1. John Bell's Notebook, cited in Henry George Farmer, ‘Some Notes on the Irish Harp’ Music & Letters vol. XXIV, April 1943; also in Keith Sanger, ‘Patrick O'Byrne and John Bell’ Folk Harp Journal 53, June 1986.
2. Charlotte Milligan Fox, Annals of the Irish Harpers, Smith Elder & Co., 1911, p.135-6, transcription corrected by Alasdair Codona
3. Bunting MS35 f12r, transcribed by Alasdair Codona
4. Charlotte Milligan Fox, Annals of the Irish Harpers, Smith Elder & Co., 1911, p.281
5. Edward Bunting, Ancient Music of Ireland, 1840, p.21
6. Edward Bunting, Ancient Music of Ireland, 1840, p.32
7. Keith Sanger & Alison Kinnaird, Tree of Strings, Kinmor, Temple, 1992, p.167
8. Joan Rimmer, ‘James Talbot's Manuscript: Harps c. 1690’ Galpin Society Journal 16, 1963, p.67
9. N.J.A. Williams, “Eachtra ghruagaigh na creige agus na cruite ’s an tiompáin”, Éigse XIV, 1971-2
9. ed. Alexander MacBain and Rev. John Kennedy, Reliquiae Celticae : texts, papers, and studies in Gaelic literature and philology left by the late Rev. Alexander Cameron, LL.D., Inverness, 1894, page 109. This was first drawn to my attention by Prof. William Gillies. Suggestions for the translation from William Gillies and Alasdair Codona. For further discussion see Alasdair's website at http://www.calumcille.com/modhan/gleusan/4DL.html
10. Cited, with other examples from contemporary manuscripts, in Eugene O'Curry, On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, 1873, vol. 3, p. 251. The poem is c.600AD; the commentaries are from before the 12th century. Ann and Charlie Heymann have done the most work on this, mentioned e.g. in Ann and Charlie Heymann ‘Cláirseach: the lore of the Irish harp’ Éire-Ireland XXVI no.3, fall 1991
© Simon Chadwick 2008 - part of the history of the Gaelic harp, at earlygaelicharp.info