An Píobaire - Na Píobairí Uilleann

An Píobaire
Vol. 4 No. 34
Feabhra/February 2006
Contents
2 ............Cover Photo Details
3 ............Editorial
4 ............Donations and acquisitions
5 ............News & Events
7 ............New publications
10 ............New Patrons of NPU
16 ............Daniel Maclise - “Snap Apple Night”
18 ............The Sutherland Manuscript
24 ............Airs & Graces – “The Royal Blackbird”
27 ............Murty Blake
28 ............The Tintagel Tionól
30 ............Items available from NPU
31 ............Advertisements
32 ............Calendar of Piping Events
The cover picture shows Belfast piper Tom Clarke playing during the 2002 Tionól in Dunmore East. (Photo: Terry Moylan)
An Píobaire is the newsletter of Na Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta, 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, Ireland, and is issued five
times annually - 1st week February, 3rd week April, 1st week July, 3rd week September, 1st week December. Deadline
for contributions - three weeks before these dates. Views expressed in An Píobaire are not necessarily those of Na
Píobairí Uilleann Teo. or of the Board of NPU Teo.
Editor:
n December 2005 a number of events led
to a decision by the board of Na Píobairí
Uilleann to close the premises at 15
Henrietta Street for use by the public until
essential health and safety related works were
undertaken. Subsequent to that decision, we
met with Dublin City Council and requested
that they release a matching grant of
€330,000 to assist us in funding the essential
works. I am pleased to report that we have
been successful in that regard. In total we
have €630,000 available for the work which
has been agreed with our architect, and tenders are now being issued.
disappointing; however it is in the best interests of all and, most importantly, is not jeopardising health and safety.
I
The support of our worldwide membership
continues to be of utmost importance and we
have a number of projects in progress which
will be completed this year. I am pleased to
report that our redesigned website is now
available and includes enhancements to aid
shopping and membership interfaces. There is
also a new discussion forum and new functionality to facilitate access to our extensive
archive material. This latter is ‘work in
progress’ and will be added to continuously.
Please advise us what you think of the new
website
I expect that it will take several months to
complete the work after the contracts have
been signed. Therefore, I do not expect us to
be in a position to allow public access until
early 2007. That we have to take this action is
In January we were advised that we will
receive a revenue grant of €270,000 from the
Arts Council to support our activities in 2006.
This represents a 42% increase on the 2005
grant. I would like to thank the staff and board
of Na Píobairí Uilleann who prepared the
2006 grant submission after detailed discussion and research and I am looking forward to
delivering benefits to our growing worldwide
membership.
Gay McKeon, Chairman, Na Píobairí Uilleann Teo.
Editorial committee: Gay McKeon, Gerry Lyons, Terry Moylan, Robbie Hannan, Sean Donnelly
Board of Directors: 2005-2006, Gay McKeon (Chairman); Gerry Lyons (Secretary); Dermot McManus (Treasurer);
Harry Bradley; Tom Clarke; Ivan Crowe; Patricia Logan; Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh; Pat Mitchell;
Noel Pocock; Denis Quigley.
Honorary President: Seán Potts
Patrons:
Peter Carberry, Longford; Dave Hegarty, Tralee; Tommy Kearney, Waterford;
Pat Mitchell, Dublin; Neil Mulligan, Dublin; Seán Potts, Dublin.
Registered Office:
15 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1.
Telephone:
As you are aware the staging of the annual
Tionól in Dublin in 2006 is a new development for us and I’m happy to confirm that all
the details are now finalised for what will be
a great weekend of piping. I look forward to
meeting you all in Dublin on the weekend of
May 26th to 28th.
Gay Mc Keon
Office: 01-8730093; Fax: 01-8730537; Archive: 01-8735094
E-mail: info@pipers.ie Web site: www.pipers.ie
Membership:
Full & Associate - €45 p.a. Unwaged/junior members - €19 p.a.
Advertisements:
Ordinary advertisements carried free, display adverts - €20
An Píobaire contents © Na Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta, unless otherwise stated.
Na Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta is incorporated in Ireland, Company Reg. No. 242874.
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~ Donations & acquisitions ~
~ News & Events ~
39th Annual Tionól of Na Píobairí Uilleann
he Elphinstone Institute at the University
of Aberdeen have forwarded a copy of
Folk Song - Tradition, Revival and ReCreation, published in 2004 to mark the centenary of the Folk Song Society.
This is a fascinating collection of 36 articles
covering many aspects of the revival of interest in folk-song over the last century. Tom
Munnelly contributes a piece on the collectors, including Séamus Ennis (pictured on the
cover), who worked for the Irish Folklore
Commission. The collection is available
through the Institute’s website.
Other publications received include the folllowing:
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Dublin 2006
Thursday, May 25th - N.M.I. Collins Barracks
Official opening of Exhibition of Uilleann Pipes at the National
Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. (Admission free)
Friday, May 26th - Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square
Young musicians’ concert with Sorcha Ní Mhuiré, Éanna Ó Cróinín,
Pádraig Keane and Louise Mulcahy
(Admission €5)
Utriculus – Magazine of the Associazione
Culturale “Circolo Della Zampogna”,
Anno IX, Numero 35, Jul-Sep 2005
Common Stock – Journal of the Lowland and
Border Pipers’ Society, Vol. 20, no. 2,
December 2005
Saturday, May 27th - Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square
Piping classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced,
with Kevin Rowsome, Sean Mc Keon & Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh
(Admission €25)
Reedmaking class with Benedict Koehler
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas
hicago piper Bob Kellam has made a rather amusing suggestion – as, according to the
song, the eleventh day of Christmas is marked by a gift of “eleven pipers piping”, we
should henceforth celebrate the eleventh day, January the 4th, as “Pipers’ Day”. Suggestions
are invited as to the most appropriate/entertaining way in which to mark this new holiday.
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(Admission €30)
Annual General Meeting of Na Píobairí Uilleann
Lecture - The Dublin Pipers’ Club by Mick O’Connor
(Admission free)
Concert at Liberty Hall
with Liam O’Flynn, Mick O’Brien & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, The
Mc Keon family, Matt Molloy and John Carty, Sean Potts & Paddy
Moloney, Pádraigín ní Uallacháin and Len Graham
(Admission €25/€20)
Sunday, May 28th - The Cobblestone, Smithfield
Pat McNulty (5th from right) with friends at Castlerigg Manor, Keswick in 1983.
Must have been the 4th of January!
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“The Piper’s Chair” session, featuring Peter Browne
(Admission free)
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tors and setting schedules for future meetings.
Founding members are Nate Banton, Katie
Carmen, Seth Gallagher, Dan McNamara,
Aidan Nelson, Liam O’Neill and Jim Reilly.
Many thanks to Aidan (and Mom, Eileen) for
the refreshments and use of their spacious and
sunny studio for the Club’s kick off meeting.
The Hudson River Pipers’ Club welcomes
inquiries from interested pipers. Please contact Liam O’Neill at liam@hvc.rr.com or Jim
Reilly at jcreilly@aol.com.
Hudson River Pipers’ Club Sets
Sail
The Founding Members of the new Hudson
River Pipers’ Club held their inaugural meeting in early December in Piermont, NY, along
the western shore of the Hudson River, north
of New York City. All of the members had
previously attended work shops, Tionóls and
concerts together so little time was needed
getting “caught up” before cases were opened
and the pipes were played. It was a very
enjoyable and productive four-hour meeting
with all members playing tunes, sharing
information and trying out each other’s
chanters and drones. Club member Nate
Banton, from pipe maker Seth Gallagher’s
workshop, helped tune and “tame” some
reluctant reeds and drones during the session,
as well as demonstrating some reed making
techniques. The group discussed creating a
repertoire of club tunes, reaching out to other
uilleann piping clubs, inviting guest instruc-
~ New Publications ~
pipes, with one track of solo piping. It was
recorded in Kitty’s kitchen and has a strong
(rough and ready if you like) ‘live’ feel to it”.
