LAST week saw the sad passing of Tom Munnelly, 63, one of Ireland's foremost archivists who was also a folklorist and song collector who lost his brave battle with cancer. The Dublin native is said to have collected

over 20,000 folk songs over his brilliant career with the University College Dublin Folklore Depart-ment while also serving stints for Arts Council, Irish Traditional Music Archive and Willie Clancy Summer School.

He relocated to Co. Clare in 1978 and immersed himself in capturing some of the great native singers like Tom Lenihan from Miltown Malbay and Michael Flanagan from Inagh along with many others.

In June he was honored with an honorary doctorate of literature from NUI Galway and at the Willie Week, a special book launch of Dear Far-voiced Veteran: Essays in Honor of Tom Munnelly (www.oac.ie) was published which shed light on the valuable work of capturing the rich history and past in Irish music before it went into the ground with those who revered it and kept it alive down through the years.

Munnelly even helped spark the revival and appreciation of traditional music here in America alongside Mick Moloney as the selector who proudly accompanied 25 great musicians from Ireland to the 1976 Bicentennial of American Folklife.

At his funeral last week in his adopted hometown of Miltown Malbay musicians and singers in great store attended as he was laid to rest fittingly by the Crehan family fiddlers who played the "Wild Geese" air. Padraigin Ni Uallachain sang "An Bhean Caointe" and Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill "The Greenwood Laddie" and brother-in-law Jerry O'Reilly leading all the singers in "The Parting Glass" after daughter Tara read Ciaran Carson's poem to her father, "Fishing for Eels" from the collection of essays.

Also locally in New York we lost a wonderful musician Ray Murphy of Pearl River, who left us tragically before his time but one who left many friends and great times in their musical company.

May they rest in peace.