Eddie Butcher singing at Féile na Bóinne, Drogheda, 1977. Photo by Joe Dowdall, Drogheda. Courtesy of the Irish Traditional Music Archive. See here for more information about this image.

A new book about the life of the traditional singer Eddie Butcher is to be launched in Belfast next week. The book, All the Days of his Life tells Butcher’s story in his own words, edited by Hugh and Lisa Shields. The writer and poet Ciaran Carson will launch the book, which is accompanied by three CDs.

Born in Magilligan, County Derry in 1900, Butcher’s songs came from a blend of Irish, Scottish and English traditions. He made his first commercial recording in the 1960s, but by his death in 1980, over 200 recordings of his singing had been made.

All the Days of Life is published in association with the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry and the School of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast. The publication has received support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the National Lottery, the Arts Council of Ireland and the Tom Munnelly Fund.

www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SeamusHeaneyCentreforPoetry/