Kitty Hayes & Peter Laban
They’ll Be Good Yet
Available from NPU at €20.00 (less members’ discount)
plus postage.
1 Jigs: The Newport Lass/Mist On The
Mountain/The Legacy
2 Reels: The Concert Reel/The Hare's
Paw/Garrett Barry's Reel
3 Reels: The Humours of Tulla/Tear The
Calico
4 Reels: The Girl That Broke My Heart/
The Sligo Maid
5 Jigs: The Wandering Minstrel/Fasten The
Leg In Her
6 Hornpipes: Hills of Coore/The Stack Of
Oats
7 Reels: The Pigeon On The Gate/The
Drunken Landlady/Sporting Nell
8 Jigs: Winnie Hayes'/The Rose In The
Heather
9 Reels: Corney Is Coming/An Bhean
Tincéara/The Collier's Reel
10 Slip Jigs: Na Ceannabháin Bhána/
Hardiman The Fiddler
11 Air: Ar Éirinn Ní Neosfainn Cé hÍ
12 Jigs: John Egan's 1/John Egan's 2
13 Reels: The Porthole of the Kelp/The
Maids of Mitchellstown
14 Jigs: Lost And Found/The Haunted
House/The Luthradán
15 Reels: The Mountain Top/Tom Ward's
Downfall/The Honeymoon Reel
Uilleann pipes in Glasgow
Simon McKerrell has started teaching an uilleann pipe class at the National Piping Centre
in Glasgow, Scotland.
Meetings take place once a week on
Wednesdays at 7pm and an invitation is
extended to visiting or resident uilleann
pipers to come along or find out more. The
National Piping Centre’s website is
www.thepipingcentre.co.uk.
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Eileen Nelson
Members of the Hudson River Pipers’ Club: Seated from left - Jim Reilly, Nate Banton, Aidan Nelson, Dan
MacNamara; Standing from left - Katy Karmen, Liam O’Neill.
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eter Laban will be well known to pipers.
Originally from Holland, but resident for
many years in Miltown Malbay, he has contributed a great deal to musical life in west
Clare. His expertise with the pipes is matched
by that with the camera, and his pictures have
featured many times in An Píobaire.
Kitty Hayes is also widely known among followers of traditional music. From Shanaway,
near Miltown Malbay, she has been playing
music since her youth and is a noted exponent
of the west Clare dance music style.
Kitty and Peter have been musical partners
for some time and this recording brings their
music to a wider public. Peter tells us: “The
CD is of traditional music on concertina and
Heartland
Declan Masterson
Available from NPU at €19.99 (less members’ discount)
plus postage.
eleased late in 2005, Heartland is Declan
Masterson’s fourth CD; his previous
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Jig/Moll Roe
14 Reel: Fundance
Shady Woods
Tommy Martin
Available from NPU at €19.99 (less members’ discount)
son's Reel
9 Jigs: Humours of Ballykeal/Sgt. Early’s
Jig/The Shady Woods of Old Limerick
10 Slip Jigs: Terry Heigh Ho The Grinder/
The Rakes Of Drumlish
11 Reels: Eleanor Kane’s/The Gooseberry
Bush/The Spinner’s Delight
12 Piece: The Fox Chase
13 Barn Dances: Green Grow The Rushes
O/The Jolly Banger
Uilleann Pipers Club.
1 Reels: Within A Mile of Dublin/Silver
Slipper (Eugene Lambe)
2 Reels: Salamanca/Lord Gordon (Peter
Laban)
3 Jigs: Ask My Father / Pat Ward’s Jig
(Neillidh Mulligan)
4 Reels: George White’s Favourite/Ashplant/Ivy Leaf (Nollaig McCarthy)
5 Jigs: Frieze Breeches/Gander In the
Pratie Hole (Tommy Reck)
6 Air: Cath Céim an Fhia (Tommy Reck)
7 Reels: King of the Clans/Donegal
Reel/Fermoy Lassies (Tommy Reck)
8 Jig: Brother Gildas’ Jig (Tommy Reck)
9 Air: Cúilin (Ronan Browne)
10 Reels: Tarbolton/Liffey Banks (Ronan
Browne)
11 Reels: Sporting Nell/Toss the Feathers/
Cooley’s (Mick O'Brien)
12 Jig: Rolling Wave (Brian Gallahar)
13 Jig: Young Tom Ennis (Brian Gallahar)
14 Jigs: Lark’s March/Pure Drop (Tommy
Keane)
15 Reel: Ravelled Hank of Yarn (Tommy
Keane)
16 Reels: Mooncoin Reel/Snow On the Hill
(Tommy Keane)
17 Air/Hop Jig: Curachaí na Trá Báine/
Cucanandy (Neillidh Mulligan)
18 Reel: Ravelled Hank of Yarn (Tommy
McCarthy)
19 Reel: Maguire’s March (Tommy
McCarthy)
20 Set Dance: John O’Dwyer of the Glen
(Tommy McCarthy)
21 Reels: West Wind/Gilbert Clancy’s or
Sean Reid’s (Brian MacNamara)
22 Reels: Pride of Rathmore/Tory Island/
Reel of Bogie (Kevin Rowsome)
23 Jigs: Top of Cork Road/Seán Bhuí/
Mixjig (Leo Rickard)
24 Jig: Out In The Ocean (Mick O’Brien)
25 Jigs: Tom Busby’s/Boys of Tandragee
(Johannes Schiefner)
26 Set Dance: Madam Bonaparte (Pat
Humours of Holland
Various Artists
(Dutch Uilleann Pipers’ Club)
Available from NPU at €19.99 (less members’ discount)
recordings were Deireadh an Fhomhair - End
of Harvest, Fionnuisce - Fair Water and
Drifting Through the Hazel Woods. This CD
shows all the influences he has absorbed in
his career to date, which ranges from playing
with the Pipers’ Club Céilí Band, through
membership of bands like Moving Hearts,
Mosaic and Patrick Street to touring with the
Riverdance show.
plus postage.
ubtitled as it is Traditional Irish Music on
the Uilleann Pipes, with Fiddle, Flute,
Low Whistle, Guitar and Harp, this recording, to use a current expression “does what it
says on the tin”. The music consists mostly of
solo piping with a few tracks accompanied
lightly and, in places, quite adventurous regulator playing.
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1 Suite: Heartland
2 Jigs: Humours of Ballingarry/Finbar
Dwyer’s Favourite/The Green Fields of
Woodford
3 Reel: Close the Door, It’s Winter
4 Reels: O’Hare’s/Micho Russell’s/Scotch
Mary/O’Callaghan’s
5 Bulgarian: Ruchenitsa Around The Sun
6 Reels: Doonbeg Boogie (The Humours
of Carrigaholt/The Earl’s Chair/Conor
Tully’s
7 Air/Jigs: The Flower of Magherally/
Mulvihille’s/The Geese on the Bog
8 Reels: The Cornerhouse/Kitty’s Gone aMilking/Killoran’s
9 Reels: Maids of Mitchelstown
10 Reels: Back in Town/The Green Garters
11 Air: Beannacht Ó Rí na hAoine
12 Bulgarian: Sandansko Horo
13 Jig/Slip Jigs: James Keane’s/The Fairy
1 Reels: The Dublin Lads/The Flags of
Dublin/The Four Knocks
2 Slip Jigs: The First Slip/Hardy Man the
Fiddler/The Yellow Wattle
3 Hornpipe: The Cloone Hornpipe
4 Reels: Molly From Longford/The Wise
Maid
5 Air/Reel: The Shady Woods of Truagh/
Jack Wade’s Reel
6 Jigs: Wallop The Spot/The Leg of the
Duck/Temple Hill
7 Reels: The Maple Leaf/The Man of Aran
8 Reels: Richard Dwyer’s/Late In The
Night/Jack In the Box/Seamus Thomp-
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plus postage.
he Dutch Uilleann Pipers’ Club has been
in existence, and doing great work for
piping, for twenty years now, and to mark the
occasion they have published this compilation recording, containing performances by
all the Irish players that they have had as
guests over the years.
