Liùsaidh n'in Chatrìona ni'n Ailein Chaluim Pìobaire

Lucy Byrne, née Patterson, was born in Benacadie on December 25, 1920 to Catherine ‘Katie’ MacNeil | Catrìona nighean Ailein Chaluim Pìobaire and David Patterson. Her parents met in Boston where David had immigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland and Catherine had moved from Cape Breton to find work as a domestic servant. Catherine’s parents, Allan MacNeil and Mary MacInnis, were descended from Barra people; Allan’s grandparents emigrated from Barra in 1802 and eventually settled in Piper’s Cove. Catherine and David moved back to Catherine’s home community of Benacadie Glen circa 1909 where they raised Lucy and her six siblings.

Lucy came from a family of fine singers on her mother’s side and learned many songs from her mother’s repertoire. Both mother and daughter are featured in the Cape Breton Gaelic Folklore Collection. Lucy passed away in Benacadie in 1990.