John Delany (luthier)

Delany was born in Dublin in 1769 to Daniel Delany, a cabinetmaker, and Mary Byrne.[2] On 20 November 1771, Delany was baptised John William Delany in the parish of St Catherine's, a Roman Catholic parish in Meath Street, Dublin. Delany's parents were married in the same church the year before on 29 October 1770. It is therefore possible that Delany was born thereafter, sometime in the Summer or Autumn of 1771. It is likely that Delany grew up in this part of inner city Dublin, known as the The Liberties, as his father's business was later located on nearby Crane Street.

It has been suggested that Delany's family may have originally been landowners in Queen's County (now County Laois), like many of the other Irish luthier families, such as the Molineuxs, Wards, Perrys and Wilkinsons.[6] There is evidence of Delanys residing in Tinnakill, a rural area near Raheen in County Laois, where the Perry family owned substantial quantities of land.[7] This could explain the connection to Thomas Perry of Dublin, to whom Delany later apprenticed to.

Before starting his career as a luthier, Delany was trained in the family business as cabinetmaker. He would have began a formal apprenticeship around the age of 14, some time about 1783.[4] He may have been apprenticed to his father, who was a cabinetmaker, or to some other master craftsman, as was common practice at the time. His apprenticeship with the Carpenters' Guild of the City of Dublin would have taken at least 7 years to complete. By around 1790, Delany would have been a fully-trained cabinet maker and was described as a "true artist in wood work".[4] Around this time, his father's cabinetry business was located on 1 Crane Street off Thomas Street in Dublin. In 1795, Delany's father died and a probate was conducted to deal with his estate.

Delany's style of violin making evolved throughout his career. Some of his earlier instruments were based on the Stainer model and have a dull brown varnish and wide F-holes with exaggerated styling, typical of the early Irish school.[5] His later instruments were based on the Amati model, which his mentor, Perry, had adopted around the time of his apprenticeship. Perry is said to have studied directly from an Amati instrument lent to him by the Duke of Leinster.[17] It is possible that Delany was also influenced by Panormo's style during his time spent working at the Perry firm, which was also of the Amati school. Delany's later violins tend to have a lighter golden brown varnish, probably influenced by Perry's later 'golden amber' violins.[18][17] Delany branded his instruments externally 'DELANY/DUBLIN' at the back below the button, a signature of the Irish school.

According to Rev. William Meredith Morris, who published the book British Violin Makers, Delany's instruments were "well made" and produced a "clear and sweet tone".[19]

Delany's instruments have become known for their unusual variety of labels, some of which are short, others long and expressive.[3] His short labels typically follow the standard format of maker, place and year, for example: 'Made by John Delany, No.17 Britain Street, Dublin, 1808'.[20] Delany's longer labels, on the other hand, express his strong sense of nationalism.[4] An example of one of his long labels, written the year after the 1798 Rebellion, reads:

Another example of one of his long labels, commonly quoted in books, reads:

Delany's unusually expressive labels have led to much interest and intrigue amongst historians and violin enthusiasts. As a result, his labels have been featured in some of the earliest books on violin making and its makers, including The History of The Violin, and Other Instruments Played on with the Bow from the Remotest Times to the Present, The Violin: Its Famous Makers and their Imitators, A Dictionary of Violin Makers, and British Violin Makers.[21][20][3][19]

Delany also featured in a book by Matthew Doyle called Beneath the Eagle’s Wings.[22] The book tells the story of a widower, Liam O'Callaghan, who is a violinist and purveyor of Irish traditional music. O'Callaghan is the owner of an old Delany violin that he inherited from his father. The instrument is described as being "plain in its nature and based on the Amati model". The book also describes one of Delany's characteristically long labels, similar to the second label above. It then goes on to describe O'Callaghan's fascination with Delany and his message:

Sometimes Liam sat with the instrument in his hands and glided his fingers over the inscription, tracing the letters with his index finger. As the first part of the inscription was almost certainly a call by the maker to be remembered after his death, Liam often wondered if Delany would be pleased to hear the music that he and his father had played by his creation.