The selection includes many great performances, including several tracks by Tommy
Reck, and is a valuable contribution to the
piping library.
The recording is available from the Dutch
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~ New Patrons of NPU ~
Seán Potts
Potts lived at different times in The Coombe
and the nearby Ardee Street, and his home
became a place of resort for musicians visiting Dublin. There was a regular musical session on Friday nights, and Seán recalls
encountering there people like Andy Conroy,
Brother Gildas, John Kelly, Sonny Brogan,
Tommy Reck and Breandán Breathnach, the
latter two being pupils of his grandfather.
When he was around seven years of age
Seán’s musical life started when his grandmother gave him a present of a practice set of
pipes. Around the same time he got a tin whistle in his Christmas stocking. His father John,
who was a box player, gave him his first
music lessons. His family was at that time
onsidering the family surroundings in
which he grew up it was inevitable
that traditional music should have
become an important and enduring part of
Seán Potts’ life. He was born in the Liberties
of Dublin, not far from the family of
Breandán Breathnach with whom he was to
form a close friendship.
His grandfather was John Potts from Kiltra in
the south of the county Wexford, who had
come to Dublin around 1891 to take up a job
with Guinness’s. He had played the flute in
Wexford but took to the pipes when he lived
in Dublin, taking lessons from the Dublin
Pipers’ Club tutor Nicholas Markey, who had
learned from the Taylors in Drogheda. John
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Terry Moylan
unusual for its interest in traditional music,
and Seán did not have any friends of his own
age that were interested in music. Perhaps
because of this, the whistle being a more discreet instrument, it received more of his attention. Although he also devoted some attention
to the pipes, the difficulty, then as now, of getting a reliable reed for his chanter worked
against his becoming as proficient on the
pipes as he became on the whistle.
During his twenties he took to the flute and
developed a close relationship with Vincent
Broderick, from whom he learned many
tunes. He also he met and became fascinated
by the playing of the young Paddy Moloney,
and started to play regularly with him.
Around this time Seán’s own family home in
Drimnagh was also a venue for traditional
music, with Willie Clancy, Tommy Reck,
Bobby Casey and others calling on Sundays
to play music together.
After the war Seán became a regular attender
at the Pipers’ Club in Thomas Street and the
Fiddlers’ Club in Church Street with John
Egan. He became a member of Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann upon its foundation in the
1950s and adjudicated at their fleadhanna
cheoil. He played for a time with the Kincora
Céilí Band at the time that Dublin piper Sean
Seery was with them.
He started playing seriously with Paddy
Moloney after the 1959 Fleadh Cheoil in co.
Clare. Paddy was headed for Conamara after
the Fleadh, so Seán returned to Dublin, borrowed a motorbike from his girlfriend
Bernie’s brother and he and Bernie joined
Paddy in Spiddal for a fortnight’s music.
There he met such performers as Charlie
Tindall, Paddy Bán Ó Broin and Feistí
Conlon. Seán married Bernie in 1960, and
they had four children – Cora, Seán (who has
become an accomplished piper), Sorcha and
Ultan.
This period saw the outbreak of the ‘ballad
boom’, where the success of the Clancy
Brothers in the USA led to their popularity in
Ireland, and the consequent resurgence of
interest here in ‘ballads’ or folk songs. An
idea was floated of getting together a group
which would include Seán, Paddy Moloney
and a talented young banjo player named
Barney McKenna. As things turned out
McKenna became a member of the song-oriented Dubliners group and Paddy and Seán
were recruited by Seán Ó Riada into his innovative traditional music group Ceoltóirí
Chualann. This group was responsible for
making traditional music accessible to a wide
range of Irish people who had never bothered
with it before, or, perhaps, had never even
heard it before. They made several groundbreaking recordings, and performed in the
historic concert at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre –
“Ó Riada sa Gaiety” – an event which is credited with finally making traditional music
palatable to Ireland’s elite.
During the 1960s Seán was also performing
with the Gael Linn Cabaret in various venues
in Dublin, such as the Chariot in Ranelagh,
Raheny’s Old Sheiling and the Grafton
Cinema, the venue for the famous late-night
concerts. On these occasions he played in
such company as Martin Fay, Breandán Ó
Dúill and Paddy Moloney.
With Ó Riada’s move to West Cork in 1963
Ceoltóirí Chualann folded and Paddy
Moloney started up a new, and equally influential group, The Chieftains, with a membership based on that of Ó Riada’s group.
Seán’s fulltime job was with the Department
of Posts & Telegraphs, and around this time
he was made inspector of motor transport (he
is a qualified motor mechanic), and official
duties required him to tour the country, providing him with additional opportunities to
meet musicians in all parts, and also to
indulge his other passion of fly-fishing.
In 1970 he joined Na Píobairí Uilleann and
met with an open welcome from Breandán
Breathnach. Somewhat uneasy about the level
Seán Donnelly, Seán Potts, Peter Browne, Mick O’Connor and Tom Clarke at the Breandán Breathnach night 2006
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Sean Potts playing a set of pipes, made by Martin Burke,
which were owned by Ned Gorman, who played with
Killavil Trio
of proficiency he had reached as a piper, he
was reassured by Breandán that his efforts to
play and love of the pipes were what mattered, and were sufficient for membership of
a pipers association.
Terry Moylan
Pat Mitchell
n one occasion, sometime in the early
’70s, Sean Reid commented ‘Pat, you
play like an old man’. Noting the
effect of his words on the famously volatile
piper, Sean hastily explained ‘No, what I
mean is, it should have taken you years and
years to learn to play like that’. High praise
for someone who started late and had been
playing for less than ten years at the time! A
taste of the playing that so astounded Sean
may be heard on the recording he made for
the Topic label, just a few years later, in 1976.
By the time in question, Sean and Pat were
old friends and Sean’s awareness of the total
absence of Irish traditional music in Pat’s
immediate background added to his sense of
O
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Larry Dunn
He took leave of absence from work in 1973
to play full time with The Chieftains, who by
this time were touring and playing almost
constantly. During his time with them he
recorded on eight records, and also made the
great Tin Whistles album with Paddy
Moloney. He resigned from the group in
1979, not willing to accept the increasing
absences from home.
Freed of the commitments to The Chieftains,
he devoted his spare time to work in the field
of traditional music, teaching classes in
Dublin and at the Willie Clancy Summer
School. He was also elected to the Board of
Na Píobairí Uilleann and undertook several
fund-raising tours for NPU in the United
States. The group that he assembled for these
tours became known as Bakerswell and
recorded a fine album in 1987, recently rereleased on CD.
He finally retired from the ‘P & T’ in 1985 but
continued to devote an enormous amount to
Na Píobairí Uilleann, serving first as
Honorary Secretary, and then, for fourteen
years from 1988, as Chairman. On his retiring
from that position in 2002 NPU took the
unprecedented step of making him Honorary
President in recognition of his record of service and of his continued commitment to the
promotion of the pipes.
