast by Philip King on RTÉ radio traditional music programmes including The Banks of Sullane. She was the mother of Donncha O Croinin,Irish Scholar (d.1990) and Sean O Croinin, folklore collector.

[edit] References

• The Songs of Elizabeth Cronin by Daibhí Ó Cronin (editor). ISBN 1-85182-259-3.
• Tim Cadogan and Jeremiah Falvey, A Biographical Dictionary of Cork, 2006, Four Courts Press ISBN 1-84682-030-8