To date, little attention has been given to the songs in Synge's The Aran Islands, items that Tim Robinson imagines are not ‘fully thought into the texture of the work’. They come from a collection of songs in Irish and in English that was created by Synge in Inis Oírr in 1901 in the company of the local poet Mícheál Ó Meachair. This essay investigates Synge's song collection and the local singers and poets whom he met, including Seághan Seoige of Baile an Fhormna, Inis Oírr and Marcuisín Mhichil Siúinéara Ó Flaithbheartaigh of Cill Rónáin, Árainn. It examines how the music of Aran impacted on Synge during his four visits between 1898 and 1901, what his collection tells us about the song tradition of Aran, and what inspired him to collect songs there. Did Douglas Hyde's Love Songs of Connacht prompt him to create his own collection? What parts did Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats play? Considering Synge was a trained musician and composer, why did he not collect the airs that accompanied the songs? Recognising the influence of sean-nós song on Synge's dramatic oeuvre, this essay questions whether or not the songs of Aran affected his work.
