An Píobaire - Na Píobairí Uilleann

AN
PÍOBAIRE
Vol. 11 No. 3
Iúil / July 2015
ISSN 1649-9220
CONTENTS
An Píobaire contents © Na Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta, unless otherwise stated.
Na Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta is incorporated in Ireland,
Company Reg. No. 242874.
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. Na
Píobairí Uilleann Teoranta (“NPU”) can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or stertisements in this publication and NPU is not responsible for
examining or evaluating any such advertisements and does
not endorse directly or indirectly the goods or services offered by any of these businesses or individuals. NPU accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or distress
occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting
as a result of any material contained in this publication.
NPU reserves the right to make publishing decisions on
any advertisement or editorial article submitted and to refuse publication or to edit any editorial material as may
seem appropriate.
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Editorial
Donations & Acquisitions
Fundraising Update
NPU Events
News and Events
William Kennedy Piping Festival
Pipers Choice vol. 8
New Recordings
German Pipers Tionól
Recent Events
NPU Tionól 2015
Music : “An Fuiseóigín Ruadh”
Peter Hunter
C Joints and their future in uilleann piping
Seanchas : An Barr Buadh
Trouble in the Irish Village
NPU Publications
Advertisements
Calendar of Piping Events
Cover photo details
EEE
Editor:
Editorial committee:
Board of Directors:
Honorary President:
Patrons:
Staff:
Registered Office:
Registered Charity:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Website:
Membership:
Advertisements:
Tommy Keane, Chairman, Na Píobairí Uilleann Teo.
Tommy Keane, Noel Pocock, Terry Moylan
2015-2016: Tommy Keane (Chairman); Noel Pocock (Secretary);
Ken Lynam (Treasurer); Donnacha Dwyer; Danny McGreevy; Sheila Friel;
Mike Mullins; Kieran O’Hare; Kevin Rowsome
Liam O’Flynn
Peter Carberry, Longford; Dave Hegarty, Tralee; Pat Mitchell, Carlow;
Neil Mulligan, Dublin.
CEO: Gay McKeon; Head of Development: Gerry Lyons;
Administrator: Emmett Gill; Archivist: Terry Moylan;
Administrative Assistant: Carolyne Lindsay
15 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1.
No. CHY 6155
Office: +353 (0)1-8730 093
[email protected]
www.pipers.ie
Full & Associate - €50 p.a. Unwaged/junior members - €25 p.a.
Ordinary advertisements carried free, display adverts - €20.00
www.facebook.com/napiobairiuilleann
@Napiobairi
EDITORIAL
Tionól 2015 in Tramore
Pipes on Loan Scheme
T
Pipers should be aware that it is possible for beginners to
apply for a practice set of pipes from NPU under the
Pipes on Loan scheme. If you are willing to teach you
could encourage anybody showing an interest in learning
to get a practice set and give them a regular lesson –
which is one of the requirements of the scheme. Contact
the office for full details of the scheme which has been a
resounding success and provides access to the instrument.
HE RECENT TIONÓL IN TRAMORE was a
most successful event. I particularly enjoyed the
Piper’s Chair recitals, both from the point of
view of the level of participation and the impressive standard of piping of the younger players. It has been decided
to return to the same venue again next year and the dates
for your diary are 27th , 28th & 29th of May 2016.
International Uilleann Piping Day 2015
This year’s event takes place on 17th October 2015 and
pipers around the world are invited to celebrate International Uilleann Piping Day for the sixth time. The event
is growing each year and it is great to see new additions
to the list of participating countries. It is a great opportunity for pipers in an area who might not ordinarily
meet up to get together. Organisers might also consider
live streaming some of their programme which is an exciting feature of the event.
Notes and Narratives
This series of performance-based lectures in Henrietta
St. on traditional music, song and dance by some of our
finest traditional artists, takes place each month. If you
can’t attend in person remember that you can watch
them live on NPU-TV. Failing that you can watch them
later when they are uploaded to Source on our website.
They are a fantastic resource and inform us on various aspects of the tradition while providing a platform for those
engaged in research to share with us the fruits of their
labours.
Ace and Deuce of Piping Concert 2015
Our annual concert will take place on Saturday October
3th 2015. It is NPU’s showcase concert of traditional
music, song and dance. With pipers featured in the
lineup it is now established as one of the premier performance events in the traditional music calendar. Members are asked to consider how they can promote the
event and attend if possible.
Scholarship recipients
Congratulations to those who successfully applied for
scholarships and we wish them well in their piping
classes at the designated Summer Schools in Miltown
Malbay, Drumshambo, Tubbercurry or East Durham,
N.Y.
Board changes
We congratulate and welcome Mike Mullins and Danny
McGreevey who were elected to the board of NPU at the
recent AGM in Tramore. Mike is based in St. Louis and
along with Kieran O’Hare is now our second US based
board member. Danny McGreevy is from Downpatrick,
Co. Down and previously served on the board. We also
express our gratitude for the work done by those who did
not seek reelection this year: Dave Hegarty, Pádraic Mac
Mathúna and Sorcha Potts. Dave served as chairman and
of course remains a patron of NPU. The outgoing officers were reelected to their respective positions at the
first meeting of the new board in June: Tommy Keane
(Chairman), Noel Pocock (Secretary) and Ken Lynam
(Treasurer). Membership of board committees was also
decided at the meeting. Governance Committee:
Tommy Keane (Chairman), Noel Pocock, Kieran
O’Hare, Donncha O’Dwyer and Sheila Friel. Audit
Committee: Ken Lynam (Chairman), Tommy Keane,
Kieran O’Hare and Kevin Rowsome.
Members should consider if they can make a contribution to NPU at board level and inform themselves of the
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process involved in seeking election to the board at the
AGM. We need to plan for succession and recruitment
to the board and ensure that there is a mix of skills and
experience while striving also to ensure that the makeup
of the board reflects the makeup of our organisation.
Sponsored cycle – Dublin to Miltown
Malbay
260k cycle form Dublin to Miltown Malbay to raise
money for our Capital Projects (museum, visitor centre,
theatre and pipemaking training centre).
The
mycharity.ie account will be open for some time after the
cycle so payments after the event can be facilitated. Our
target this year is €15,000 and would bring to €85,000
the amount raised by the cycle over the years. It is a significant source of revenue for NPU to enable us to carry
out our objectives.
Your support is appreciated if you’ve already sponsored
one of the participants for their efforts in undertaking the
Tommy Keane, Chairman
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
Tax Back Campaign
DONATIONS & ACQUISITIONS
T
HE PHOTOGRAPH BELOW showing the young
Leo Rowsome, along with Tommy Reck, Tom Mulligan and others, is one of four that were generously donated recently by Fionán Ó Nualláin. Kevin Rowsome
informs us that the event was a Pipers Club outing to
Howth in 1948. Other photographs taken at the time
were known to exist, but this (and another of the four donated) are new additions to the collection.
Nick Whitmer has again shared the fruits of his researches with us, and has sent us a document listing the
many references (including images) to the piper James
Touhey that he has found in US publications. We plan to
make this available through our website, once we have
worked out a user-friendly way of doing so.
Among other purchases, we acquired a copy of Familia,
Ulster Genealogical Review, Number 30, 2014, which includes an article by Seán Donnelly entitled “‘Little Paddy’
among ‘The Irish Giants’: An Irish Piper in the 86th
Royal County Down Regiment, 1833-5”. Interested readers may obtain a copy of this through the Ulster Historical Foundation at www.ancestryireland.com.
Na Píobairí Uilleann has reciprocal arrangements with several other piping and musical bodies to exchange publications, and we also subscribe to relevant periodicals.
Complete or near-complete runs of many of these publications are available to members in our library. Publications recently received include the following:
Chanter – Journal of the Bagpipe Society,
Summer 2015
Common Stock – Journal of the Lowland and
Border Pipers’ Society, Vol 30 no. 1, June
2013
Piping Times – Magazine of the College of Piping, Glasgow. Vol. 67, Nos. 7, 8 & 9
Piping Today – Magazine of the National Piping Centre, Glasgow. Issues 74 & 75, 2015
English Dance & Song – Magazine of the English
Folk Dance & Song Society, Summer 2015
The Living Tradition – Magazine, Issue 108,
Jun/Jul 2015
Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an dá chultúr
– Journal of the Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society, Dublin. Vol. 29, 2014
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O
UR IRISH MEMBERS will be aware that we have
recently sent out our 2015 Sharing the Sound of
Ireland Campaign facilitated by the Revenue Commissioners Tax Back scheme.
We are hugely grateful to all who contributed to the campaign last year. Together we raised over €75,000 in total,
and we need your on-going support to keep this terrific
momentum going.
