Dates
Biographical Note
Joseph P. Derrane (1930-2016), was born in Boston to Patrick J. Derrane and Helen E. (Galvin) Derrane, Irish immigrants. Derrane grew up in Roxbury and attended Mission Church High School. From age 10 to 12 Derrane took lessons on the single-row melodeon with Cork-born Jerry O'Brien. As a teenager, Derrane taught himself to play piano accordion and the two-row D/C# button accordion. He performed regularly as a soloist and with groups, at house parties, Dudley Street dance halls, and other venues, as well as on live radio. Copley Records invited high-school senior Derrane to record commercially. The resulting recordings, with accompaniment by pianist John Connors, were praised for their precision, ornaments, and rhythmic variations. He went on to record with various collaborators. Derrane married Anne Connaughton in 1955 and by 1959 they settled in Randolph, Massachusetts. With a family to support, and with Irish dance hall audiences declining, Derrane shifted his musical focus to piano accordion, keyboard, and synthesizer. Between 1962 and 1989, while holding various administrative positions at the MBTA, he performed jazz, pop, and repertoire from other ethnic traditions, including ten years in a duo with his son. In the late 1980s, Derrane retired from the MBTA, then from music, and took up part-time office work for St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Norwood. In 1993, Rego Irish Records and Tapes compiled Derrane's earliest recordings and re-released them on CD. Following this re-release, Derrane was persuaded to try the button accordion again. An invitation to Virginia's 1994 Wolf Trap Festival ended his decades-long hiatus from the button box. The success of Derrane's performance with piano accompanist Felix Dolan prompted Derrane's return to Irish music, launching international performances, recording, and teaching. In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Derrane with a National Heritage Fellowship. Derrane died in 2016.
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier
Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:
Collection — Shared_box 9562, Folder: 1
Identifier: BC-2025-081
Abstract
Unsigned music manuscripts (one notebook and loose pages) written primarily in accordion tablature by Jerry O’Brien, with some contributions by Joe Derrane, including both Irish and non-Irish melodies.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Dates:
1940-1959
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
Music by the Gaelic Roots Ceili Band, including Kieran Hanrahan, Séamus Connolly, Brian Conway, Helen Kisiel, Catherine McEvoy, Jimmy Noonan, Laurel Martin, Brendan McGlinchey, and Beth Sweeney. The first hour of the céilí was recorded live for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1999 June 25
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1997 June 26
Collection
Identifier: IM-M208-2017
Abstract
A button accordion, an event program, photographs, a set list, and phonograph records belonging to Boston-area Irish musician Joe Derrane.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. The accordion may be viewed by researchers, but may not be played.
Dates:
1928-circa 2010
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1995 October 1
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1999 June 26
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1999 June 23-25
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
2001 June 21
File — Box 8 (original media), Item: 4
Scope and Contents
From the Sub-Series:
Audiovisual recordings of performances and sessions by Irish dancers, musicians, and storytellers, many of whom were members of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ).
Access Note
These recordings are not available for playback due to format impermanence and have not been reformatted.
Dates:
undated
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1995 September 30
Collection
Identifier: IM-M176-2009
Abstract
Collection of audio recordings, news clippings, photographs, and sheet music documenting the music of Tommy Sullivan, an Irish traditional musician from Springfield, Massachusetts. Also included are sheet music, news clippings, and two recordings of accordionist Joe Derrane, who was a friend of the Sullivan family.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Audio recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Digital use copies can only be accessed in the Burns Library Reading Room.
Dates:
approximately 1900-1995
File — Multiple Containers
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival is primarily documented through audio and video recordings of music and dance performances and lectures. There are also extensive color snapshot photographs of the festival, and these include classes and workshops as well as concerts and lectures. A smaller amount of paper and born-digital files from Séamus Connolly and Chrysandra Walter capture event planning through correspondence, class descriptions, evaluations, press releases, artist schedules,...
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Multitrack audio recordings (DTRS and ADAT) cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time and are not available for playback due to format impermanence. In a few instances for which audio was exclusively recorded in one of these formats, migration was outsourced.Original digital text and image files in this...
Dates:
1999 June 24-25
Collection
Identifier: BC-2024-013
Abstract
Collection documents the life and career of Boston-area musician and artist Richard "Skip" Toomey through annotated musical manuscripts, drawings, and a watercolor.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Dates:
1950s-1970s, 2008, 2012