Pat Mitchell delivering a lecture at the NPU Tionól in Virginia in 2004
wonder. The compensating factors for the
lack of an old-fashioned ‘traditional upbringing’ in Pat’s case were timing, with
Traditional and ‘Folk’ music coming to public
prominence as he came of age, along with his
deep interest in music of all types.
Although living close to Bill Harte, the box
player, and Larry Dillon of the famous music
house in Monck Place in Phibsboro, Pat’s
early, and minimal, exposure to Irish music
came when the cottage he and his parents
lived in was converted from gas lighting to
electricity and a ‘wireless’ was acquired. This
would have been around 1950 when he was
seven. He clearly remembers hearing Leo
Rowsome play “The Fox Chase” on Radio
Éireann and being told by his parents, who
had been friends of Sean Dempsey in their
young days, that those were the uilleann pipes
he was hearing. He didn’t get to see what this
weird and wonderful instrument looked like
till he came by chance at the age of 16 or 17
on a public performance on the bandstand in
‘The Hollow’ in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.
During the early teen years his main musical
interest was listening to ‘classical’ music on
BBC Radio 3 and the eclectic range of music
broadcast on Voice of America – presumably
in an attempt to subvert the Communist
hordes of the USSR. By the later teen years
his father, whose background was strongly
republican, had given up singing the ‘rebel
songs’ and occasional ballad of his youth.
When the Clancy brothers’ songs started to
appear on radio there was, as a result, a comfortably familiar feel to them. ‘Ballad concerts’ Pat attended would usually include traditional music acts ranging from The
Dubliners to Nioclás Tóibín. At that time also,
Sean Ó Riada was broadcasting and putting
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came through a chance meeting with Sean
Reid at a fleadh in Ballinasloe in 1965.
Through Sean, he met Breandán Breathnach,
Willie Clancy and many other notables who
were at the fleadh. A subsequent visit to
Miltown Malbay led to a close friendship
with Willie and a lasting respect and affection
for both him and his music. Following up on
an invitation from Breandán led not only to
the acquisition of priceless recordings – a
resource which was to be re-visited again and
again over many years – but to a long-lasting
friendship as well. Through that association
with Breandán Pat was involved in the formation of Na Píobairí Uilleann in 1968. He was
elected to the first committee and his association with the organisation continues.
An admirer of Séamus Ennis’ playing for
many years, Pat met him during the period in
the late ’60s when he was making regular visits to the Royal Oak pub in Glasnevin. These
occasions, along with Séamus’ annual Tionóil
performances gave Pat the opportunity to
study his technique at first hand.
1976 saw the research and practice of previous years bear fruit in the Topic recording
mentioned previously along with the publication by Mercier Press of Pat’s edition of
Willie Clancy’s repertoire, The Dance Music
of Willie Clancy (subsequently re-published
by Ossian). In the same year Pat was the
leader of the piping contingent with the group
chosen to represent Ireland at “Old Ways in
the New World”, the Smithsonian Institute’s
festival to mark the 200th anniversary of
American independence. In the mid ’80s, in
association with Jackie Small, he published
The Piping of Patsy Touhey, a detailed examination and transcription of the great piper’s
playing.
Over the years Pat has taken every opportunity possible to promote the beauty and musicality inherent in the good performance of traditional Irish music on the pipes. Along with
his numerous piping classes and the two pub-
14
lications mentioned, he has contributed articles to An Píobaire, Dal gCais and the Sean
Reid Society Journal and given numerous
workshops and illustrated lectures, including
the millennium lecture on piping at the Willie
Clancy Summer School. He is at present
working on The Music of Séamus Ennis,
which will include detailed transcriptions and
analysis of Ennis’ entire piping repertoire.
Terry Moylan
Tony Kearns
on concerts with Ceoltóirí Chualann. Their
group playing was much more attractive and
accessible to someone with Pat’s background
in music than was that of, say, céilí bands.
Through these he got his initial exposure to
traditional music and song. Visits to the
Fiddlers’ Club in Church Street and various
fleadhanna cheóil provided a broader practical exposure while Breandán Breathnach’s
Ceol magazine gave a captivating insight into
aspects of the historical background.
A fascination with rhythm led to Pat’s first
practical venture into the world of traditional
music; he made a bodhrán – which to this day
he still has, and occasionally thumps – and
proceeded to terrorise musicians at the fleadhanna. Through visits to the Fiddlers’ Club he
fell under the spell of the sounds being made
by the young Finbar Furey, then playing on a
low pitch chanter in the staccato style of
Tommy Moore. Though still minimally familiar with the melodic side of the music he discerned similar sounds in the music of Séamus
Ennis playing on the early RTÉ television
programmes, and in that of Willie Clancy
playing “The Old Bush” on a Gael Linn ‘78’
which he bought.
A few months learning the whistle and a mention by his uncle Leo that Dinny Delaney,
whom he had discovered through Ceol, was a
great-grand uncle was sufficient to convince
him that a bag and chanter would make the
ideal 21st birthday gift from his parents.
Along with Brian Gallahar, who had also
acquired a Leo Rowsome practice chanter, he
attended classes with Leo for a few months
and, through regular visits to the National
Library, embarked on the research into the
music that continues to this day. Within the
year both he and Brian had bought C chanters
from Matt Kiernan. Listening to Matt and
Dan O’Dowd play helped Pat interpret, and
later emulate, the ‘piping triplets’ in
Breathnach’s Ceol Rince I.
A key turning point in Pat’s piping career
Pat Mitchell playing the Dinny Delaney set, photographed in 1989
15
Sampson Towgood Roch (1759-1847) - Piper and dancers in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
(Courtesy of National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum)
~ The Sutherland Manuscript ~
Ross Anderson
search led me to the American piper Chas
Fowler, who suggested ‘Music for the
Bagpipe’ by John Sutherland. By December
2005 I found it at the Mitchell Library in
Glasgow. It is indeed pastoral pipe music,
about midway on the evolutionary path from
the Advocates’ repertoire to MacKie’s. The
today’s nine notes but 11 – there are two second-octave notes with pinched thumbholes.
There are also major and chromatic scales for
‘The Irish Pipes’ that are very similar to the
pastoral scales found in Geoghegan’s tutor
and in the Advocates’ manuscript.
Caper Fay
Suth. p139
everal manuscripts have emerged to
shed new light on how our instrument
developed during the eighteenth century. Previously we had Geoghegan’s tutor from
scripts may give a new bridge from the past to
the future. They also give us interesting
insights into history, technique and reed-making.
S
Jack Latone - a hornpipe
Suth. p34 no. 61
Figure 1
1746 and then O’Farrell from the early 1800s:
that gap is now covered by manuscripts from
about 1765 and 1785. These new sources give
us snapshots of how the repertoire developed
for the two-octave chanter from its inception
to the time of the ‘classic’ makers, and also
how music moved back and forth between the
Irish, Scots and Northumbrian traditions during the period. There are many lively tunes,
ranging from early versions of today’s classics to genres such as minuets that are now
out of fashion. The technical range is impressive: there are lots of fast and flashy variations, and many tunes use the whole of the
second octave. Now that modern players are
pushing the boundaries of ‘trad’, these manu-
The hunt unfolded during 2005. At the
William Kennedy festival, Hugh Cheape
described the MacKie manuscript, acquired
by the National Museum of Scotland along
with a pastoral set from about 1820. Hugh’s
discovery prompted me to trawl through the
eighteenth century music at the National
Library of Scotland, where I discovered
another manuscript of pastoral music in the
Advocates’ collection, dating to maybe 1765.
The Advocates’ manuscript is now online [1]
with a historical article [2] describing what
these two manuscripts tell us about pastoral
piping technique (on which more below).