Here’s how it works - Na Píobairí Uilleann benefit from
a tax refund in respect of donations of a Revenue-designated amount of €250 or more. Simply complete the
CHY4 Cert on the back of the letter and return it together with your donation in the enclosed Freepost envelope.
Many thanks again for your on-going support.
Alternatively you can call us on 01-8730093 with your
credit card. NPU receive an additional €112 towards our
campaign for every €250 you donate with no additional
cost to you.
Even if you contributed to another organisation this year
or if you contributed last year, you can still make another
Tax-Effective donation to NPU.
Making a tax-effective donation does not affect your
usual tax arrangements in any way, whether they are via
a personal tax return, pension scheme or through your
employer and you don't need to do anything other than
complete the form.
If you run a business, a corporate donation of €250 or
more qualifies for tax relief in your company's annual return. Please also consider making copies of the CHY4
Cert for friends and relations or encouraging your employer to make a tax-effective donation.
Your contribution to our Campaign helps us to get young
players started on the Uilleann Pipes through our programme of Access, Education, Performance and Preservation. Your support also takes us one step closer to
achieving our goal to create a world class International
Uilleann Piping Visitor Centre and Theatre next door at
16 Henrietta Street.
Redefining / The Sound of Ireland
We are delighted to announce sponsorship
from AXA Insurance ,
one of Ireland’s largest
and oldest insurance
companies for this
year’s Ace and Deuce of
Piping concert.
Announcing the sponsorship for the event,
Colm McGrattan, Executive Director at AXA Insurance,
said “AXA have a long history in supporting the Arts and
we are delighted to help NPU in sharing the sound of Ireland and to bring the Ace & Deuce concert to the public.
The Uilleann Pipes are a uniquely Irish instrument and
we believe support for the pipes and the Traditional Arts
provides an excellent fit for our customers and for AXA
Insurance as a leading brand.”
The concert will take place at Liberty Hall on Saturday
3rd October and tickets will go on sale shortly.
Gerry Lyons – Head of Development
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REGULAR EVENTS WITH NA PÍOBAIRÍ UILLEANN
WEEKLY NPU PIPING & REED-MAKING CLASSES: Held weekly during the months September to May on Tuesday
nights. Classes start each hour from 5pm to 8pm.
NPU RECITALS: Held in The Cobblestone, Smithfield, Dublin 7 on the first Tuesday of each month at 9:30pm
Jul 7th
–
Pádraig McGovern (pipes), Peter Carberry (accordion), Fergus Russell (songs),
NEWS & EVENTS
Siobhán Armstrong (harp)
Aug 4th –
Luke O’Brien (pipes), Aoife Granville (flute), Conor McEvoy (fiddle)
Sep 1st –
Pádraic Keane (pipes), Nan Tom Taimín (songs), Josephine Marsh (accordion),
Mick Kinsella (mouth organ)
Oct 6th –
Leo Rickard (pipes), Róisín White (songs), Angelina Carberry (banjo), Dan Brouder (accordion)
NOTES & NARRATIVES: Held in Henrietta St. on the 2nd/3rd Friday of each month at 8:30pm.
Jul 17th –
John Tuohy with Danny Diamond : The Higgins Brothers of Kilkenny : Traditional Fiddlers of the
Early 20th Century
Aug 21st –
Bill Haneman : The Forensic Pipemaker: Coyne, Kenna, and Egan in shape and sound
Sep 11th –
Mary O’Donnell : The Last of the Harpers : Patrick Byrne and Matthew Wall
Oct 16th –
Máire Nic Fhinn : Seosamh Ó hÉanaí (Joe Heaney) : Deoraí an tsean-nóis
Nov 20th –
Paul de Grae : From Chieftain’s Court to Polka Sets : 500 Years of Harping in Kerry
TIONÓL PÍOBAIREACHTA THÍR CHONAILL: Piping Tionól in co. Donegal in late February
SCHOLARSHIPS
THIS YEAR SEVEN SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE
BEEN AWARDED for attendance this year at summer
school piping classes. The recipients of the scholarships
are Eoin Kearns (Co. Dublin), Shane McGrath (Co. Tipperary), Oliver Zeichner (Vermont, USA), Conall Quinn
(Co.Louth), Colm Broderick (Co. Carlow) and Rossa Ó
Dufaigh (Co. Laois).
The Oineach Mhuiris Uí Rócháin family scholarship was
awarded to the McBride family, of Dublin.
We wish to acknowledge the continuing support of the
sponsors who support these awards.
ROYAL HONOUR
LEO ROWSOME COMMEMORATIVE EVENT: Held annually on the last Saturday in February. The 2016 event will
take place on the 27th of February.
NPU TIONÓL: Held annually on the weekend before the last Monday of May, in 2016 the weekend of May 27th to
29th, in the Majestic Hotel, Tramore, co. Waterford.
REED-MAKING, BELLOWS-MAKING AND CHANTER-MAKING CLASSES: Classes will be held in the PipeCraft
centre, Clonshaugh, in July and August. See back page for dates, and www.npu.ie for details.
SCOIL SAMHRAIDH WILLIE CLANCY: Held annually on the first full calendar week in July. It always starts on the
first Saturday of July, the 4th of July in 2015.
ACE & DEUCE OF PIPING CONCERT: Held annually on the first weekend in October, the 2015 concert will take
place on Saturday October 3rd.
INTERNATIONAL UILLEANN PIPING DAY: Now an annual event, this year’s global day of uilleann piping will take
place on Saturday 17th of October.
BREANDÁN BREATHNACH COMMEMORATION: Held annually on the first Saturday of December. The 2015 event
will take place on Saturday, December 5th.
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AN ARTICLE in The Irish News on June 15 reported that
the pipe-maker Martin Preshaw has received a royal seal
of approval:
Mr. Preshaw, who is originally from Belfast, travelled
to St. James’s Palace in London last week to collect an
award from The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust
(Quest). The prize comes with a £9,000 bursary and
is give to a small number of artisans each year to sustain
traditional craft techniques.
Mr. Preshaw custom-builds uilleann pipes for musicians around the world at his Fermanagh workshop,
following traditional methods for pipe building including rolling tube from sheet brass and nickel silver and
hand-forging keys. The Fermanagh man received his
award from Prince Charles at a private ceremony on
Thursday, to which he had brought a set of pipes made
for a client in America.
“It was a great honour to be invited to St. James’s Palace
to be presented with this award,” Mr. Preshaw said.
“The bursary will allow me to travel to New York for
further mentoring and tuition, raising the quality of
my instrument-making and upholding a tradition of
excellence and fine workmanship which has been sadly
lacking in the country since the golden era of the past
masters.
“This is the first competition I have ever entered and
so to receive such a significant award from QEST is
truly unbelievable.
“I would also like to thank the Arts Council Northern
Ireland and National Lottery players for the support
they have given me over the years.”
INTERNATIONAL UILLEANN
PIPING DAY
PREPARATIONS are in hand for this year’s IUPD,
which will take place on Saturday 17 October. Considering the transition of time zones during the event, the
“day” actually lasts around 36 hours, as the events kick
off in eastern locations such as Australia and Japan, and
conclude on the American (north and south) west coast.
Different groups have organised different types of event,
from Irish cultural evenings to ‘try-the-pipes’ events in
shopping malls. All are welcome as the purpose is to raise
the profile of the instrument around the world.
Members thinking of contributing should contact us at:
Ken Lynam — [email protected]
Emmett Gill — [email protected]
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US AT [email protected] OR VISIT WWW.WKPF.ORG
@Armagh_Pipers
/williamkennedypipingfestival
NEW PUBLICATIONS
PIPER’S CHOICE Vol 8
Mikie Smyth, Caoimhín Ó
Fearghail & Cormac Cannon
William Kennedy
PIPING
nd
22 wkpf
FESTIVAL
12th-15th November
Friday 13th - 8pm until late
Hooley at the Hotel
piping extravaganza featuring Lúnasa; Boclé Bros. Band featuring Loïc
Bléjean (Brittany/NYC); Gordon Walker (Scotland); Michelle & Louise
Mulcahy with Caoimhín Ó Fearghail; Buille; Four Winds; Jimmy O'Brien
Moran & Jesse Smith; Finlay MacDonald & Ross Martin (Scotland);
Mischa MacPherson Trio (Scotland); Daniel Bellón & Diego Maceiras
(Galicia); Roddy MacLeod (Scotland); Joe McKenna & Paul Bradley; Bríd
Harper, Harry Bradley & Padraig Rynne; Emmet, Dermot, Fintan &
Eimhéar Mulholland; Cathal O'Neill, Niall Hanna & Rachel McGarrity;
Connla; Strings Attached
Saturday 14th - 3.15pm
Apples in Winter
featuring Tommy Hayes, Mick O'Brien, Karan Casey, Michelle Mulcahy,
Mary Francis Keenan, Carl Corcoran & Cindy Cummins
4th William Kennedy
Piping Academy
The William Kennedy Piping Academy brings a new dimension to
the teaching and appreciation of uilleann piping through a
comprehensive immersion course, covering all aspects of
performance as well as the making and maintenance of uilleann
pipes under the direction of universally respected pipers and artists.
