Biography:Patrick Carew

Biographical notes
 Researcher Nicholas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Music Archive records that Patrick Carew (or, as collector William Forde gave his name, 'Paddy Carey') was a musically literate professional uilleann piper living in Lag Lane, St Finbarre’s parish, Cork, in the mid-1840's. The area, notes Carolan, was near a military barracks, and was the location of shebeens (illicit bars) and brothels, notorious for poverty and crime. A number of harper Turlough O'Carolan's compositions were in his repertoire, and were the object of collectors. His manuscript collection came into the possession of Richard Dowden, and Alderman of County Cork and a friend of collector George Petrie. Dowden made them available to Petrie, who used a number of Carey's tunes in his printed collections.