The next question was whether we could find
any more ‘lost’ pastoral repertoire. A web
18
Figure 2
latest date in the manuscript is 1785. A copy
is being made for the NPU library; meanwhile
I have put a selection of the tunes online.
The Sutherland manuscript is written on 262
pages of 215 x 140mm, a convenient size to
fit in a pipe case. The pages were bound into
a book in 1933; before that they seem to have
been a series of notebooks. They are mostly in
the same handwriting, though several pages
appear to have been written by others (some
of them by the writers of the Advocates’ manuscript). Presumably Sutherland collected
most of the tunes but occasionally got other
musicians to write pieces down for him.
There is an index, and three fingering charts.
‘The Scale for the Highland Pipes’ shows not
Eighteenth-century pipes
Three hundred years ago, pipe chanters were
effectively shawms, capable of a few secondoctave notes – how many depended on the
instrument, on the reed and on the player’s
skill. Such pipes are still played in several
European countries. The French developed
the shawm into the oboe during the late seventeenth century, narrowing the bore and
refining the reed to obtain dependable second-octave performance. The narrowbore
oboe arrived in London in about 1730, and
the straight-top oboe by 1740. In 1746
Geoghegan’s tutor for ‘The Pastoral or New
Bagpipe’ was on sale in London [3], and the
19
instrument he describes is accepted as the
ancestor of today’s Irish pipes [4].
The pastoral chanter is essentially a baroque
oboe. Its main difference from the instruments we play today is a foot joint that
extends the chanter to a bell end; this makes
the six-finger note sound D instead of ghost
D, while the seven-finger note becomes C
natural instead of D (with some modern
chanters, you can get close to this by using a
roll of paper to extend the bore a few inches).
The pastoral chanter’s first octave can play
the nine-note repertoire of the highland
chanter. However, the redesigned reed and
bore make a full second octave available, and
a nearly chromatic scale can be obtained by
cross-fingering. Instruments were often
pitched in E flat.
how the early chanters from James Kenna
(from about the 1760s) were like pastoral
chanters, with a quiet tone and an E flat pitch,
while in time his instruments became louder
and the pitch moved down to in C [5]. The
foot joint was forgotten: its remnant today is
the tenon cut around the foot of the modern
uilleann chanter. But this change took some
time. Pastoral sets were made in Scotland
until the 1830s; in the 1850s, we hear of
‘long’ and ‘short’ chanters in Ireland; and
Pastoral chanters are reported in both
Scotland and Ireland until about World War 1.
The new chanters (both long and short)
spread through both Ireland and Scotland in
the 18th century, with makers in Dublin,
Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Newcastle competing and copying each others’ ideas. Tunes and
The Lilley
and thinkers like David Hume and Adam
Smith were challenging the old order.
Everyone believed in progress, and wanted to
put the wars of religion behind them. By the
early 1770s its music scene rivalled Salzburg
or Vienna. Folk music prospered as well as
classical; dancing moved indoors, people
wanted instruments to play it, and bellows
pipes competed with fiddles imported from
Italy. Dublin was also growing vigorously,
and the union pipe became fashionable
among its middle classes from about 17801830. Competition between makers in
Dublin, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Newcastle
seems to have driven innovation. By the
1820s the bellows pipes played by Scots
musicians like Robert Millar and Donald
MacDonald were union pipes incorporating
the innovations of Dublin makers like the
Kennas.
tunes in total, depending on how you count
fragments and duplications, so this article is
only a first appreciation. His music lies on the
evolutionary path from the Advocates’ manuscript to O’Farrell, and shares tunes with both
of them.
Here are a few samples. Jacky Latin (fig.1)
has certainly been round the block: it was
composed near Dublin about 1720, appears
with variations in Dixon’s border pipe tune
manuscript in 1733, acquired more variations
from Tom Clough in Blythe in the 1860s, was
popularised by Kathryn Tickell over the last
20 years, and is now being spread in Ireland
again by Jimmy O’Brien-Moran. Sutherland’s
version appears to predate Dixon. He also has
a lot of jigs, from early versions of classics
such as ‘Merrily Kys’d the Quaker’ (p18 no
34) to four of Walker Jackson’s compositions,
and a number of Irish reels too. However,
Suth. p41 no. 74
Frisky
Suth. p69 no. 134
Figure 3
Figure 4
Sometime during the later eighteenth century,
pipers found that by removing the foot joint
of some chanters and playing on the knee,
they could obtain better dynamics. For example, a reproduction made by Jon Swayne of a
Robertson pastoral chanter in Ken McLeod’s
collection plays almost like a modern flat
chanter when the foot joint is removed; it
even has a hard D, although the low notes are
rather quiet. Geoff Wooff has written about
musicians also passed back and forth. The
new instrument’s popularity peaked in
Edinburgh in the third quarter of the 18th century, and the Highland Society in London had
both pastoral and highland pipers playing at
its dinners from about 1780-1820. By about
1780 Dublin had become a centre too.
The reason Edinburgh led Dublin was simple
enough. Edinburgh was a boom town after
1746; the Enlightenment was in full swing,
20
most of the reels in the manuscript are Scots,
such as ‘Caper Fay’, a fiddle reel first published in 1768 and which later became
‘Rakish Paddy’ (fig. 2).
The second part of ‘Caper Fay’ can be hard
work on a modern concert D set – one might
play dfaf bfaf instead – though it’s easier on a
pastoral chanter as the ‘back D’ is a secondoctave note. This brings us to an interesting
The Music
If John Sutherland played a single instrument,
it was a pastoral set with a dismountable foot
joint and a single 6-key regulator. He has two
tunes using low C, two with regulator accompaniment marked, and quite a few marked for
rests, staccato or clipping. He has about 380
21
feature of the 18th century music, in that vigorous use is made of the top end of the second
octave. See for example ‘The Lilley’, fig. 3,
and ‘Frisky’, fig.4. There are many more.
The reader may occasionally blink at the
descriptions of dance music. Sutherland
marks the reel ‘Jack Latone’ as a hornpipe, as
he does the jig ‘Donal Magrenes’ (p40 no73).
The ‘King of Denmark’s Jigg’ (p16 no29) is
actually a reel, while a slip jig on p84 is called
simply `Quickstep’. Maybe Sutherland is
classifying tunes by how people danced to
them as much as by time signature. In any
case, tunes of the period were generally less
regular than nowadays, with extra half-sections, extra bars and so on being par for the
course.
Sutherland manuscript for the modern piper
may be the confident use of the top half of the
second octave. Many tunes, and variations on
known tunes, become very bright and jolly;
the late eighteenth century was, after all, a
bright and confident era. The style continued
into the nineteenth century, as we can see
from O’Farrell and indeed from the makers:
the Kennas advertised that their sets had the
latest innovations and would play more notes
than their competitors.
Towards the end of his manuscript,
Sutherland also has a number of fast and
flashy variation sets – the virtuoso pieces of
the day. It will be interesting to see whether
some of them come back into circulation.
Humours of Dublin
Suth. p160
Figure 5
Northumbrian pipers will also find plenty
here. In addition to Jacky Latin, there is an
early version of ‘Lasses Pisses Brandy’ called
‘Lick the Ladle Sandie’ (p15 no 27), and there
are many other tunes with Northumbrianstyle divisions and variations. There is a 3/2
hornpipe (‘Stonney Batter’ – p24 no45),
although it’s written in 6/8. The most impressive variation set may be a 22-part version of
the reel ‘The Major’ (p87-8); there is also a
version of Paddy O’Rafferty with 13 parts.
