Obituary: Beloved musician, Deirdre Scanlon, passes away at 70

Deirdre Scanlon sadly passed away on December 21. She was born in Waterford in 1955. Her father, Fintan O’Carroll, was an internationally renowned church music composer (whose song was played at Joe Biden’s inauguration) and her mother, Josephine O’Carroll, was a member of a choir.

Deirdre was passionate about music from a very young age and often sat in on her father’s group lessons to learn as much as possible. At the age of 17, she joined the National Youth Orchestra and went on to win the Feis Ceoil in 1977 when she was 21 years old.

Although she was asked to audition for the National Symphony Orchestra, teaching music was her true passion, and she became the only specialist viola teacher in the South East. She joined the Regional Technical College (later WIT Music School) at its inception and became its longest-serving teacher with 42 years of dedicated service.

The viola is known as "the Cinderella of instruments" because it often does the harmonies rather than solos. It is easy to make comparisons between Deirdre and the instrument she loved so much.

Ever humble, even after playing with international professional orchestras, having both performed and conducted in the National Concert Hall and creating two new youth orchestras, when people asked her what she did for a living, she would simply say, “I’m a music teacher.” But by day she was teaching 10-year-olds and by night she was playing music at the highest level with European orchestras.

Deirdre was so dedicated to music that five weeks before her death, she was still occasionally wearing high heels around the house to maintain the posture needed for professional music playing.

Along with her friends, Deirdre was part of the ‘Adult Youth Orchestra’, which challenged her to play big orchestral pieces. She founded SETU's Budding Bows, as well as its Concert Strings group.

When Deirdre was in her fifties, she and her daughter Emma did a master’s degree together in the University of Limerick. She got the second-highest marks in the course. She was also a prominent member of the SETU Orchestra.

Although Deirdre was ill for some years, she did not let that stop her from continuing to dedicate her life to music. Even after 50 years of music, she was still performing at the highest level. Due to her illness, Deirdre unfortunately could not play in the Brahms Requiem concert, and it was a member of the national symphony orchestra who was the only one who could replace her.

Her husband, Greg Scanlon, believes it was “pure passion” for music that enabled her to continue to perform despite her illness. Even though the rehearsals were long and exhausting, playing music ‘buoyed her’. In fact, after she played her final public concert, she didn’t need her support medication for her chemotherapy. It was her love of music that sustained her. “It was sheer magic,” Greg said.

He fell for Deirdre “hook, line and sinker” when they were just 19 years old, and they remained together for 50 years. When they were both living in Dublin, Greg used to accompany Deirdre to Dún Laoghaire, where she was staying, and then he would make the long journey back on foot to his own accommodation in Drumcondra. It was a 10-mile walk he gladly did every week just to be able to spend extra time with her.

Deirdre’s three children, David, Fintan and Emma, are all accomplished musicians. She was extraordinarily proud of her children.

The couple renovated a small home in France. The house had no water or electricity and was located in a tiny hamlet, which they loved to visit during the summer. As Deirdre became more ill, she was unable to travel. Greg said that the memories they made there became a “mental refuge” they would visit together when stuck in the hospital.

Although Deirdre is gone, her legacy will live on for a very long time. 25 percent of the Lions Club orchestra are former students of hers. Deirdre began as the only viola teacher in the region. There are now at least five, and Deirdre taught four of them. 

Deirdre was particularly grateful and moved by the news that an award within SETU to be instated in her name would continue to help young string players into the future. This summer, her colleagues in the Adult Youth Orchestra will dedicate their entire concert to her. 

Coincidentally, they will also be performing an orchestral piece written by Greg Scanlon.

Greg summed it up beautifully when he said, “This is how someone just quietly doing their job suddenly has a cultural significance 25 years later.”