'He saved the true voice of the people': Coleraine folk song collector honoured for preserving Ulster’s musical heritage

A renowned Coleraine folk song collector whose work helped preserve hundreds of traditional songs for future generations is to be commemorated with a blue plaque in his home town.

Sam Henry (1878-1952), whose influential Songs of the People column ran in the Northern Constitution newspaper from 1923 to 1939, will be honoured by the Ulster History Circle.

The plaque will be unveiled at 20 Railway Road, Coleraine, today (Thursday), marking the contribution of a man whose collection has become an important resource for generations of folk musicians and researchers.

Henry contributed around 600 songs to the weekly column, which featured approximately 850 songs in total. It is regarded as the largest collection of songs from Ulster between the two World Wars that survives.

Born and educated in Coleraine, Henry worked as an Inland Revenue officer and used his travels around the North to collect songs directly from the people he met.

His work took him into homes and communities across the region, where he recorded songs from people he encountered during his duties.

In one account, Henry recalled a man leaving his horses in the middle of ploughing to sing for him, while another song was recorded to the rhythm of fishermen's oars on Lough Neagh.

His position administering old-age pensions also gave him an opportunity to meet older people who had traditional songs in their memories.

Henry would often play his fiddle or tell a joke to put people at ease before asking them to share songs.

The Songs of the People column quickly became a popular feature in the Northern Constitution, with readers submitting songs and stories from their own communities.

The collection has since influenced generations of Irish folk musicians, including Andy Irvine and Paul Brady. Songs found in Henry's collection have also been performed and recorded by artists including Planxty, Cara Dillon and Coleraine-born Damien O'Kane.

American folk song collector and archivist Alan Lomax described the Henry collection as “delicate, ornamental and expressive” and Songs of the People as one of the most interesting folk song projects he had encountered.

John Moulden, who edited Selections from the Sam Henry Collection, said Henry had preserved “the true voice of the people” by recording the songs, stories and experiences of ordinary people.

“Sam Henry earnestly wished to have it said of him ‘He put an old song in our mouths’ and he has, but he did much more than that,” he said.

“In preserving old songs, he saved the true voice of the people, ordinary people, otherwise almost unheard.”

Henry himself hoped his legacy would be remembered through the words: “He put an old song in our mouth, our land to magnify.”

He died in 1952 and did not see the collection published as a book or receive the recognition it would later attract.

His grandson Gordon Craig said Henry's legacy had allowed him to discover his grandfather despite having been only two years old when he died.

“Instead, I have come to know him through the extraordinary legacy he left behind,” he said.

“Sam Henry gave a voice to people who might otherwise have been forgotten.”

Sarah Calvin, museum services development manager at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, said the collection had provided opportunities for the museum to engage with the local community.

“I first saw the Sam Henry Collection at the home of one of Sam’s grandsons and immediately I knew it was special,” she said.

“Sam’s genuine interest in people, in songs, in language has provided the museum with so many opportunities to engage with our local community and enhance the collection further with their knowledge.”

Chris Spurr, chairman of the Ulster History Circle, said the organisation was delighted to commemorate Henry at the former Northern Constitution building where his songs were published.

“Sam Henry devoted years to seeking out and conserving hundreds of folk songs that could have been lost or forgotten without his diligent efforts,” he said.

“The Ulster History Circle is delighted to commemorate this legendary song collector with a blue plaque on the former Northern Constitution building where his songs were published. The Circle is grateful to Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council for their financial support towards the plaque, and to John Armstrong for his kind assistance.”

The blue plaque will be unveiled at 11am.