Tutors include:
Seán McKeon,
Pádraig McGovern,
Brian McNamara,
Mikie Smyth,
Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn,
Eamonn Curran and more.
Caoimhín Ó Fearghail started on the whistle but quickly progressed to the pipes, under the tutelage of David Power, who
has been a big influence on him, along with the piping of Séamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Tommy Reck and Patsy Touhey.
He was one of the young pipers featured on The Rolling Wave
album issued by NPU in 2012. He has performed frequently
at home and abroad, solo and also with groups including
Danú and Caladh Nua. He was the 2012 recipient of the TG4
Young Musician of the Year award (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Cormac Cannon also started on the whistle, with Mary
Bergin, and took up the pipes some years later, learning
from Tommy Keane and from other players at the Willie
Clancy Summer School. In 2011, he recorded the album
The Trip to Carrick in collaboration with Lamond Gillespie
and John Blake. Other recorded output includes The Cobblestone Sessions (Mulligan 2002), Rogha Scoil Samhradh
Willie Clancy 2008 and contributions to albums recorded
by his mother, harpist Kathleen Loughnane.
SESSIONS, WORKSHOPS
ARMAGH CONCERTS,
LECTURES & FAMILY EVENTS
festival highlights:
musicians (from Maurice Lennon to the Rubber Bandits).
Mikie plays a C# set of Geoff Wooff pipes.
MIKIE SMYTH
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(NPU DVD 015)
CAOIMHÍN Ó FEARGHAIL
Available from NPU €25.00 (Members €22.00) + p&p
T
HE EIGHTH VOLUME of PIPER’S CHOICE is
now available, with three more pipers, from
Dublin, Waterford and Galway. They are interviewed by presenter Peter Browne, a piper himself, who
knows what to ask, and engages the players with questions about their tune choices, influences, and the decisions they make when interpreting tunes.
Mikie credits the welcoming atmosphere in Henrietta
Street, and the tuition from Colm de Brún, Andy Conroy,
Nollaig MacCárthaigh and Gay McKeon, for his love of the
pipes. Over the past number of years Mikie has performed
in over thirty countries both as a soloist and with shows
(Ragus, Riverdance) and recorded with a wide variety of
Jigs: Tatter Jack Walshe, Banish Misfortune
Reel: Colonel Frazer
March: The Downfall of Paris
Air: A Stór Mo Chroí
Harp tune: Carolan’s Draught
Air: The Eagle’s Whistle
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Reels: The London Lasses, Miss McGuinness
Jigs: The Humours of Rahey, Paddy Taylor’s
Set Dance: Rodney’s Glory
Jigs: The Cauliflower, Kissing and Drinking
Air / Set Dance: Pilib Séimh Ó Fathaigh,
Seán Ó Duibhir a’ Ghleanna
12. Reels: Ceo na gCnoc, The Boys of ’25
Cormac Cannon
13. Jigs: The Langstrom Pony, The Nightingale,
The Connaughtman’s Rambles
14. Reels: The Bag of Spuds, The Jolly Tinker
15. Hornpipes: Casey’s Poll Ha’penny, Poll
Ha’penny, Mrs Galvin’s
16. Air: Caoineadh Uí Néill
17. Hornpipe: The Blacksmith’s Charm
18. Jig: Gallagher’s
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MOYNE ROAD
The Bonny Men
FOUR WINDS
Four Winds
NEW RECORDINGS
THE SLENDER PROMISE
Finbar Furey
JUST PIPING
Michael Cooney
(Banshee Music BANMUSCD2000)
Available from www.finbarfurey.com
nahoo Productions 002)
FINBAR FUREY WRITES OF THIS CD: “This album
of flute and pipes is one I have meant to do for many years
as the last instrumental album I recorded was in 1972. It's
music I've always wanted to PLAY on the pipes. It's
REACHING deeper within the pipes, into the soul of the
instrument. It has a depth of feeling which is like a well,
no matter how much you drink, it never seems to dry up.”
THIS IS MICHAEL COONEY’S SECOND ALBUM
of piping, and is available only as a download, from the
CDBABY website.
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Theme music: The Refugee
Air: Connemara
Jig: The Slender Promise
Air: Castaway
Air: She Moved Through the Fair
Air: Paddy Dear
Jig: Welch's Jig
Air: The Rocks of Bawn
Jig: The Aw De Audi Jig
Hymn: Nearer My God To Thee
Reel: Miss McLeod's Reel
Air: Mangan’s Madness for Roisin
Available from www.cdbaby.com
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Jig: Frieze Britches
Reel: Colonel Frazer
Hornpipes: Andy’s, The Shaskeen
Jigs: The Castlebar Races. Strike the Gay Harp
Reels: McGreevy’s 1 & 2, The Master’s Return
Air: The Dear Irish Boy
Reels: The Inishcaltra Selection
Jigs: Crehan’s, Droney’s, McGreevy’s
Set dances: Garden of Daisies, Job of Journeywork
Air / song: Sean O'Dwyer
Jig: Humours of Ballyloughlin
Reel: Bucks of Oranmore
Jigs: New House Selection
Air: Blind Mary
Reels: Boy in the Boat, Pretty Girls of Mayo
Polkas: The Commons Polkas
Reels: The Tempest, Peoples’ 2
(C & P Bonny Hound Records, Bon 2)
Available from www.finbarfurey.com
(FourWinds Music 030530)
Available from NPU €18.00 (members €17.00) + p&p
THE BONNY MEN are a seven-strong band of multiinstrumentalists and singers, who all seem to bring a range
of skills to the music.
There are two pipers in the group, Maitiú Ó Casaide and
Moss Landman, although Maitiú usually takes on the piping duties, while Moss plays the flute and whistle.
The other members, Maitiú’s sister Natalie, Adam Whelan,
Conor and Barry Lyons, and Turlough Chambers, contribute a variety of instruments and voices to the mixture.
The album tracks comprise a mix of instrumental tracks
(traditional) and songs (newly composed by band members).
FOUR WINDS are a newly established group, and this
is their debut CD. Their lineup includes the France-based
piper Tom Delaney, who plays a set of pipes by the French
maker Didier Heuline.
The other members are Daoirí Farrell, who performed
at our Cobblestone Session in September 2013 and
whose performances can be seen on Source, and Caroline Keane and Robbie Walsh, both instrumentalists and
singers.
The album includes a mixture of songs and instrumental
tracks, all performed ensemble, and all traditional in origin or feel.
1 Song: Kottayam
2 Reels: Sporting Nell, Mick O’Connor’s, The Jug of
Punch, The Bunch of Green Rushes
3 Song: Roads
4 Jigs: The Sweet Briar, Fraher’s, An Buachaillín Buí
5 Song: Sometimes
6 Reels: The Cashmere Shawl, The Hairy Chested Frog,
Gan Ainm
7 Slides: Gan Ainm, Follow Me Up to Carlow
8 Song: An Pótaire
9 Slip jigs: Hardyman the Fiddler, The Horse Shoe,
Mairseáil Alasdraim
10 Song: The Day is Mine
11 Reels: The Piper’s Despair, Coleman’s Cross, Corney is
Coming, Matt People’s, Gan Ainm, The Pinch of
Snuff, The Famous Ballymote
1 Slide / Hop jig / Reel: Con Carthy’s Favourite, Comb
Your Hair and Curl It, The Templehouse
2 Jigs: The Three Little Drummers, The Queen of the
Rushes, Palm Sunday
3 Song: Farewell to the Gold
4 Reels: The Flags of Dublin, Ger Quiigley’s, Fred’s
Favourite
5 Song: The Ludlow Massacre
6 Hornpipes: The Piper’s Patience, The Black Valley Reel
7 Reels: The Bond Store, Trim the Velvet, Scotch Mary
8 Song: The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee
9 Hop jig / polkas: The Dusty Miller, The P&O Polka,
Jack Reedy’s Polka
10 Song: Clasped to the Pig
11 Jigs: Paddy Fahy’s, The Gaelic Club, Parnell’s March
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RUSSIAN PIPER
NEWS & EVENTS
GERMAN PIPERS TIONÓL
G
ERMANY’S PIPERS’ CLUB, “DEUTSCHE
UILLEANN PIPES GESELLSCHAFT”, held
its first gathering of 2015 over the Easter weekend in the picturesque Burg Fürsteneck castle. A record
number of 27 pipes students attended an equally sensational number of five pipes classes, more eager students
gathered around pipe maker Andreas Rogge who taught
the essentials of reed making. The master pipes class was
taught by Diarmaid Moynihan. Diarmaid was accompanied by his sister Deirdre who gave instruction to a class
of 11 fiddlers. More pipers, fiddlers, flautists, accordionists, accompanists etc. took part and enjoyed the sessions
that developed day and night after and in between classes.