Overall, the most striking thing about the
Conclusions
During the past few decades, many musicians
have become interested in recovering the
playing technique and timbre of early instruments. Pipers have started to follow suit;
pipemakers report a shift in demand from
concert D sets to flat instruments. The manuscripts we now have enable us to push this
process back from the nineteenth century into
the eighteenth, and to assess the musical
capabilities of instruments that used to be
22
Light and Airy
Suth. p255
Figure 6
thought of only as museum relics. The interaction between Irish, Scots, English and
Italian music in the eighteenth century is fascinating, and we don’t have many sources.
That is one reason the new manuscripts are
important.
I also used to wonder why Kenna chanters
from the 1820s have six or seven keys,
including keys for E flat, high D and thirdoctave E. The Sutherland manuscript answers
that question, and others too. A lot of research
remains to be done, though, from classifying
the tunes to learning what we can about old
reedmaking styles.
As for the big picture, students of folk music
often use an evolutionary model – tunes arise
by variation and selection over time. But the
analogy may go further. Biological evolution
is nowadays thought to involve long periods
of little change, punctuated by episodes of
very fast development of new forms. The late
eighteenth century was just such a period for
the Irish, Scots and Northumbrian musical
traditions:
economic growth, social
upheavals, new instruments, cheaper transport and a large number of amateur players all
drove change in music. Today is no different.
Looking back to what happened last time can
be fun; and the old manuscripts contain a lot
of good tunes.
Acknowledgements:
Seán Donnelly, Jon Swayne, Ken McLeod, Chris
Bayley, Roderick Cannon, Sam Grier, Sean
Folsom, Ronan Browne, Wilbert Garvin, Brian
McCandless, Graham Wells and Hugh Cheape provided useful input and feedback during this
research.
References
[1] Advocates’ MS 5.2.22, National Library of
Scotland
[2] RJ Anderson, ‘The Pastoral Repertoire,
Rediscovered’, Common Stock, v 20 no 2 (Dec
2005) pp 24-30
[3] J Geoghegan, ‘The Compleat Tutor For the
Pastoral or New Bagpipe’, London (1746)
[4] W Garvin, ‘The Compleat Tutor For the
Pastoral or New Bagpipe’, An Piobaire v 2 no
14 pp 5-6; no 15 pp 5-6; no 16 pp 2-3 (1982-3)
[5] G Wooff, ‘Chanter design & construction
methods of the classic makers’, Sean Reid
Society Journal v 2 no 4 (Mar 2002)
NB: References [1-3] can be found online at
www.piob.info, as can a selection of tunes
from the Sutherland manuscript.
23
~ Airs & Graces ~
The Royal Blackbird
One
I
With
a
sum mer’s mor
heard
a fair
sigh
A
say
My
I
Yet if
will
am
ing "my
death
o
my
re cre a
ma
bing and sad
de ceive
ver
soft
den
black
bird
me, re
bur
it should blind
fol low
ning of
mai
ing and sob
thoughts they do
And
I
fair
most roy
flec tions
dened with
me,
as
black
bird
la
sad
king
sad moan.
men ta
al
tion,
has flown.
do grieve
mi
true love in clines
wher ev
tion
er
se
me
O
24
The song is an old one, as is the melody.
Zimmerman1 notes the existence in the British
Museum of a broadside version which is
dated to 1718. This date indicates that the
subject of the song is the “Old Pretender”,
James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766),
and not his son, “Bonnie Prince Charlie” , the
“Young Pretender” (1720-1788), as claimed
by some writers. The “Old Pretender”, the son
of King James II & VII, had been unsuccessful in the 1715 attempt to restore the Stuart
line to the thrones of England and Scotland,
and this song may have been an Irish response
to his defeat. (Sparling2 suggests it was written before those events.) The hope of a
Jacobite restoration was to uselessly divert
Gaelic Irish political energies for most of the
18th century; it only evaporated as the more
modern agenda of the United Irishmen began
to exert an influence. It has been said that at
the beginning of the 18th century the threat to
Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland came from
Jacobitism, and at its end from Jacobinism.
Sparling includes a six verse version in his
collection, and remarked that it was “interesting in several ways; it is not only the first
ry.
me,
he be."
tions they contain. It is impossible to indicate
in conventional notation exactly the way a
free-rhythm traditional song is performed.
The above values are a guide. Readers should
refer to the performance by Jim which is
taken from his CD A Taste of Tradition Mountain Streams (Jo-Sem Recordings
JSCD01). An MP3 audio file of the performance can be heard on our website at:
www.pipers.ie/media/mp3/blackbird.mp3
ne of the recitals in Henrietta Street in
late 2006 afforded a rare treat – the
opportunity to hear “The Blackbird”
performed back-to-back by a singer and a
piper. The piper was Mickey Dunne and the
singer Jim McFarland, both fine performers.
Jim’s rendition of the song is shown above. It
is a splendid version of the air. The barring
indicated is merely suggestive and in fact
some bars are incorrect in the sum of dura-
The CD is well worth a piper’s attention.
Quite apart from the possibility of enjoying
and learning the songs – always a welcome
trait in a piper – several of the songs have
huge, majestic tunes that would adorn any repertoire. The very informative notes by Tom
Munnelly are an additional attraction. Jim
acknowledges Len Graham as his source for
the song.
Jim sings the song to end on G. This is not a
feasible proposition for a piper; the highest
note of the tune would be high D in the second octave (E in the third if you count the
essentially ‘passing’ B in the 7th line). Also
the player is required to play the Fs natural.
Starting on A avoids the latter problem, but
increases the difficulty with the range. Not
too many chanters are capable of reaching
those notes, nor pipers able to achieve them.
The transcription above finishes on D but has
only one sharp, placing it in the Myxolidian
or Soh mode. It includes the C below bottom
D, reflecting Jim’s version. Pipers can simply
use the variant of the tune that he employs at
the end of the second line, a practice that
pipers commonly resort to with airs.
One fair summer’s morning of soft recreation
I heard a fair maiden making sad moan.
With a sighing and sobbing and sad lamentation
A-saying “my blackbird most royal has flown.
My thoughts they do deceive me, reflections do
grieve me,
And I am overburdened with sad misery.
Yet if death it should blind me, as true love
inclines me,
I will follow my blackbird wherever he be.”
The birds of the forest they all met together
The turtle was chosen to dwell with the dove.
And I am resolved in fair or foul weather
In winter or spring for to seek out my love.
He is my love’s treasure, my pride and my pleasure
And justly my heart, my love will follow thee.
He is constant and kind and courageous of mind.
All bliss to my blackbird wherever he be.
It is not the ocean that ’frights me with danger
Once in fair England my blackbird did flourish,
For though like a pilgrim I’ll wander forlorn.
He was the chief flower that ever did spring.
Still I might find friendship from one that’s a
Fair maidens of honour his person did nourish
stranger
Because that he was the true son of a king.
Much more than from one who in England was
But this sad fortune which still is uncertain
born.
Has caused the parting of my true love and me. O Heaven, so spacious, to Britain be gracious
Yet his name I’ll advance through Spain and
Though some there be odious to him and to me.
through France
Yet joy and renown and the laurels shall crown
And I’ll follow my blackbird wherever he be.
All bliss to my blackbird wherever he be.
25
and clearly marked in every way that can
show its origin.
