From the Preface. IN the year 1855 was published "The Ancient Music of Ireland" a volume which was edited by George Petrie, LL.D., under the superintendence of the " Society for the preservation and publication of the Melodies of Ireland." This volume contains a large number of airs, of which about twenty were contributed by me. It was my wish that all my collection, or all worthy of preservation, should be printed by the Society, but the publication ceased after the appearance of one volume. The death of Dr. Petrie, in 1864, put an end to all hope of continuing the work; for he left no one behind him who was, at that time at least, either able or willing to undertake the editorship. His death was indeed an irreparable loss: for he possessed an extensive and critical know- ledge of the subject, which it is to be feared few or none will ever equal. My only anxiety was to secure the publication of the airs I had preserved, that they might be saved from possible loss; but as I failed to do so under the auspices of the Society, I am now doing what I suppose is the next best thing, publishing them myself.