All in all there were over 90 people who enjoyed a great
weekend of music and craic. The next meeting will be
from June 4th – 7th with Tiarnan Ó Duinnchinn as master class teacher. There will also be a fiddle and a concertina class by sisters Geraldine and Martha Clancy.
More
information
can
be
found
here
www.dupg.net/?p=1403 (in German language), or by
contacting [email protected].
Barbara Coerdt
ATTACHED IS A PICTURE OF ALEXANDR SHIMCHUK a piper from Moscow, playing a set of uilleann
pipes — made by my dad Martin Carrigan Senior — in
a museum in Moscow. Alexandr is an excellent piper and
flew from Russia last year to get a set of Uilleann Pipes
from dad — he actually stayed two weeks with my parents playing and fine tuning the pipes.
I just taught it is a good picture and shows how uilleann
pipes are expanding globally now.
Regards,
Martin Carrigan
CONNOLLY COMMEMORATION
NPU WERE INVITED this year to arrange a piper
to play at the annual commemoration of the death
of 1916 leader James Connolly in Dublin’s Arbour
Hill cemetery.
Gay McKeon took on the task at short notice. He is
pictured in the photograph below along with a
warpiper and the singer Jerry O’Reilly.
For the record, Gay played two airs: “Róisín Dubh”
and “Thar timpeall mo hata”.
The photo shows (nearly) all of the pipers who attended the Tionól: Standing, back row: Michael Jockel, Rolf Steiner, Holger Kling, Frank Weber, Claus Steinort, Rudi Baumgartl, Max Schilling, Christian Hillmer, Gregor Bina,
Valentin Stahl, Lars Pfeiffer, Karsten Hyllus, Christian Roch, Marc Decker. Standing, middle row: Jens Kommnick, Marina Tanner, Jens Jost, Martin Wieser, Barbara Hintermeier, Johannes Schiefner, Eckart Mansfeld, Tristan
Pargmann, Andreas Thiele, Silas Wiedmer, Masaki Kato. Sitting: Fancesco Brazzo, Jimmy Hughes, Roland Müller, Christian Tietje, Susanne Jochen, Ruth Stakemann, Dermot Moynihan, Rita Rohrer, Tom Aebi, Ansgar Klöcker,
Sigrid Taeschner, Monika Schmettow. Missing on photo: Andreas Rogge, Hendrik Morgenbrodt, Hans-Jörg Podworny, Beatrice Wissing, Fritz Hofmeister, Patrick Logan, Sebastien Redeker, Volker Klett.
12
13
Tionól 2015, Tramore
Clockwise, from top-left: Claire Fennell; Wilbert Garvin; the Board for the coming year: Mike Mullins, Donncha Dwyer, Kieran O’Hare, Danny McGreevy, Noel Pocock, Kevin Rowsome, Ken Lynam,
Tommy Keane and Sheila Friel; Tommy Keane; Joseph Byrne; Robert Fell and Fionn Ó hAlmhain; Ray Sloan at the Pipemakers’ Showcase; Jimmy O’Brien-Moran with his patent ultra-low-C device
strapped to his thigh; Denis Brooks’ Pipers Sextet: Caoimhín Ó Fearghail, Eoin Quinn, Tom Creegan, Kieran O’Hare, Gay McKeon and Denis Brooks. (Photographs: Terry Moylan and Brian Stafford)
Tionól 2015
Tramore
Co. Waterford.
Front row (l-r): Rita Farrell; Joe Barry; Alexander Anistratov; Tom Creegan; Wilbert Garvin; Joe Crane; James O Floinn; Roger O'Keeffe; Ray Sloan; Peter Lyons; Tom Clarke; second row (l-r): Denis Brooks; Dave Hegarty; Gay McKeon;
Joe Doyle; Gerry Lyons; David Dunne; Danny McGreevy; Tommy Keane; Jacqui Martin; Pádraic Keane; Sorcha Potts; Marion McCarthy; Tomás Mac Uileagóid; Un-named; third row (l-r): Michael Coughlan; Kieran O'Hare; Bill Slattery;
Billy Browne; Kenny McNicholl; David Prior; Joseph Byrne; Noel Pocock; Peadar Giles; Ken Lynam; Carolyne Lindsay; Éanna Drury; fourth row (l-r): John Tuohy; Joe Daly; Donncha Ó Maidín; Seamus Joy; Mike Mullins; Nate Mullins;
16 Niall Kelleher; ????? Sloan; Daniella Ferreti; Bill Haneman; Sheila Friel; Emmett Gill; Jim Wenham; John Tuohy; Catríona Madden; Hugh Quinn; Sveltana Tikhonova; Eoin Quinn; back row (l-r): Jimmy O'Brien-Moran; Ronan Browne. 17
(Photograph - Terry Moylan)
T
MUSIC
AN FUISEÓIGÍN RUADH / THE LITTLE RED LARK
Music and words taken from the little book Pilip Arís (un-dated), Cnuas Fonn Gaedhealach in dtrí codacha i
gcóir gutha céadna.
Ceapuighthe ag E. Maguidhir, leas thimire cheóil, oideachais náisiúnta. Brún agus Ó Nualláin, Teor.
Music transposed from the tonic-solfa in the key of G and drawn by Séamus MacMathúna, Wexford, May 2015.
18
HE TUNE AT LEFT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED by the Wexford piper Séamus Mac Mathúna. He found the air in the tonic-solfa songster
Pilib Arís and prepared this hand-written copy for An
Píobaire.
The song to the air was written by ‘Tórna’ — Tadhg Ó
Donnchadha (1874-1949) — the prominent Irish
scholar, member of The Gaelic League, editor of Irisleabhair na Gaeilge and Professorof Irish at University College
Cork. Willie Clancy recorded a version of the tune on
the CD The Gold Ring (RTÉ 276CD).
The same air, Séamus informs us, is used for the song
“The Enchanted Island” in the publication The Irish
Minstrel, no. 2. A collection of Songs for use in Irish Schools,
selected and arranged by P. Goodman.
P. Goodman was professor of music at the Central Training College and Model Schools in Marlborough Street,
Dublin, and at Saint Patrick’s Training College, Drumcondra. His School and Home Song Book, published by
John Falconer in Dublin in 1894, includes a two-part
arrangement of the song.
An Fuiseóigín Ruadh
The Enchanted Island
Do bhíosa im' luighe go síteach sógach,
Ar thulach ar bhórd an chuain,
Mar bhíodh na soillse ag tidheacht im' threó,
'San ghaoth ag feóithneadh im' chluais.
Ag smaoineadh 'r tha 'n tsaoighail mhóir,
'San scaipeadh so'r phór suadhna.
Dé chaoin bheart dhílis Ríogh na gcomhacht,
Do thuiteas i néal bheag suaim.
To Rathlin's Isle I chanced to sail,
When Summer breezes softly blew,
And there I heard so sweet a tale,
That oft I wished it could be true.
They said at eve, when rude winds sleep,
And hushed is ev're turbid swell,
A mermaid rises from the deep,
And sweetly tunes her magic shell.
Dar liom go dtáinig fá mo chómhair
Thar tuinn fuiseóigín ruadh
Gan fios cá háird dob' áitreabh dhó,
Cá gaoth do sheol é ar cuaird.
Do stad go hárd ós tráigh do dheóin,
Is sgearcuigh ar cheól gan bhuadhairt,
Do bhíodhg mé im' lár le háthas mór
Tré aiteas an sgeóil do luaidh.
And while she plays, rock, dell and cave
In dying falls the sound retain,
As if some choral spirits gave
Their aid to swell her witching strain.
Then summoned by that dulcet note,
Uprising to th' admiring view,
A fairy island seems to float
With tints of many a gorgeous hue.
A Oileán na Naomh fuair céasadh i gcró
Ta'n tearma an róitheach suas,
Acht claoidhidís Gaedhil le chéile fós
Sin saoirse ag Fódhla i nduais.
Do ghabhas do léim ar féar fá dhó
Le taithneam an sgeóil mhaith shuairc,
Sin cuinntas glé gan chlaon gan ghó
Do nis an fhuiseóigín ruadh.
