Flood was born in
Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. His family had a great influence on his education. He was born to William and Catherine (FitzSimon) Flood, the Master and Matron of the
Lismore Union Workhouse. He had one older sister (Maria), and five brothers (Francis (his twin brother), Patrick, Frederick, George and James (who died in infancy). Flood received his elementary education at his grandfather's (Andrew FitzSimon) boys academy in Lismore, and was given music lessons by his aunt, Elizabeth FitzSimon. He quickly became an accomplished pianist and, at the age of nine, was invited to give a recital for the
Duke of Devonshire at
Lismore Castle. He entered
Mount Melleray in 1872 and graduated in 1876. During this time, he received private tuition in music from Sir
Robert Prescott Stewart (1825–1894) and developed proficiency on other musical instruments. He was organist of
St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral in Belfast (1878–82), the
Cathedral of the Assumption in
Thurles, County Tipperary (1882–8), Monaghan Cathedral (1888–94) and
St. Aidan's Cathedral,
Enniscorthy (from September 1895). A devout Catholic, Flood entered
St. Patrick's in
Carlow, County Carlow and spent several years studying for the priesthood. He taught music at the Jesuit Colleges of
Tullabeg, County Offaly (1882–4),
Clongowes Wood College (from 1884), St MacCartan's College, Monaghan (from 1888), and
St. Kieran's College in
Kilkenny. During his long residency at Enniscorthy (1895–1928) Flood authored the majority of his musical compositions and historical publications. Flood was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music (DMus) from the Royal University of Ireland in 1907. While he was organist and musical director at
St. Aidan's Cathedral in Enniscorthy. He transcribed the
Wexford Carol from a local singer and had it published in
The Oxford Book of Carols, putting Enniscorthy into most carol books around the world. In December 1898, he married Margaret Delaney and, over the next 12 years, the couple had six children, including Catherine (Kathleen), Mollie, Agnes, William, Patrick and Margaret (Rita). Following his death, his daughter, Kathleen, assumed the position of organist at St. Aidan's until her death in 1956. Flood is a highly controversial figure in Irish musicology. He has undoubtedly inspired a lot of more recent research, but "his appreciation of detail was enthusiastic rather than thorough, and the contents of his books were often distorted by his national and religious commitment". Although he is known to have had access to sources in the Public Record Office which burnt down in the
Irish Civil War in 1922, "he renders himself untrustworthy by the fact that, where his sources can be checked, he sometimes misquotes or misinterprets them; and he is too ready to jump to conclusions which are presented as if they were facts." On the other hand, he wrote "at a time when it [i.e. Irish music] was either scorned or ignored, except by a few enthusiasts." Flood's most adventurous claims included an "Irish Ancestry of
Garland,
Dowland,
Campion and
Purcell". Therefore, his writings on musical history may need to be met with some caution. ==Selected publications==