Annie Wilson Patterson was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 organist, music educator, writer and composer.

Life

Annie Patterson was born in Lurgan

Lurgan

Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

, County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and was related through her mother's family to Lord Macaulay. She made her debut performance in Dublin at age fifteen, studied at Alexandra College and the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and received her doctorate in 1889, becoming the first British woman to hold a Doctorate of Music. After she completed her studies, she became an examiner for the Royal University of Ireland and worked as an organist and conductor of the Dublin Choral Union and the Hampstead Harmonic Society. In 1897 she founded the Feis Ceoil

Feis Ceoil

Feis Ceoil is an annual Irish cultural festival of music and dance. It was first organized in 1897 by Dr. Annie Patterson and Edward Martyn. It consisted of competitions for performance and composition and was supported by all musicians of the day, both national and classical...

 festival in Dublin. The Dr. Annie Patterson Medal is awarded in her honor at the festival. In 1909 Patterson took a job as organist at St. Anne’s in Shandon

Shandon

Shandon can refer to some place names:Republic of Ireland* Shandon, Dublin* Shandon, CorkUnited Kingdom* Shandon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland* Shandon Castle, Argyll and Bute, Scotland* Shandon, Edinburgh, ScotlandUnited States* Shandon, California...

, County Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

.

Patterson wrote poetry, essays, short stories, and professional articles and books on music. She published articles in The Girl’s Own Paper in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and a series of articles on music in the Weekly Irish Times from 1899–1901. She published ten books, including a text on Irish folk music and a biography of Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....

for the Master Musician’s Series. In 1924 she took a position in Cork as a lecturer on Irish music, where she worked until her death in 1934.

Works

Patterson composed sacred and secular cantatas, orchestral works and songs based on Irish themes. Selected works include:

• Gaelic League Rallying Song, Chonnradh na Gaedhilge
• Six Gaelic Songs