And glittering fanes, and lofty towers,
All on this fairy isle are seen;
And waving trees, and shady bowers,
With more than mortal verdure green.
And as it moves, the western sky
Glows with a thousand varying rays.
And the calm sea, tinged with each dye,
Seems like a golden flood of blaze.
They also say, if earth or stone,
From verdand Erin's hallowed land,
Were on this magic island thrown
For ever fixed, it then would stand.
But when, for this, some little boat
In silence ventures from the shore The mermaid sinks - hushed is the note,
The fairy isle is seen no more.
19
resolved to make a better set for himself and thus began
the middle phase of his life, that of master pipe-maker.
PETER HUNTER (1954-2015)
A
SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE have been
hugely important in my development as a musician and as a person; an equally small set of people drive me nuts every time I met them. At the top of
an even smaller list – those who both inspire and derange
me – was Peter Hunter. Tricky though they may be, I’ve
always found that this sort of person has the most to offer
– should you survive the experience!
Sadly, we lost Peter in January 2015. It never occurred to us that he might one day be gone but gone he
is, and those of us lucky enough to have known him have
been left with rich memories.
Peter Hunter in 1985
20
A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
Though born in Ireland (on the 6th of December 1954)
Peter spent most of his life in West Yorkshire. At the age
of six he showed a single-minded quest for information
which would characterise his life – he took on as mentor
the next-door gardener (and bee-keeper) Mr. Mills who
answered incessant questions about bee-keeping until
Peter had harvested all available facts on the subject, information which he kept on hand for the rest of his life.
When I met Peter in the early 1980s, I experienced
both his unceasing appetite for, and his generous transmission of, knowledge as he interviewed me in depth
about my short life to date, about music, about Ireland’s
past and present, whilst interjecting regularly to share his
own tales of the world, of engineering, of music, history
and life in general – in fact the one unsurprising thing
about time spent with Peter was constant surprise at the
depth and breadth of his grasp of almost any topic.
Having received his early schooling locally in Keighley Peter moved on to Cambridge where it seems he
drove them nuts, all the while soaking up more and more
information.
An independent person, Peter enjoyed spending
time alone in Scotland on “Faather’s” boat, a 42 foot
ketch called The Melfort, and he loved to go crabbing on
family holidays to the tiny island of Herm off Guernsey.
In any particular situation where one might encounter Peter, invariably he already knew the salient facts
and had an oblique view on it all which he was happy to
share with eager minds – always wonderful company!
PIPES
At the tender age of 8, Peter somehow (unbeknownst to
me) came across the pipes and was immediately smitten.
He constructed a set for himself out of a dry-cleaners'
plastic bag and some garden canes which he skewered
with holes. It appears to have worked well enough to
convince him that there was more to be learned and, like
most pipe-makers-to-be, he then purchased a poorlymade bag and chanter. This unplayable instrument exasperated him to such an extent that he eventually
PETER'S SHOP WINDOW
By the time I met Peter Hunter in Bettystown in 1982,
he had already made a number of wonderful chanters and
was spoken of in hushed tones as the next great maker.
Our initial meeting was celebrated around 1 a.m. by a
coming-together of Peter and Patrick Handley with some
bottles of duty-free malt whisky and me clutching some
cold chickens that I had just liberated (delicately) from
the hotel kitchen fridge. We had a wonderful little party,
chatting and playing tunes on various sets of pipes till exhaustion set in around 8 a.m. Little did I realise then, that
this was only the first of many late nights to come.
In the following years I made many short trips to
visit Peter, first in the Pennines and later, in Micklethwaite where he lived next door to his delightful parents
Sheila and Tony Hunter; Sheila was a accomplished oil
painter and Tony, a wonderful pianist. On that first trip
to his place in the Pennines, Peter presented me with a
chanter, a most tuneful lignum vitae C, which my son Diarmaid now plays with my brass Harrington set while I
pluck up the courage to restore the original chanter. It is
one of the most 'fun' chanters I have ever played and it
never ceases to delight both player and listener! Before
I left the Pennines, I took possession of a cracking little
C# in Rosewood which also plays like a dream.
Peter proposed that I be his shop window to the
world, playing his pipes and bringing in orders from
wherever I travelled. I was only too happy to have the
very finest instruments available and sure enough, everyone wanted to know where they could get their hands on
them.
In the spring of 1986 I moved to Micklethwaite to
learn about pipe-making and I stayed till the autumn of
that year. This was to be an adventure like non other and
I eventually staggered back exhausted to Ireland, worn
out but ecstatic and ever so slightly anti-Peter Hunter, to
attempt to finish my floundering architectural studies.
During my six months in Micklethwaite I had developed
asthma – unbeknownst to my poor self I was allergic to
Peter’s incredible somersaulting-onto-curtains cat but I
knew nothing of asthma at that point until Big John from
East Morton gave me a go on his inhaler – suddenly, I
could breathe again; from then on, when other substances failed to relieve my beleaguered lungs, I would
walk over to Big John for a puff of the yoke!
Over those 6 months in Micklethwaite Grange I met
many wild and wonderful people; I ate world-class curries at Khadim’s in Bradford; I experienced the bare minimum of daylight and did many things never to be shared
with my poor unsuspecting mother! But also during that
long summer I made a number of chanters; I learned how
to hand-forge beautiful keys, roll ferrules and finish brass
bends, how to make proper elder drone reeds and of
course I picked up many arcane elements of reed-making; I became an expert user of Washita and Hard
Arkansas sharpening stones; I learned to respect the
work of the old master makers and their obvious feel for
their art. When I first went to Micklethwaite we had to
walk over the hill and down into the valley to Peter’s
workshop in Holroyd Mill but by that 1986 trip he had
moved into the old well house across from his house
making access to pipe making an easier commute.
During those 6 months we had countless wild-eyed
late-night conversations; we hatched plans to revolutionise the making and provision of pipes; we discussed
the minutiae of the music-styles of all the great players
and we both played a LOT of music; we listened to LPs
of Boccherini, Beefheart and Tull, but what we did least
was the 30 second walk across the road to the actual making of pipes; this was Peter’s great failing and one which
as a “creative” person myself, I understand only too well
– often it is impossible to do that one thing which should
be done, that which is at your core but eludes you over
and over again. Whenever we did make it across the
road, it would invariably be for the graveyard shift which
played havoc with my mental stability. For all that, when
I left Micklethwaite at the beginning of winter in 1986, I
Two-part chanter in G by Peter Hunter
21
had in my pipe case a number of top class chanters: the
first was christened the “busking stick” as we made it so
I could go to Keighley to busk for our dinner! Then an
old rosewood table leg was fashioned (in an hour & just
for fun) into the chanter I was to play with my brass Harrington for the next 10 years – we made it so quickly that
the B hole ended up in the wrong place and forevermore
I was the only person who could cover it!
That July I had nipped over to the Willie Clancy
Summer School and on my return Peter presented me
with a lignum concert chanter based on my boxwood
Rowsome; this was to be my main D chanter right up to
a few months before Peter died, when I took possession
of a fine full set made by one of the few people in whom
Peter confided pipe-making knowledge, Makoto Nakatsui.
Towards the end of that 1986 stay we made our pièce
de résistance, the 2-part G chanter which plays like a cross
between a baritone sax and a muted fog-horn. We hatched
plans to build a massive full set to go with it, for me to grow
a beard and to play it wearing a Victorian boys’ sailor suit!
Needles to say, none of this came to pass...!
The last chanter to come out of that wild summer
was my treasured fully-keyed cocobolo Bb which, like all
the others, has graced many the stage and album.
In the years that followed, I often visited Micklethwaite when on tour in England and we kept in regular
touch by phone. Peter was always able to answer any pipe
or reed making question I might have, no matter how
strange. As I played his chanters, I gladly fulfilled my half
of our deal and orders rolled in for instruments. Sadly
Peter often took too long to fill those orders and in the
process he lost an amount of goodwill due to him, a fact
sadly evinced by a general indifference to his passing.
That said, there are many people who were ecstatic to be
owners of Peter’s pipes and remain so to this day.
SAM LAWRENCE & HUNTER PIPES
In his 50s Peter made less pipes; he studied law and
gained a law degree. Although he didn’t set himself up
in practice, he often used his knowledge to guide others
– he was a kind-hearted man who was ready to help anyone in need and there are some lucky people who owe
their continued existence to Peter’s intervention.
During those later years Peter developed a close
friendship with Sam Lawrence who, like me, came to
Micklethwaite to learn pipe-making. Unlike me, Sam
stayed and eventually became the keeper of Peter’s pipemaking flame. I remember well the early years of Sam’s
time with Peter – whenever we spoke, Peter had some
new praise for Sam, his increasing skills as a maker, his
guitar-playing, his musicianship in general, but especially
his being pitch-perfect. Peter may not have been effusive
to his face but over time Sam came to know in what high
regard he was held by his master and mentor. Hunter
Pipes continues now, as it did for the last decade of
Peter’s life, under the able stewardship of Sam Lawrence.
