The Patrick J. Hill Papers

 
Biography:

Patrick J. Hill was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1900.  At 16, he lied about his age to join the British Army to fight the Germans during WWI.  But when he, like many Irish who were enlisted in the army at the time, was sent back to Ireland to put down a rebellion by the Irish people, his parents arranged for him to be discharged from the army.  Shortly thereafter, he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (later the Irish Republic Army) in the fight for Irish independence.

In 1923, Hill emigrated first to Canada and then to St. Paul, MN.  He worked for many years at the Union Depot.  Active in the Twin Cities Irish-American Club, he played and performed many of the Irish songs and ballads he collected and wrote at their dances and at other Twin Cities venues.

Patrick J. Hill passed away in 1980.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of hand/typewritten lyrics of songs collected and written by Patrick J. Hill. 

Provenance:

The collection was given to the Department of Special Collections by Leah C. Curtin, July 2003.

Processed:

November 2003

Inventory:

Box/Folder

1/1        Pat Hill: The Poetic Warrior, by James Curtin, nd.

1/2        Sinn Fein Songs, 1916 – 1923 / Songs of the Irish Republic, nd.  (contents)

1/3       Songs of Tipperary by Local Poets / Poems of the Home by Patrick J. Hill, 1971 (contents)

1/4        Songs Written by Pat Hill, nd. (contents)

1/5        Miscellaneous Songs Written or Collected By Pat Hill, nd.

1/6        Songs of an Irish Ballad Singer, edited by Mary Mazzarello O’Flaherty, 1976.