The man who inspired My Wild Irish Rose

The Rambler from Clare was a name used by the famous circus entertainer from Feakle, Johnny Patterson and the Minstrel from Clare is a recording by the late Willie Clancy.
Less well known is the Minstrel of Clare, a musical play that opened on Broadway in 1886 starring Chancellor John Alcott and featuring a score written by him. Better known as Chauncey Alcott he was the most famous Irish-American singer/songwriter of his generation and his stage career lasted from the 1880s until he retired in 1925.
His life story was the inspiration for the film My Wild Irish Rose. Released in 1947 by Warner Brothers, it starred Denis Morgan, Andrea King, Arlene Dahl and the great Abbey actress Sara Allgood. It received one Oscar nomination for best music.
Alcott’s mother had been born in Ireland but her family had all emigrated when she was only eight years old. His biographies list him as having been born in Buffalo, New York and he is credited as saying that the family lived in what he described as an Irish Shanty Town on the banks of the Erie Canal.
He was educated by the Christian Brothers, probably at the St Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, which had been started in Buffalo in 1861 by six Brothers who travelled from New York and Montreal.
He joined a minstrel show on leaving school in 1880. Theatre managers recognised the quality of his voice and encouraged him both to sing solos and move on to more regular stage work. He left the minstrel troupe and turned to plays and comic operas, specialising in Irish melodramas.
In his early stage days he acted in several Broadway shows including, Barry of Barrymore, Isle of Dreams, The Heart of Paddy Whack and Machusla, all of which have obvious Irish connections.
Later on, the list included, Mavourneen, The Irish Artist, The Minstrel of Clare, Sweet Inniscarra, A Romance of Athlone, Old Limerick Town and Eileen Asthore. He came to the notice of Lillian Russell and appeared as her leading man in Pepita.
In 1890 he moved to London, where he appeared in a number of operas and also took voice lessons. Back in New York by 1894, he resumed his stage career but by now he was also composing. In some cases he just wrote the lyrics, in others the music and in some both.
Many of his songs were written for production in specific shows in which he starred. He was well respected as a songwriter and in 1914 he became a charter member – with the likes of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern John Philip Sousa and Victor Herbert – at the foundation of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
As well as My Wild Irish Rose he wrote either on his own or in partnership, Mother Machree, A Little Bit of Heaven, When Irish Eyes are Smiling, In the Sunshine of Your Love, I Love the Name of Mary and Tic Tac Toe. In 1970 he was inducted posthumously into the American Song Writers Hall of Fame.
To show his stage versatility his last acting role was in Sheridan’s The Rivals in 1925, following which he retired to Monte Carlo, where he died on March 18, 1932 – 81 years ago this week.
n Michael Torpey