I wish him many years of successful instrument making,
whether it be under that name or under his own.
PETER’S FIREBACK
In September of 2014, Peter bought an iron fireback
dating to the early 1600s. It arrived on a pallet and was
sitting on the ground outside the house, waiting to be
coaxed in to Peter’s sitting room. While bringing it in,
Peter tripped and landed on the corner of the pallet, injuring his chest and cracking some ribs. Over the next
months, the pains in his chest got worse and worse until
in December, shortly after his 60th birthday, doctors finally realised that the pain was not from the cracked
ribs but that Peter was suffering badly from lung cancer.
He phoned from Micklethwaite to tell me what was
happening and I could hardly believe what he was saying. I didn’t know it at the time but he only had weeks
to live. In what was a shock to all close to him, Peter
quickly succumbed to the ravages of the cancer and he
moved to the Sue Ryder Hospice in Oxenhope. He
passed away peacefully in the company of his family and
friends on the 20th of January 2015.
We buried Peter Hunter on the 4th of February and
celebrated his passing with beauty and style. At the reception afterwards, his brother Andrew laid out stacks of
photographs for us of Peter’s life, his music, pipes, cats
and friends; we each took what we wanted and at the end
of the day there were none left. We also stocked up on
Peter’s homemade jams and bags of dried wild mushrooms foraged by him – all in all, a wonderful send-off.
Although many friends and loved-ones came to
mourn and to celebrate, there were only 4 or 5 pipers in
attendance.
LEGACY
Peter was ahead of the posse back in the 1980s. In fact
he was always ahead of the posse! He devoured books
on acoustics, instrument making and reeds; he had an innate feeling for making an instrument sing. He took his
time, he worked by hand, by feel, by ear, and he made instruments which stand the test of time. Perhaps he might
have had more measurable success as a maker. We all
know that the life of a pipe-maker is not an easy one –
along with beauty and fulfilment comes heartache and
depression; much time is spent alone with nothing to
spur you on other than an empty bank account. But like
other classic makers before him, Peter created great
beauty which will remain in playing hands for many generations to come. I count myself lucky to be in a small
club of people who play his instruments. Those instru-
I
WAS VERY SAD TO READ IN AN PÍOBAIRE
that Peter Hunter had passed away. I’ll always remember Peter for his generosity to me when I was a
teenager. I met Peter at a Tionól in Bettystown and I was
playing a stick of a German flute. Peter invited me to visit
him and offered to make me a flute. I was sixteen and got
the ferry to Liverpool. On the ferry there were a bunch
of Waterford United football fans running riot and hassling
people. A family of travellers en route to a wedding took
myself and a young girl under their wing for protection.
When I arrived at Peter’s he went into the most elaborate preparations to make an Indian curry. l smelt this
curry for the weekend but never got to taste it. Joe
Crane’s mention of the lack of food in the house brought
back memories! Peter showed me three pieces of boxwood that were to be my flute. After a very late night on
Friday and gallons of coffee on Saturday Peter set to work
Peter Hunter in 1986
ments, well minded, will still be played in hundreds of
years time and will be cherished as classic instruments
made by a master maker.
Ronan Browne
on Saturday evening. Peter decreed that in order for him
to work I had to play the prototype that my flute was to
be made from. I stood in Peter’s freezing garage (his
workshop was a partitioned sectioned of this) playing the
flute to Peter through a window. When I stopped playing
Peter stopped working. It was a long night but Peter
made the flute. He was finishing undercutting the toneholes as he walked me to the bus stop. That flute is one
of the best flutes I have ever played and is still my
favourite flute to this day. I have used it on all my recordings but don’t bring it out to sessions as it is pitched in E
flat.
I think that getting this wonderful instrument as a
gift from Peter was a major turning point in my flute playing and I will be always grateful to him for his generosity.
Ar Deis Dé go raibh a anam.
Paul McGrattan
Chanter in B¨ by Peter Hunter
22
23
TECHNICAL
C JOINTS AND THEIR FUTURE IN UILLEANN PIPING
MARK REDMOND
D
UNCAN GILLIS OF NORTH WIND INSTRUMENTS left us one of his chanter ‘C Footjoints’ last year so that pipers could try it out. Mark Redmond borrowed it recently to take it
for a road-test. His report is below. The device is available online at www.northwindinstruments.com.
Its appearance: Overall this is a very well finished product that does not take away from the appearance of the
chanter. On closer examination, for more finicky pipers,
it would be more pleasing on the eye if the inner grey, industrial type metal was replaced by the same material
that the outer shell is made of - brass or silver depending
on the chanter.
Its practicality: A clever device that could become a
permanent addition in a piper’s case in the way that brass
and string players, for example, carry mutes etc. as options to alter their performances. As mentioned above a
different use of material might be necessary as it tends to
squeak slightly while in motion. Generally the squeaking
would not be heard by most but no doubt it would be
picked up close to any decent microphones.
As with any new addition to a set of pipes it would
take some getting used to, particularly for faster tunes. It
would be helpful if there was an inner mechanism or tiny
mount of some sort that give the piper a clear awareness,
by sense of feeling whilst performing, of exactly where
the notes D and C sit as opposed to sliding up and down,
unaware like a beginner fiddler finding the exact pitch!
Its construction: The current joint would have to be
altered slightly. It must use a less sturdy spring inside. In
its present form, a piper finds him/herself forced to grip
the chanter down with such pressure on ones thigh that
it renders the use of regulators almost impossible. As well
as that, the playing of staccato ornamentation suffers as
the chanter is not flush on the thigh. The result is, as an
experienced piper would expect in such a position, the
piercing sound of the second octave off the leg while
using standard fingering.
24
Its length and width would depend on different pipemakers designs due to the various positioning of decorative mounts on the bottom of chanters. Each joint would
have to be tailor made for any given chanter in the same
manner as a reed. On a more positive note, it does not affect the tone
of the hard or soft bottom D, it
even allows for both a hard and soft
bottom C!
Its future: Like any new device
it will only develop to perfection
with more experience/ ‘trial and
error’ and constructive feedback.
Admiration must be given to any
inventor of new ideas that push the
boundaries of an instrument which
has been developing over centuries
(albeit much slower in recent
times). Who’s to know, in the not
too distant future a similar device
may be available for chanters in all
keys to play below the tonic note.
Its demand: There is an ever
growing number of pipers performing in fusion with ensembles
outside traditional music where the
addition of a wider range of notes
would be most desirable. It would
allow a piper to easily play any C
passing notes that often occur between D’s at the end of airs (obvious example is Ag Criost an Síol)
and in time to transpose tunes currently played in keys we take for
granted on D chanters down to C
without having to purchase an additional chanter. I, for one, would
love to have it as a permanent option in my pipes case.
SEANCHAS
An Barr Buadh: Music and Politics
Nicholas Carolan
A
N BARR BUADH was a short-lived Irish-language nationalist periodical edited by Pádraic
Mac Piarais/ Patrick Pearse and published in
eleven numbers in Dublin from 16 March to 25 May
1912. It appeared in a year when Pearse had turned decisively from cultural to political action, in reaction to the
difficulties being experienced in the struggle for Home
Rule. The title of the periodical is ambiguous and was
probably meant to be. It can mean ‘Victory’, but it is also
the name of an ancient Irish musical wind instrument,
the barr buadh or barr buabhaill. The exact nature of this
instrument is unknown, but it seems from the contexts
in which it appears to have been some kind of clarion or
bugle-horn. It was featured on the masthead of each issue
in a quotation from a Fenian lay celebrating the exploits
of the mythological Irish hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill:
a ghualainn aige. Do chuireas cainnt air. Do labhair
sé liom go múinte mánla fearamhail. Do bhreathnuigheas ar an bpíb. Do bhí an seansúir scoilte. Do
bhí an ríd bog, lag, caithte. Ba chuma sin dó. Do shiubhail sé leis, do shéid an phíob, agus do thug a
aghaidh ar na ‘Cnocaibh Glasa’ do bhí achar beag
uainn. Do lean a chomrádaí é. Scata gasúr do bhain
le ‘Fiannaibh Éireann’ do b’eadh iad. Do ghluaiseadar
leo as m’amharc.
Mar sin do Chlannaibh Gaedheal. Chomh fhad agus
chíos siad bratach a dtíre dhúthchais dhá scaoileadh
le gaoith ní airigheann siad fuacht ná teas; ní
airigheann siad bochtanas nó anró an tsaoghail so.