Liam had also always loved the second message on the instrument and as a young boy had made an enquiry with his father as to why the maker had placed an inscription expressing such implicit sentiments on the back of the violin [...] It was inconceivable, his father had told him, that Delany could not have been aware of the ending of the Atlantic slave trade the previous year by the British Government and the brutal continuance of the institution of slavery that still existed in the maker’s world.

His father considered this second message to be a considerate and thoughtful effort at solidarity with those held in bondage, as well as an explicit protest against the policies of both the American Government domestically, and the British Government in their colonies.[22]

It is not known if Delany ever married or had a family of his own. The fact that Daniel Compton took over the business after Delany's death suggests that he did not have any sons to pass it onto.[16] Delany has been described as a "very erratic genius" and "an original egotist".[5][23] He is known to have been a staunch Republican and supporter of Irish revolutionary, Wolfe Tone.[6] This strong sense of nationalism was typical of Irishmen of the time and likely influenced by the growing republican movement in 18th-century Ireland that culminated in the 1798 Rebellion.[4]

His strong nationalist views may also be linked to the Parnell family, who became known for their efforts to bring about emancipation in Ireland. Tinnakill, where the Delanys may have originated, is a place closely associated with the Parnells. In 1773, a Malachy Delany of Tinnakill is recorded as being an agent to Sir John Parnell.[24] In the 1817 and 1818 Dublin Directories, a Malachy Delany is listed as working as a "Ladies' Shoe-maker" in the building next door to John Delany on Great Britain Street, which coincidentally was later renamed Parnell Street after Charles Stewart Parnell.[25] It is uncertain whether this is the same Malachy Delany from Tinnakill or a close relative, but it is possible that there is a connection between them or their families.

It is unknown how many instruments Delany produced in his lifetime as he did not number them. Some of them still survive today and appear in auction houses from time to time in various states of repair. Two of Delany's violins are preserved in the National Museum of Ireland as part of a collection of musical instruments by Irish makers.[4] However, these particular examples are said not reflect his best work, being Stainer-like in style and unpurfled with a dull brown varnish.[26]

Some of Delany's extant instruments:

• (?): National Museum of Ireland collection, Dublin[4]
• (?): National Museum of Ireland collection, Dublin[4]
• 1799: labelled 'Made by/John Delany/No.11 Townsend St/Dublin/Novbr. 5th, 1799/Liberty & Equality to all the world'
• c. 1800: unlabelled, branded 'DELANY/DUBLIN' beneath the button and 'DELANY' above the end pin, sold by Brompton's in March 2014 for £1,320 (Lot 186), LOB: 34.9 cm[27][28][29]
• c. 1800: sold by Bonhams in November 2002 for £822 (Lot 201), LOB: 35.8 cm[30]
• c. 1805: two-piece back, branded 'DELANY/DUBLIN' below the button, LOB: 35.3 cm[31]
• 1808: referenced in numerous books, labelled 'Made by John Delany, No.17 Britain Street, Dublin, 1808'.[20][3][32][23]
• c. 1820: unlabelled, branded externally 'DELANY/DUBLIN' beneath the button, sold by Bonhams in June 2020 for £225 (Lot 1176), LOB: 35.7 cm[33]
• c. 1830: sold by Brompton's in October 2016 for £300 (Lot 59), LOB: 32.5 cm[34]

• Joly, J. R. New and complete instructions, &c. for the violin:containing the easiest and best method for learners to obtain a proficiency on that instrument, with some useful directions, lessons, graces, &c. : to which is added a favorite collection of airs, marches, rondos, &c. : with several well adapted duets for two violins. Dublin: John Delany, 1800.[35]
• The compleat tutor for the German flute containing the best and easiest instructions for learners to obtain a proficiency [microform] : to which is added a choice collection of the most celebrated Italian, English, Irish and Scotch tunes curiously adapted to that instrument. Also a dictionary explaining such words as generally occur in music. Dublin: John Delany, 1810.[13]

• Thomas Perry (luthier)
• Vincenzo Panormo
• Cathal Gannon

• John Delany on Dublin Music Trade
• John Delany on Brian Boydell Card Index
• John Delany on Amati
• John Delany on Brompton's
• John Delaney on Brompton's
• Catalogue of Delany's 1810 publication at National Library of Australia