Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971),ánÓ was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figure in the revival of Irish traditional music during the 1960s.
Ó Riada's career began as a music director at Radio Éireann from 1954, after which he worked at the Abbey Theatre from 1955 to 1962. He lectured in music at University College Cork from 1963 until his death in 1971. He became a household name in Ireland through his participation in Ceoltóirí Chualann, compositions, writings and broadcasts. His best-known pieces in the classical tradition include Nomos No. 1: Hercules Dux Ferrariae (1957), but he became particularly famous for his film scores Mise Éire (1959) and Saoirse? (1960). He left a lasting influence as founder and director of the ensemble Ceoltóirí Chualann (from 1961). His music still endures: his mass in Irish is still sung to this day in many churches in the Irish-speaking regions of Ireland.
Ó Riada died in 1971, aged 40.
Early life
Ó Riada was born John Reidy in Cork City. He spent his early years in Adare, County Limerick, where his father, a Garda sergeant, was stationed. After beginning school in Adare, he later attended St Finbarr's College, Farranferris and whilst he was there he received musical education from Aloys Fleischmann (Senior). He moved to St Munchin's College in Limerick where he completed his Leaving Certificate in 1948.
He played violin, piano and organ, and studied Greek and Latin classics at University College Cork, with Aloys Fleischmann (Junior) and graduated in 1952. While at college, Ó Riada was the auditor of the UCC Philosophical Society. That year he became assistant director for Radio Éireann. He married Ruth Coughlan in 1953.
During the evening he played piano with dance bands. In 1955 Ó Riada spent several months in France and consolidated his interest in techniques of musical modernism. On his return in July he became music director of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin (until 1962), where he wrote, arranged and directed music for the small pit orchestra, also continuing his work in radio. Most of his original, modern orchestral compositions were also written in this time, which included his Nomos No. 1: Hercules Dux Ferrariae for string orchestra (1957), Nomos No. 4 for piano and orchestra (1958) and the Triptyche pour orchestre (1960) as well as an early version of his ambitious Nomos No. 2 for baritone solo, mixed choir and orchestra (1965). As his work with Ceoltóirí Chualann developed, his engagement with the modern musical avantgarde decreased, but was never abandoned.
Mise Éire
Ó Riada composed and directed orchestral music for theatre and film, combining traditional Irish tunes and "sean-nós" (old style) songs in the classical tradition, similar to nationalist composers such as Dvořák (Czech), Bartók (Hungarian) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (English). In 1959 he scored a documentary film by George Morrison called Mise Éire ("I am Ireland"), about the founding of the Irish Republic. The recording is conducted by Ó Riada himself. Mise Éire brought him national acclaim and allowed him to start a series of programmes on Irish radio called Our Musical Heritage. Ó Riada told people that one should listen to sean-nós singing either as a child would listen or as if they were songs from India.