Go mbadh fada mar sin dóibh.
Nicholas Carolan
Irish Traditional Music Archive
Do sheinn Fionn an Barr Buadh/ Is do ghairm faoi
luas a thromshlua. (Fionn blew a blast on the barr
buadh/ And summoned his strong band of warriors
to come in haste.)
The periodical itself represented a clarion-call to contemporary nationalists to engage in political action.
Five of the contributors to An Barr Buadh would die in
the 1916 Rising. Among them was Éamonn Ceannt, an
uilleann piper and warpiper, who was Secretary of the
Dublin Pipers’ Club from its foundation in 1900. The
Club promoted both kinds of piping, and its warpipers
often participated in political marches. Ceannt wrote one
piece on piping and politics for the periodical, a piece
which clearly refers to warpiping:
PÍOBAIRE
Tá ceol thar píobaireacht ann acht níl aon cheol
chomh maith leis chum Gaedheal Éireann do ghríosughadh.
Ag gabháil an bhóthair dhom le déidheannaighe do
casadh píobaire óg liom. Gasúr breagh láidir do bhí
ann: gruaigh chasta ruadh air; dath na sláinte ar a
phlucaibh; dhá shúil ghlasa aige; an phíob mhór thar
Éamonn Ceannt playing the warpipes for Pope Pius X.
(Irish Independent, 2 October 1908)
25
SEANCHAS
TROUBLE IN THE IRISH VILLAGE
Nick Whitmer
I
N 1904 PAT TOUHEY, the foremost uilleann
piper of his generation, played for some weeks at
the theatre in the Irish Village at the World’s Fair
in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. There Touhey became
part of a controversy which received widespread press
coverage. Some other performers who shared the
stage with Touhey objected to his act, calling it degrading to the Irish. He had, however, the support of
management, and was a success with the paying public.
The St. Louis fair was a big operation: 1,500 buildings
on 1,200 acres, 19.96 million visitors. It ran for seven
months. Because it was not then an independent
country, Ireland was not allowed to have a national
pavilion in the main part of the fair. Instead, private
money was raised to erect an Irish Village on “The
Pike,” the adjacent area for side shows and concessions. The Village featured replicas of the old Irish
House of Parliament and other historic structures, including Blarney Castle, in which there was a theatre.
It was the intention of the organizers to show the diversity and quality of Irish arts, crafts and industries.
By one count, 136 men and women came from Ireland
to work at the Village including lacemakers, weavers,
potters, singers, dancers, musicians, and a troupe of
actors.
Touhey, an Irish-American based in New York City,
was hired to perform as a solo act at the theatre in the
Irish Village, one part of a program that included
singing, dancing, acrobats, and dramatic performances
– short plays or skits or farces. In his act he told jokes,
sang, played the pipes and perhaps danced. He also
played pipes for the dancers.
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By 1904 Touhey had been in show business for almost
twenty years including ten years in vaudeville as a comedian and musician. For most of his career he performed either in plays with other actors, or in a
vaudeville act with a partner or partners. For two
years bracketing his appearance at St. Louis he played
at least twenty solo vaudeville engagements, as far as
is known the only time in his career he did extensive
solo work.
The World’s Fair officially opened on Saturday April
30, 1904. This was the first day that Pat Touhey did
his solo turn on the stage. At least three performers
were particularly incensed by Touhey’s performance:
actors Dudley Digges, Marie Quinn, and Gerald A.
Ewing, a singer. Digges and Quinn had formerly
worked for what was to become the Abbey Theatre in
Dublin and were particularly sensitive to slights on
Irish character. They condemned the “anti-Irish tone”
of Touhey’s act, and a later account says their indignation was provoked because Touhey “sang a song which
was a vile caricature on the Irish race.” They also objected to his costume and some of the jokes he told.
The next day or the day thereafter, Digges and at least
nine other actors and musicians sent a written letter
of protest to the management of the Irish Village.
The offensive song, “It Takes the Irish to Beat the Dutch,”
was copyright 1903 and a product of Tin Pan Alley.
It takes the Irish to beat the Dutch.
What the Irish can’t accomplish it don’t amount to
much.
With their scientific tricks
They can never fool the Micks
You can bet it takes the Irish
To beat the Dutch.
Pat Touhey, center, playing for the Kelly Trio, dancers, at the Irish Village. Piper on the right may be Tom Ennis (1889-1931) of Chicago, or
Edward Harrison (1888?-?) of Dublin or someone else entirely.
Image from: Patrick D’Arcy, UilleannObsession.com, Diary 2004. http://uilleannobsession.com/diary_2004.html
A lower quality version of this photo was published here: ‘Odd Amusements of All Countries on the Pike’ with picture captioned ‘Dancers
and Pipers, Irish Village’, ‘On every side can be heard the Irish piper making the welkin ring with his odd melodies.’
Los Angeles Herald, 2 Oct. 1904, Sunday Supplement, 10 column 5.
California Digital Newspaper Collection cdnc.ucr.edu.
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-in/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19041002.2.309.26&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN%22irish+village%22+and+%22pike%22-----
Why did the other performers object to this song? A
good question. Was it undignified? Did they misunderstand the song? In one account the protestors claim that
“the Dutch” were South African Boers, who at the time
were viewed with sympathy by many Irish nationalists.
The song makes it clear that “the Dutch” in this case were
Germans and Germany.
Myles Murphy, manager of the Irish Village, later told a
newspaper, “Tuohy’s [sic] performance was within
bounds at all times, and whatever objectionable points it
may have had at first were promptly cut out.”
Touhey was allowed to continue his appearances, apparently with some modification. The actors were not so
fortunate. The “poetic drama” they were presenting was
performed three times, then scratched. It was apparently
a bewilderment to fairgoers, although the actors claimed
it was never given a fair chance. The actors had to content
themselves with comedies and farces.
The following Wednesday, May 4, John McCormack arrived in St. Louis from Dublin. McCormack (18841945), later to become world famous as an Irish tenor,
was at the beginning of his career. He was hired to sing
at the Irish Village. His later accounts of his time in St.
Louis are one of the reasons this episode has not been
completely forgotten. Some months before leaving Ireland he met his future wife, Lily Foley, a singer and
dancer. She too had been hired to work at the Fair and
was at St. Louis.
Management was unhappy with the actors (“Murphy
says they [the actors] are no good...& they won't leave.
27
... So there is a kind of deadlock....”); the actors were
unhappy with the light material they were obliged to
perform. Three weeks passed, probably in an atmosphere of frustration and distrust. On May 24th
Touhey performed and this time sang another song
which caused offence. The song was another Tin Pan
Alley product, “The 17th of March,” copyright 1904.
“This ditty was, if possible, even more objectionable
than his previous effort. It went on to describe how
Irishmen take a month to celebrate the feast of St.
Patrick.” In other words, “thirty days to observe St.
Patrick’s Day – one day to celebrate and twenty-nine
to get over it.”
The Chinese take just one week when their holiday it starts,
But it takes a month to celebrate the seventeenth
of March.
Altho’ an Irishman will work, yes, seven days a
week,
And work both night and day at that, about it he
won’t speak.
An Irishman can give up drink until his throat
does parch,
But he pays up for lost time on the seventeenth of
March.
John McCormack, scheduled to go on next, refused to
go on stage. Digges, ready to perform in a sketch, also
heard the song and went to the stage manager, Luke
Martin, to protest. They had words, and Digges left
the theatre. He was joined by Ewing, Quinn, Foley,
McCormack and actor C. O’Brien Teeling. The performance of the sketch was cancelled, the audience
turned away.
This incident has become part of the lore of Touhey
and of McCormack. According to one version of his
story, McCormack told management “ ‘Either he goes
[...] or I go.’ I received what was due me, that afternoon, and never again did I sing in that place.”
Their efforts generated much newspaper coverage,
particularly in the Irish-American press. Their protest
centered around “the introduction of the [despised]
‘Stage Irishman’ in the Irish Theatre....” Touhey was
characterized as a “Bowery actor.” The Bowery is a
neighborhood in New York City well known at that
time for crime, vice and low amusement.
Such was the protesters opinion. In contrast here is a
review of his solo act from November 1903 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts:
Pat Touhey is a very funny comedian, and has been received with great favor all along the line, on account
of his strenuous efforts to do away with the rank caricature of his race, which for so long was considered by
a very small minority as comedy. He sets an excellent
example to his brother comedians by appearing in a
neat, refined make-up. His monologue is extremely
funny, and his Irish bagpipe solos invariably bring
down the house.
Likewise the great music collector Francis O’Neill was
unfailingly positive in his assessments of Touhey and
spoke well of his appearance at St. Louis. O’Neill and
many others overlooked, or were not troubled by,
Touhey's stage antics.