Terry Moylan
Jim McFarland
Irish song in English, but the only Anglo-Irish
Jacobite song extant. It is written to an old
Irish air, and is a curious example of the
method and manner of one language used in
another.”. In a further extensive note he goes
on to say:
This song dates from before 1715, for in that
year the “Blackbird” made his Scotch attempt,
to which the song would allude if already
past; and is interesting, not only as the first
rebel poem, but the first Irish lyric of any kind
written in English. For the first time in a hundred years an unmutilated version is accessible to English readers. It was printed complete, save a few verbal mutilations, in Allan
Ramsay’s “Tea Table Miscellany; or, A
Collection of Scots Sangs,” in 1728, and in
succeeding editions, of which the 14th was
republished in Dublin, “Printed by T. Dyton,
at Newton’s Head, in Dame Street,
Bookseller,” in 1769. In every other collection
it has appeared as three stanzas, made up of
fragments. Ramsay took it down from the
singing of some one who had received it from
an Irish participant in the 1715 revolt. It is
unmistakably an Irish song, written to a very
ancient Irish tune (given by Bunting, p. 72)3,
Bunting collected the air from a harper named
D. O’Donnell in co. Mayo in 1803, and he
describes it as “a very fine air used as a vehicle for Jacobite words . . . during the war of
1688-90. The air itself bears evidence of a
much higher antiquity”. He quotes a sample
of the song, consisting of the first two lines of
the second verse of Jim’s version. Mícheál Ó
Súilleabháin points out that the air is a variant
of “Spailpín a Rúin”4.
O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion5 includes a
version that I have difficulty relating to the
present version, the Bunting version or the
set-dance version. It is the one that was chosen by Zimmerman to set with the text. As
Bunting’s remark (quoted above) makes
clear, at least two hundred years ago the song
was being sung to the air presented above.
The air is, of course, readily familiar to pipers
in its set-dance form. Like many such dance
tunes it has a hornpipe rhythm and an irregular structure; written in common time, the
first part contains seven and a half bars and
the second fifteen – two strains of seven and
a half each. I’m informed by step-dancer
Mary Friel that the dance which is performed
to the tune takes account of this irregularity
and, in fact, this can be seen in the transcription of the dance by Michael Tubridy6.
Perhaps this is one occasion when one may
legitimately ask which came first, or – which
is the chicken and which the egg?
Terry Moylan
1 Georges-Denis Zimmerman, Songs of Irish Rebellion,
Dublin 1967
2 H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy, London 1888
3 Edward Bunting A Collection of the Ancient Music of
Ireland, Dublin 1840
4 Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Bunting’s Ancient Music of
Ireland, Cork 1983
5 O’Farrell, Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union
Pipes Vol II, Dublin c. 1806
6 Michael Tubridy, A Selection of Irish Traditional Step
Dances, Dublin 1998
26
Murty Blake
e are grateful to Nicholas Carolan
of the Irish Traditional Music
Archive for copies of the playbills
reproduced here. They come from the British
Library’s Evanion Collection of Victorian
Printed Ephemera.
They were printed to advertise a “Grand
National Night” at the Raglan Music Hall in
Theobalds Road, Holborn, London on
Wednesday, March 29th 1876, for the benefit
of Mr. Patrick Feeney.
The programme for the show is heavily slanted towards Irish nationalist material, and there
is a scattering of Irish-language words and
expressions throughout the poster. It lists the
object of the benefit, Patrick Feeney, “Who, in
addition to a New National Song, “The Green
above the Red,” will by the special desire of
several Distinguished Patrons, Recite Samuel
Lover’s beautiful Poem, “SHAMUS
O’BRIEN, A TALE OF ’98”.
Of particular interest to our readers is the reference to a hitherto un-noticed piper, Murty
Blake, of whom no account can be found in
NPU’s archive. The reference reads:
W
TAKE NOTICE,– Mr. P. FEENEY will
Present a / VALUABLE GOLD RING TO
THE BEST LADY AMATEUR DANCER
/ Who will dance with him A REAL IRISH
JIG in the Old National manner, / accompanied by / MR. MURTY BLAKE / The
Renowned Irish Piper; thus giving an
English Audience a correct Picture of the /
FUN AND SPORTS OF ERIN! / NISH
MA GARRACHALLEE! COURAN
CUSSI CARTH GLUNTHA-A-SHINN
27
~ The Tintagel Tionól ~
he South West Association of Uilleann
Pipers was formed in 1988 to provide
help for pipers in the south and west of
England who were struggling both with learning to play the uilleann pipes and with maintaining them. Our more famous ‘graduates’
include Nick Scott of Last Night’s Fun,
Edwin Spring author of the well-known players’ tunebook Camden Breeze and Alan
Burton of Fianna.
The Association holds an annual “piping
weekend” or “mini-tionól”, at which we
arrange for guest pipers of renown to instruct
us and regale us with their supreme art. The
first of these was held in 1990 in Torquay,
Devon, and since that time we have had the
privilege of welcoming Paul Carlton, John
Murphy, Ronnie Wathen, Mick O’Brien,
Tommy Keane, Mikie Smyth, Mickey Dunne,
Nollaig MacCárthaigh, Martin Nolan, Gay
great opportunity to take your playing on
much further. No matter if you are just beginning and still ‘murdering the pig’ or you are
experienced and technically proficient, Brian
will have something to show you in a way
which encourages and excites you. He
demonstrated this with delicious new interpretations of ‘golden oldies’ like “The
Rolling Waves”, “The Blarney Pilgrim” and
“The Star above the Garter”, which all of us
are now practising back at home.
Brian’s playing for us on the Saturday
evening was a real high point. He played
many of the tunes on his two excellent CDs,
as well as others which he has picked up on
his travels. Every tune has a story, and Brian
tells the story with passion, intensity and
great humour. Particularly wonderful was
Brian’s playing of the great traditional air
“Fort of the Jewels” the title track of his latest
recording.
Brian’s world-class presence drew in great
pipers from far and wide, including piper
David Lim from Manchester, and piper and
pipemaker
Marcus
Coulter
from
Birmingham. We all enjoyed their playing
and company. Alan Burton was on hand
throughout the weekend with expert tuning
and reed-making, as well as his own great
playing.
Steve Turner, no mean piper himself, paid this
tribute to Brian: “A huge thank-you to Brian
for his expert tuition, soulful and thoughtful
piping and warm friendship. His teaching and
guidance have further increased my understanding and appreciation of both the uilleann
pipes and the tradition as a whole and I am
definitely richer for the experience. I am sure
that I speak for all of us in saying that Brian
will always be welcome at our meetings and
should consider himself an honoured member
of our association.”
If you get a chance next November to join us
you will be most welcome. Check us out on
our website: www.swaup.org.
T
Aymon Collins
Edwin Spring
McKeon, Tommy Martin, Neillidh Mulligan
and Brian McNamara. The weekend has also
provided reed-making instruction led by
Mick Gill, Keith Powell, Dave Williams,
Alan Moller and Alan Burton.
In 2005, we were delighted to welcome back
Brian McNamara who proved to be a wonderful teacher and a great guy at the 2004
Tionól. Brian’s playing is a delight to listen
to, and his teaching skills ensure that everybody goes home with something new to practise and think about. For the reed making
classes, we were delighted to be able to welcome back our resident reed guru, Alan
Burton. The Tionól took place at the Bossiney
House Hotel in Tintagel, North Cornwall,
near to King Arthur’s Castle.
If you have never attended a lesson taught by
Brian McNamara, then you have missed a
Brian McNamara
28
Mick Megee, Devon, England
michael@megee.freeserve.co.uk
photos by Phil Hunnable and Mick Megee
Steve Turner
29
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Na Píobairí Uilleann Publications
NPUCD008 - Piping In Ireland. Issued in collaboration
with the Royal Scottish Pipe
Band Association (N.I.).
This is a record of the live
performances during our
joint programme of activities. (Also on Video) €21
NPUCD012 - Tommy
Kearney - The Master
Pipers Vol. 2.
Old and new recordings
from the Waterford piper
and patron of NPU.
