An American composer’s Cork connections inspired him to write an almost forgotten work dedicated to Terence MacSwiney. The piece is about to gets its first airing in the city, writes Marjorie Brennan

THE Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland is the summation of 10 years of research, and brings together some 2,000 articles by 240 contributors in a handsome two-volume, cloth-bound edition.

Handel’s Messiah will come to life in Dublin’s historic cultural quarter where it was first performed more than 260 years ago, it was revealed today.