Sir, – Further to Frank McNally’s thoughts on the Percy French song The Mountains of Mourne (An Irishman’s Diary, October 10th), it should perhaps be added that the sheet music gave the writers as Percy French and Houston Collison. French wrote the lyrics and Collison arranged the music from an old Irish air.
William Alexander Houston Collison, to give him his full name, was born in Dublin in 1865 and was at times a Church of Ireland chorister, organist and, ultimately, clergyman. He maintained his involvement in music after ordination and made recital tours with French. French died from pneumonia while staying at a friend’s house in Liverpool in 1920. Collison conducted the funeral but died himself a week later. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.