€21
NPUCD010 - A New Dawn
- Uilleann Piping, Another
Generation. Performances
from young players Mikie
Smyth, Darragh Murphy,
Louise Mulcahy, Eliot
Grasso, Ciarán Ó Briain &
Conor McKeon. €19
NPUCD013 - Sean
McAloon - Stór Píobaireachta / Piping from the
Archives Vol. 1
Re-mastered recordings of
the Belfast piper made in
the 1970s. €20
NPUCD011 - Johnny
Doran - The Master Pipers
Vol 1. Published in association with the Dept of Irish
Folklore, UCD, this contains all of the music
recorded by Doran. €21
NPUCD001 - The Piping
of Patsy Touhey. A re-issue,
with an additional 14 tracks
of the recordings made by
Touhey, mostly on Edison
cylinders, in the early 20th
century. €20
African Blackwood and Ebony
Touchstone Tonewoods
44 Albert Road North
Reigate, Surrey RH2 9EZ
England
Tel: 01 737 221064 Fax: 01 737 242748
www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk
The Journal of Music in Ireland
Articles on Traditional Music, Contemporary
Music & Jazz
~ FOR SALE ~
Frank McFadden practice set, made in
1958. Bag & bellows in need of repair. Call
with offers to Joe Doyle: 01-2891031 (4/30)
Charles Roberts half set 4 drones (twin
tenors) plumbed ready for regulators includes
bag bellows and blowpipe and case also
available, made to my special specification.
All drones share common cavity. All regulators are sleeved internally and independently,
using brass chambers. Bass regulator tubing
also in place and provided. No chanter.
Maintained by Robbie Hughes of Strangford.
£1250. Now 15 years old and in good running order. Tel: +442882 241328 Charlie
McCrystal Co. Tyrone (4/31)
Half set in concert D in ebony, nickel silver
and imitation ivory. Contact me for photos,
details etc. £1,400. Christopher Bayley
chris.bayley@virgin.net (4/32)
Three Mark Donohoe concert chanters for
sale. Contact Joe Doyle 01-2891031 (4/31)
Taylor design concert pitch chanter.
African blackwood and brass, with vintage
imitation ivory mounts. C nat key. Made
circa 1981. Lovely bright sound from
chanter, easy to reed up. Great working
chanter with spare reeds. e-mail for more
information. calumfrancisstewart@hotmail.com (4/32)
Subscribe online at www.thejmi.com, or by post to
JMI, ‘Edenvale’, Esplanade, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Instruments of Tradition
Glynn, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
(Irish Agents for Hevia, Parrado Y Aragon)
Alan J. Bolster - Product information
Telephone: +353-(0)54-37902
Mobile Phone: +353-(0)87-6940088 (Preferred contact number)
Website: www.instrumentsoftradition.com
Email: info@instrumentsoftradition.com
30
Lorcan Dunne
Uilleann Pipe Maker
Restoration, Repairs &
Maintenance of Uilleann Pipes
Tel: 00 353 (0)64 82510
Mobile: 087 839 9472
dunnepipes@eircom.net
The Old School House
Blackwater Bridge
Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Charles Roberts small bore compact. Four
drones and one regulator, Chanter with C F
G# and stop key new bag price €3800.
Contact for more information and pictures:
uilleann@tele2.fr, or Véronique DUHEM
phone: 0033670064878. bat C6 lA Rouviere,
83 Bd du Redon, 13009 Marseille, France.
(4/33)
Seth Gallagher newly handmade set. Very
little use and in excellent condition. Half set
with D chanter which also includes C chanter
made of curly maple by Benedit Koehler. To
see or play contact Jack Nelson at 20a
Sandyford Terrace, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Phone 041 9843347. (4/33)
New Charles Roberts set for sale, ebony
and silver plated. €2,500 Patrick Fox, Reidys
Flats, South Mall, Westport, Co. Mayo.
email: Foxy002@hotmail.com (4/34)
Alan Ginsberg full set in D, made in 2004.
Cocobolo, brass and artificial ivory. Excellent
condition, new L&M bag. €3,800. Contact
Ingo at 0049 172 53 91 333 or ingokemmer@hotmail.com (4/34)
~ WANTED ~
Dave Williams concert pitch chanter, Fully
keyed if possible. Ciarán Somers somersfluteplayer@eircom.net (4/32)
Old copies of An Píobaire magazine. If any
members have any they would be willing to
sell could they please contact me?
Killian Robinson, 2525, Forest Drive,
Winston Salem, North Carolina 27104. USA.
Telephone 336-725-7251 Email:
kcbpr@aol.com (4/33)
Na Píobairí Uilleann does not endorse, directly or indirectly, the goods or services offered here. These advertisements are carried as a service only. The reference number [e.g. (4/6)] on each advertisement indicates when it first
appeared in An Píobaire; 4/32 indicates Vol. IV, No. 32. Advertisements are carried for a maximum of three issues,
or until the advertiser requests NPU to withdraw the advertisement, whichever comes first.
To avoid unnecessary trouble and expense to others, please advise NPU when an advertised set has been sold.
31
Calendar of Piping Events
Feb 17-19
Johnny Doran Weekend, Glendalough Hotel, Glendalough, co. Wicklow.
Contact Dinny Quigley at 086-8344016 for details
Feb 17-19
West Coast Tionól, Seattle, Washington. Classes with Denis Brooks and
David Power. Reedmaking and pipes maintenance with David Daye. More
information from www.irishpipers.club.org or email charm@seanet.com
Mar 11
Belfast Tionól, Teachers for the day will be Conor McKeon, Nollaig
MacCárthaigh and Robbie Hannan, with Joe Kennedy doing a reedmaking
class. Classes will take place in the Crescent Arts Centre on University Rd.
and the evenings festivities will, as last year, be in An Droichead. To book a
place call Tom Clarke on 128 9020 8909 (from the republic 048 9020 8909 )
Mar 24-26
South East Tionól, Atlanta Georgia, USA. Piping classes with David Power
and Patrick Hutchinson. Concert on Saturday night with session to follow.
Details can be found at www.southeastpipersclub.org or email gary@southeastpipersclub.org
Mar 31
- Apr 2
9th Annual Saint Louis Tionól, (Mississippi River Celtic Music Festival)
Featured performers will be Ronan Browne and Peadar O’Loughlin.
Information is available on the web site at www.tionol. org, by e-mail from
mmullins@tionol.org or by phone at 636-926-9192.
Apr 8
Céardlann Earraigh, Scoil na Mainistreach, Celbridge, co. Kildare
Musical instrument workshops including uilleann pipes from 12:00 - 4:30
followed by a concert by all the tutors at 8:00pm. Pipes: Mick O’Brien
Contact: Nuala Keane, 32 Primrose Hill, Hazelhatch Road, Celbridge. 016273274
Apr 28-30
15th Annual Chris Langan Weekend, Toronto, with Mick O’Brien and
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Details from www.chrislangan.ca
May 19-21
Seventh Belgian Tionól, Laroche en Ardenne, Belgium. Classes with Tommy
Keane. More information from Roger de Wouters: phone +32 2 762 13 48 or
e-mail union_pipes@hotmail.com
May 26-28
39th Annual Tionól of Na Píobairí Uilleann, to be held for the first time in
Dublin. See page 6 for details.
June 22-26
Third Annual Floating Tionol. Uilleann piping lessons and reedmaking etc
on a narrowboat on the river Thames. £345 - five nights accommodation on
the boat, four days half board (breakfast and lunch) and all lessons and workshops. The tutor is pipemaker Brian Howard. To book a place please contact
Sean Lally via e-mail: buskersean@yahoo.co.uk or phone 0044
(0)7726921002