Biography

Alexander Martin Freeman was born on the 7th of May 1878 in Upper Tooting, South London. He was educated in Bedford at a grammar school, before attending Lincoln College in Oxford. Throughout his studies, however, he suffered often from spells of ill health.

He married Adelaide Letitia Peoples of County Donegal, Ireland, and learned Irish, attending the classes of the reputed scholar Kuno Mayer in University College London.

In the summer of 1913, A. Martin Freeman spent some time in Ballyvourney, West Cork, where Irish language and culture were still strong, but starting to succumb to English, especially among the younger generations. He started to record the singing style of the local people, and decided to return in 1914 to properly record the 'seann nòs' singing of the area. His collection of songs was published in 1921, however its circulation was initially quite limited.

Freeman was recorded by John Lorne Campbell in 1951 in Canna, singing the songs which he collected from the people in Ballyvourney.