Hugh Shields
Dr Hugh Shields was an authority on Irish traditional music and a founder member of the Folk Music Society of Ireland and the Irish Traditional Music Archive. He was also a senior lecturer in French at Trinity College, Dublin. He wrote a number of works on Irish music and folklore.
He was born in Belfast and attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin, where he specialized in French and Spanish. He became a junior lecturer there in 1954 and a full lecturer in 1965. After his retirement in 1994 he continued teaching for another four years in the school of music, where he had worked part-time since 1982.
He first met the traditional singer Eddie Butcher in 1953 and started collecting traditional music. He collaborated with the Dublin collector Tom Munnelly. He edited his recordings for several record companies and for the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. In 1971 he was a founder member of the Folk Music Society of Ireland and was its first honorary secretary. He edited both the society's journal and newsletter. He also contributed articles to a large number of national and international journals.
