Here are some early written records of a Hammered Dulcimer being played in Ireland!
“A German Dulcimer player in Eighteenth Century Dublin“
“Among the musicians to enjoy her patronage was a fashionable performer on the Hammered Dulcimer, a musical instrument rare in Ireland at any time. He was Isaac Isaacs, a German born Jew, who was first heard of in Dublin performing at Smock Alley Theatre during the 1767-68 theatrical season and billed as recently arrived from Dublin.”
Read more of how he received patronage of 50 Guineas a year for two years, from a Mrs Leeson. She used to take him along to play at parties & even on walks when she would ..
“have my groom, with the Dulcimer tied on his back, Isaacs playing on it, and another man on the violin, to play through all the walks”
Isaacs obituary appeared in the Dublin Evening Post, 5 May 1791:
“Deaths …. In Winetavern Street, after a few hours indisposition, Isaac Isaacs, a German Jew, well known to the pleasurable circles as one of the first Dulcimer performers in Europe.”
So it looks like the Hammered Dulcimer was being played in Ireland at least eighty years before instruments like the Accordion, Concertina & Tenor Banjo were even invented & certainly long before instruments like Guitars & Bodhrans became popular!
So why did the Dulcimer not become more popular or ever really become accepted as part of the Tradition, in most areas of Ireland? Were musicians just too lazy to tune all those strings, or was it because the instrument simply was not available?
We know that when the Concertina & Accordion arrived in Ireland, they were being mass produced & many were also cheap, with the bonus that you didn’t need to tune them! So perhaps, if only an Irish Luthier had taken a shine to the Dulcimer & started making them, who knows, we might have seen it become as ubiquitous as the humble Bodhran by now!
Hammered Dulcimer in Ireland 
Dick, there was John Dowling, active in Dublin by 1761. He’s mentioned in my book. I have quite a few more historical references than when I did when I wrote the book. The Ulster King of Arms (or some office like that) even maintained a dulcimer player at official expense from the 1770s to 1790s or so. I don’t have the reference handy at the moment, but there are lots of references in northern Ireland from that period. Archibald Williamson (whose name sounds Scottish), the “Irish Jew,” advertised “the Jews music” at the Sign of the Fiddle and Dulcimer in Dublin in 1738 and 1744. So it’s safe to say it was known by then.
I came across a manuscript in the U.S. where the author wrote about his grandfather, born in 1836, who had a dulcimer that he said came over from Ireland in the 18th century with his immigrant ancestor. The name was Conley. True or not, who knows, but it’s possible. Then there’s a very old one in the New Brunswick Museum brought over in the early 19th century by an immigrant from Derry.
Hello Paul,
Many thanks for that fascinating information.
Those are just the sort of details I was hoping this Blog might help to unearth, expose & display, so that more folks, especially over here in Ireland, might learn to appreciate the history of the Hammered Dulcimer in Ireland a little more.
I must contact the present “Ulster King of Arms” & see if he or she might be willing to maintain ME! 🙂
Cheers, Dick
my father james burnett. played hammered dulcimer in 1930s. he took lessons from a pro???? my grandfather & great grandfather made this pro a new dulcimer every year in exchange for lessons for my father. all men in this burnett family were named james joseph burnett.they lived in glasgow scotland. do you know anything about this situation.
Hello Shirley,
That’s fascinating. I’m sure Jack Bethel a well known Hammered Dulcimer player, who lives in the Glasgow region of Scotland himself, would be very interested to learn more about the james joseph burnetts. I’ll certainly pass on this info to him, but you might also like to contact him yourself through his website.
Cheers,
Dick