Irish Music Archives Acquires Joe Derrane’s Accordion

Accordion donated by Derrane’s family to Burns Library is on view in the Irish Room.

Photo of Gaillard accordion.

John J. Burns Library is delighted to announce the acquisition of Joe Derrane’s Gaillard accordion, a gift to the Irish Music Archives from his children, Joseph P. Derrane, Jr. and Sheila A. Harvey. The highlight of the Joe Derrane Irish Music Materials at Burns Library, this two-row, D/C# button accordion is on display in the Irish Room.

Joe Derrane (1930-2016), a musician and composer whose music career spanned over 60 years, was known for his innovative approach to Irish traditional music on the D/C# button accordion. Born in Boston to Irish immigrants Patrick J. Derrane and Helen E. (Galvin) Derrane, he studied single-row melodeon from age 10 to 12 with Cork-born melodeon player Jerry O’Brien. As a teenager, Derrane taught himself to play piano accordion and D/C# button accordion. His early musical influences also included recordings of German-American melodeonist John J. Kimmel (1866-1942).

Photo of Joe Derrane
Photo of Joe Derrane with his Gaillard accordion. Photo by Sheila A. Harvey circa 2006.

From the mid-1940s to circa 1960, Derrane performed Irish traditional music across Boston, appearing frequently in Dudley Street dance hall bands. He was also a regular soloist on live radio. Copley Records invited him to record commercially while he was a high school senior, and he went on to record with collaborators such as his mentor Jerry O’Brien.

A series of gigs brought Derrane to New York City where he met Anne Connaughton. The couple married in 1955, and soon were settled in the Boston area with their two children. With Boston’s Irish dance hall audiences declining, Derrane switched to other instruments and music styles. Between 1962 and 1989, while holding administrative positions at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), he performed jazz, pop, and repertoire from other ethnic traditions. Derrane retired from the MBTA in the late 1980s, and by 1990 retired from music altogether.

In 1993, when Rego Irish Records and Tapes obtained rights to re-release his 78-rpm recordings, Derrane’s music was heard by many for the first time. The CD Irish Accordion caught the attention of journalist Earle Hitchner, who interviewed Derrane and persuaded him to try the button accordion again. After six months of intense practice, his long hiatus from the D/C# button accordion ended with a highly successful performance at Virginia’s 1994 Wolf Trap Festival.

Photo of Gaillard accordion.
Photo of Gaillard accordion. Joe Derrane Irish Music Materials, IM.M208.2017, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Derrane’s choice of accordion was integral to his playing style. In the 1990s, the D/C# button accordion system that Derrane favored was no longer popular for Irish music; it had been eclipsed by the B/C system. Nevertheless, he stayed with D/C# tuning, purchasing a custom instrument in 1995 from Bertrand Gaillard, a diatonic accordion maker based in France. In 1997 he purchased a second accordion from Gaillard with a new set of modifications. Derrane played the instrument on recordings and in live performances from 1997 until 2010. In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in the traditional arts.

The display of Derrane’s accordion at Burns Library underscores his close ties with Boston College through performances and teaching.  He was a long-time musical associate and friend of Boston College faculty member Séamus Connolly, who served as Sullivan Artist-in-Residence at BC until retiring in 2015. Visitors are welcome to view the instrument while visiting Burns Library.  For Library hours and information, we invite you to check our website or inquire via our contact form.

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