Ina Boyle was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 composer. She was born in Bushey Park near Enniskerry

Enniskerry

Enniskerry is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It had a population of 2,672 at the 2006 census.- Location :...

 and took violin and cello lessons as a child. She studied counterpoint, harmony and composition with Drs. Kitson and Hewson in Dublin, and by correspondence with her cousin Charles Wood

Charles Wood (composer)

Charles Wood was an Irish composer and teacher.Born in Armagh, Ireland, he was the fifth child and third son of Charles Wood Sr. and Jemima Wood. His father was a tenor in the choir of the nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh , and later worked as the Diocesan Registrar of the church...

. She also traveled to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 periodically for lessons with Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

. She also studied with Percy Buck

Percy Buck

Sir Percy Carter Buck was an English music educator, writer, organist, and composer. He was born in London, and studied at Merchant Taylors' School and the Royal College of Music. He was the church organist at Worcester College, Oxford , Wells Cathedral , and Bristol Cathedral...

.

Because of her isolation, Boyle's music was seldom performed. However, she continued to compose until her death. Her composition The Magic Harp received a Carnegie

Carnegie

Carnegie may refer to:*Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, for whom many entries on this page are named*Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker and author*David Carnegie , Scottish-Swedish industrialist...

 award, and she won an Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 Honorable Mention in 1948 for Ireland with Lament for Bion, a composition she submitted to the Olympic Cultural Activities Committee. She died of cancer in Enniskerry, and her papers are housed in the Library of Trinity College

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, Dublin.

A feature length documentary about the life and music of Ina Boyle titled From the Darkness was broadcast 12 June 2010 on Ireland's RTÉ Lyric FM

RTÉ lyric fm

RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

.

Works

Boyle composed choral works, part-songs, three ballets, a string quartet, song cycles, concertos for orchestra and for chorus and orchestra. Selected works include:

• Soldiers at Peace for Chorus and Orchestra, 1916
• The Magic Harp - orchestral rhapsody (1919) (Carnegie award)
• Colin Clout - pastoral for orchestra (1921)
• Gaelic Hymns - unaccompanied choral work (1923–1924)
• Symphony No. 1, Glencree (1924–1927)
• Phantasy for violin and chamber orchestra (1926)
• Psalm for cello and orchestra (1927)
• Symphony No. 2, The Dream of the Rood (1929–1930) after the Anglo-Saxon poem
• Virgilian Suite, ballet suite for small orchestra (1930–1931) based on the Eclogues of Virgil
• Overture (1933–1934)
• String Quartet in E minor (1934)
• Concerto for violin and orchestra (1935)
• The Dance of Death - a masque for dancing (1935–1936) after the woodcuts by Hans Holbein
• The Vision of Er, a mimed drama or ballet (1938–1939) based on Plato's Republic, Book X
• Wild Geese, sketch for small orchestra (1942)
• Symphony No. 3, From the Darkness for contralto and orchestra (1946–1951) words by Edith Sitwell
• Maudlin of Paplewick, pastoral opera for solo voices with chamber orchestra (1964–1966) based on 'The sad shepherd' of Ben Jonson