Ireland continues to produce many writers, poets, singers and musicians who make their mark on the world stage today.

Obvious examples today in various genres include U2, the Cranberries, Enya, Joseph Locke, and Westlife. But there were many world-famous stars over the centuries who are less well remembered today.

One of them was John McCormack. He was a native of Athlone. His singing astonished all who knew him from a young age.

McCormack was born in 1884. He received his operatic training in Italy. During the age of the gramophone, he became one of the most popular musical artists in the world.

He played to packed concert halls in countries all around the globe. He was made a papal count in 1928 due to his dedication to charity work.

He was not the only Irish musician with Italian training. Margaret Burke Sheridan, born in Castlebar to a postmaster, also exhibited great talent.

She met Guglielmo Marconi by chance. He was the famous inventor who gifted her with a trip to Italy. There, she learned opera from the best in the world.

She was considered top-class. Even in a discerning country, when it came to the art, she excelled. She sang in operas all over the world.

Catherine Hayes was a Limerick woman born in 1820. She also made her mark on the world of opera. Hayes perfected her craft in France and Italy. She would come to be known as the Irish Nightingale.

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was another musician who made an indelible mark on world music.

Born in Co. Galway in 1829, he emigrated to America in 1847. The Galway native learned the cornet at a young age. He quickly got work in a music shop in Boston. Then, he joined the city’s brass band.

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His talent was unmistakable, and Gilmore enlisted in the Northern Army in the American Civil War.

During his service, he published the words and music for When Johnny Comes Marching Home. The song soon grew to national prominence.

Gilmore became famous throughout America. In 1869, he organized an enormous peace jubilee.

The goal was to unite the country after the war. It had an orchestra of 1,000 musicians, conducted by Gilmore himself. Hundreds of thousands of spectators were present.

Gilmore died suddenly while touring in 1892, but is still remembered in Ireland and in America

He was a pioneering musician who escaped Britain’s policy of population and land grab by coerced migration and starvation. He changed the course of musical history.

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