Musical Memories
Irish Fest if home to one of the world’s largest Irish music archives

Just a few blocks west of where Lake Michigan rolls ashore in Kenosha, it wouldn't have been unusual in the 1950's and '60's to hear the sounds of Irish music wafting through the windows and doors of a stately two-story brick home. The kids and the parents, uncles and aunts, grandmas and grampas gathered often for family parties in the John J. Ward Jr. household and let the music of their heritage ring out.

"There was always music in our family," says Edward Ward who was one of the kids at the time. "my dad's sister and her kids had a group. At family parties, we would all end up doing something with music."

Today you can hear the same sweet music and more ringing out through the big green double doors of Irish Fest headquarters in Wauwatosa. Established in 1992, the second floor of the converted building is home to the John J. Ward Jr. Archives which houses one of the world's largest collections of Irish music.

"We named it after my dad and also established it in honor of my mother," said Ward, second oldest of John Ward Jr's three sons and the founder of the archives, Irish Fest and Blarney, a performing Irish musical group he launched with Bernie McCartan in 1975.

Ward's interest in music was sparked by his grandfather. "He was a collector and published five books on Irish music," Ward said.

While traveling in Dublin in 1991, Ward visited the Irish Traditional Archives. "I was going through music books on the shelves and came across copies of my grandfather's collections," he said. "Recognizing that these books, which were part of our family's heritage, had historical significance and value, made me wonder where a record of Irish America's musical heritage was being preserved."

Since no significant collection existed, Ward decided that Milwaukee's Irish Fest, might be a natural place to preserve and protect the music and music-related items. At first, the archives consisted of a small collection of tapes. Offering free tickets to Irish Fest in exchange for item donations spurred the collection's growth.

Soon the small office on 84th and Bluemound in Milwaukee was packed with boxes. When the Wauwatoosa building at 1532 Wauwatosa Ave. became available, Irish Fest was prepared to purchase it and set aside space for the archives.

Still growing, the archives is actually a collection of collections. .

The Comer Collection, named for Michael and Mary Comer of Cleveland, contains over 6,000 recordings in formats ranging from reel-to-reel, CD, cassette, LP, 45 rpm and 78 rpm recordings. Michael, a native of Glenamaddy, Ireland collected the items and used them in Echoes of Erin, a weekly radio program. Originally broadcast from a Cleveland radio station, the program became a sort of "bulletin board" for organizers of dances, fund-raisers and other events involving the Irish community in Cleveland. In 1965 the Comers moved the broadcast to a studio in the basement of the their residence from which the broadcast continued until 1985. The Comer's collection was so extensive that callers never asked if the Comers had the song they were requesting. They just assumed they did. Often Michael offered callers their choice of several versions. Comer died in 1996.

Much of the Comer collections is on Irish labels with materials dating from the 1940s trough the 1980s and many of the items, Ward said, would be difficult to find today. Comer also donated over 30 pieces of recording and playback equipment from his basement broadcast studio as well as several of his commendations and plaques.

"He had told his wife Mary that he would like it to go to us," Ward said. "It became the base collection. Michael Comer and others like him laid the groundwork for the success of many Irish festivals and, of course, the eventual commercial acceptance of productions like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance."

Ward's personal collection, known in the archives as the Ward Collection, contains over 400 of his LPs, CDs and cassettes from the 1970s to the present. With younger brother Chuck, Ed ran Irish Music, Ltd. In the late 1970s during which time they were able to collect many early releases of Green Linnet and Shanachie. Ward still spends time collecting, but now he focuses on acquiring items that will complement the Comer collection. He has assembled over 1,000 pieces of Irish sheet music, several thousand Irish and Irish-American records, hundreds of song books and music periodicals and a number of authentic antique phonographs and juke boxes. All are on loan to the archives until they are inventoried and appraised, at that time they will become part of the permanent collections.

"When Chuck and I had our little company," Ward said, "we held a sale a couple of times a year and ended up knowing about what was happening on the Irish music scene. We started buying things up that we eventually donated to the archives." .

One of those "things" included an Edison-era cylinder player, now available for use in the archives.

"We can play any record on the machine it was originally intended for," Ward said.

Ward's collection also includes a series of original newspapers published by the Dublin "Freemans Journals" the main newspaper of the Irish Republic. The series includes nearly every issue from 1910 to 1923. .

Bing Crosby fans will be interested in the Stapleton Crosby Collection which was secured from Crosby collectors in Connecticut, Penn. and Iowa through the efforts of Barry Stapleton, who personally picked up the tab for shipping the items to the archives. The collection is second in size only to that found at Gonzaga University. .

"Crosby did a lot in the '30's and '40's to change the image of Irish music," Ward said. "He is credited with creating a lot of interest in what American Irish music was about." .

Numbering more than 4,000 items, the Irish Fest Collection includes LPs, tapes and CDs from bands that send material to Irish Fest for possible booking. Some date back to the early years of Irish Fest. .

"We have quite a signature collection since everyone wants to play here," Ward said. Each month, Irish Fest still receives several dozens recordings from artists who want to be part of the event. .

For 15 years, Irish Fest has offered a summer school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee during the week preceding the festival. Many of the lectures and courses are on video and audiotape. Together those tapes from the Irish Summer School Collection. Ward hopes the archives will become the year-round educational arm of the festival.

"It already houses exhibits and we are beginning to offer lectures in the facility, as well as co-sponsoring books and documentaries on Irish music," Ward said. The tapes include courses in dance as well as music lessons for children and adults. Some can be checked out.

"This is a facility in which people can access the music," Ward said. "Our goal is to have a virtual tune library."

The newest collection is named after Michael C. Corenthal. Known as "Mr. Mike," Corenthal is a music historian, author, publisher and reservoir of knowledge of early music and artists. Corenthal intends to focus his collection on an Irish/Jewish connection as well as on John F. McCormack. Mike has also donated a number of records, books and other pieces of memorabilia to the archives.

Other collections in the archives include the Kit and Josie Nash Irish Children Choral Collection which was created in honor of the recently deceased Kit Nash, and the Irish Rock and Roll collection. The latter currently commands the bulk or Ward's research energy.

"Irish rock started coming into its own in the 1960s," Ward said. When he travels to Ireland, Ward combs through used record stores and makes contacts with individuals who are knowledgeable about Irish groups and different styles of music.

"We are trying to build a collection of early rock material on original Irish labels before 'collecting' becomes and 'in' thing in Ireland," he said.

To promote continued growth, free ticket giveaways are still an option. Started in 1995, the "giveaway" offers two free tickets to Irish Fest for every ten Irish music-oriented items one donates to the archives.

"We have received some of our best items that way," Ward said. "People bring them here because they know they will be preserved."

Ward describes the archives and "an ambitious project." The reason it has grown so fast, he believes, is because people realize and understand the value of Irish culture, Since Ward is convinced that the collections will continue to grow, another of his current priorities is transferring all of the music to a hard-drive so it can be pulled up at separate work stations. .

"We can store a lot," Ward said. "The main thing is to get everything into a database, even the new stuff. There is always new stuff!" .

How can interested people assist in the effort? .

"Donate sound recordings, sheet music and songbooks," Ward said. The archives also welcomes access to uniquely-printed items and photos as well as volunteer time. The Green Tie Event is held annually in March. Organized to raise funds to support the work of the archives, sponsors of the event hope to promote world-wide appreciation of Irish culture through its musical tradition and spirit. .

"Our goal is twofold," said Ward as he rummaged through a cardboard box filled with reels from an original public television broadcast about Irish musicians. "We want to archive Irish music and to have a resource center where people can come and listen to it." .