The impact of the St. Louis controversy on Touhey's
career was probably minimal. By 1904 he was reasonably successful in vaudeville. September 1905 to December 1906 he appeared in his last play, The Rocky
Road to Dublin. From then on it was all vaudeville
until his last gig, probably in 1921. Of the scores of
Touhey newspaper and archive references after 1906,
only two refer to non-vaudeville engagements, one a
dance (Feb. 1913), the other a concert (Dec. 1914).
Digges, Quinn and Ewing were fired and told not to
return to the Irish Village. Touhey continued to perform, probably through August 13th.
Touhey’s experience in St. Louis was not a pleasant
one. It probably steered him away – and in at least one
instance he was barred – from engagements sponsored
by ardent Irish nationalists in some parts of the country. But this was not a major setback. His real focus
and career path was in show business.
Digges, Quinn and Ewing decided to go out in a blaze
of glory “as champions of Irish dignity & self-respect.”
Nick Whitmer
February 2015
28
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O
UR SERIES OF PIPER’S CHOICE DVDs now extends to seven discs, in each
of which three of the world’s foremost players of the uilleann pipes play and
discuss their music, their influences, and their thoughts on the art of piping.
They are interviewed by piper Peter Browne who, when he plays himself on
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Between them, these 24 pipers represent much of the best of modern piping, and also the best of respect for the heritage and continuity
of piping tradition. The pipers are: (Vol 1) Liam O’Flynn,
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Pipe-making
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For full details visit: www.raysloan.com
ADVERTISEMENTS
FOR SALE
Alan Ginsberg Full Set in C for sale, €3,800 each set,
Donegal/Belfast. photos available by email on request [email protected]. (10/4)
Genuine Lignum Vitae for sale. Quantity of genuine
Lignum vitae (Guaicum officinale L.) for sale . It is in large
blocks and suitable lengths for flat or concert pitch sets. It
is reputedly the heaviest timber in existence and an excellent timber for pipemaking. . Timber can be inspected at
my workshop in Kinvara by appointment. I can resaw to
size if required. Please contact Eugene Lambe 087 6462165
for dimensions and prices. (10/4)
Concert pitch D half set for sale by Tommy Martin in St
Louis. It’s made from Lignum Vitae, boxwood and brass.
The stock is half hollow and there are 3 keys on the
chanter, F, C and G# The set comes with a Kelleher Black
Ash bellows and a riveted leather bag. The price is US
$3,500 or €2,750. Contact me if you have any questions at
[email protected] (10/4)
Full set in C# made by Joe Kennedy of Ontario, Canada,
in the Coyne style. Ebony with brass. and boxwood mounts.
Chanter with 5 keys and stop key. Set fully reeded by Joe
Kennedy. Buyer to pay shipping, or collect in person.
US$12,000. Contact Kieran O'Hare, [email protected]
(11/1)
Charles Roberts 1/2 set, concert D, ca 1995. The chanter
was re-reeded when I bought the set in 2008, and is still
playing well. Bass and baritone drones have sythetic reeds
from Pipedreams in Glasgow. Tenor drone was re-reeded
by Donacha Dwyer this summer. I am selling to afford regulators by Martin Preshaw for my other set. The pipes are
in Oslo, Norway. Can be sent by mail at buyers expense.
€2,000.00. Contact [email protected] (+47) 91 45 78 39
(11/2)
Concert pitch set with one regulator. For sale is an excellent condition set of concert pitch pipes. They are in African
Blackwood/ imitation ivory and brass. 1) Chanter: Robbie
Hughes, Strangford, N Ireland. C key. 2) Bag and bellows
are brown leather/ mahogany type material and hand
stitched bellows, via Peter Hunter. Seasoned and airtight.
3) Stock solid stained sycamore with rolled brass metalwork- lovely detail 4) 3 drones: tenor and bass by Robbie
Hughes, baritone by peter Hunter. I've Ezeedrones in the
bass and cane in the others, all in tune and little variation
with pressure 5) Baritone regulator recently re-reeded
(Allan Moller). The set is based near Belper, Derbyshire,
England and inspection is possible with arrangement. Asking price €3,500.00. See www.pipers.ie for additional information. Please feel free to ask any questions
[email protected] (11/2)
Andreas Rogge full set pitched in C. This set is made of
Ebony with sliver plated key work and boxwood mounts.
Chanter is the new bore with a richer warmer tone and is
fully keyed (stopper key in sterling silver) The set has a few
extras including baritone and tenor regulator tuning slides,
pin mounted regulator keys, Detachable bass regulator with
sliding stock hole cover, H bar on the bass drone, Fiddle
back key design on the regulators, stock plug so the can be
used as a practice set, and a set of D drone sliders so you
can plug a D chanter in and use as a half set!! Hard case
and reel of red hemp. The set is Six months old and playing
beautifully. €9,000.00 Ashley [email protected]
0353831807031 Co. Clare Ireland. See it on Youtube at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc-SFht ... e=youtu.be (11/2)
Practise set in concert pitch by Leo Rowsome. Chanter with
single key. €2,000.00. Contact Darragh Harte at darragh.
[email protected] / 086-1722748 (11/2)
Practise set in B flat by Matt Kiernan. Chanter with C natural key. €1,000.00. Contact Darragh Harte at darragh.
[email protected] / 086-1722748 (11/2)
Geoff Wooff narrow bore concert chanter. Chanter fitted
with C natural and F natural keys. Recently reeeded by Derrick Gleeson. Spare reed included. €900.00. Contact Terry
Moylan at [email protected] / 086-1722748 (11/3)
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30
31
REGULAR PIPING EVENTS
JUL 12-18
SOUTH SLIGO SUMMER SCHOOL, Tobercurry, Co. Sligo. Contact: www.sssschool.org/open.htm
Rita Flannery +353 (0)71 9120912
JUL 13-18
CATSKILL IRISH ARTS WEEK, East Durham, New York. www.catskillsirishartsweek.org
JUL 14
ADVANCED REEDMAKING, PipeCraft, Clonshaugh, with Pádraig O’Kane. Contact NPU for details.
JUL 17
NOTES & NARRATIVES, Na Píobairí Uilleann, 15 Henrietta Street. See page 12 for details.
JUL 18-25
JOE MOONEY SUMMER SCHOOL, Drumshanbo, co. Leitrim. www.joemooneysummerschool.com [email protected] Nancy Woods: +353 (0)71 9641213
JUL 19-22
RENCONTRES MUSICALES IRLANDAISES, Tocane Saint Apre, Bordeaux. Piping Tutor Neillidh Mulligan.
Information: www.rencontresmusicalesirlandaisestocane.fr
JUL 21
BELLOWS-MAKING WORKSHOP, PIPECRAFT, Clonshaugh, with Kelleher Traditional Bags and Bellows.
Contact NPU for details.
JUL 20-24
MEITHEAL SUMMER SCHOOL, Villiers School, Limerick. www.tradweek.com
JUL 24-26
ÉIGSE EATHARLAÍ SUMMER SCHOOL, Glen of Aherlow, co. Tipperary
www.eatharlai.ie +353(0)71 37032 / +353 (0)87 2572281
JUL 25-AUG 1
SCOIL ACLA, Achill Island, co. Mayo. www.scoilacla.com.
JUL 31-AUG 2
BALLYSHANNON FOLK FESTIVAL, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Contact: www.ballyshannonfolkfestival.com
[email protected]
JUL 31-AUG 2
DUBLIN IRISH FESTIVAL, Dublin, Ohio. Contact: www.dublinirishfestival.org
JUL 31-AUG 3
O’CAROLAN HARP FESTIVAL, Keadue, co. Roscommon. Details from
www.ocarolanharpfestival.ie +353 (0)71 9647247 +353 (0)71 964704
AUG 4
SESSION WITH THE PIPERS, The Cobblestone, Dublin 7. See page 12 for details.
AUG 5-10
FEAKLE TRADITIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Feakle, co. Clare. www.feaklefestival.ie
AUG 9-16
FLEADH CHEOIL NA HÉIREANN, Sligo. Contact: www.fleadhcheoil.ie
AUG 10-16
GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL PIPING FESTIVAL, The National Piping Centre, 30-34 McPhater Street, Glasgow
www.pipinglive.co.uk
AUG 13-16
MILWAUKEE IRISH FEST, Wisconsin, USA. Contact www.irishfest.com +1 (414) 476 3378
AUG 21
NOTES & NARRATIVES, NPU, 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin. See page 12 for details.
AUG 21-23
PIPERS’ GATHERING, Litchfield, Connecticut. Uilleann pipes: Kevin Rowsome.
Contact: www.pipersgathering.org [email protected]
AUG 22-23
CHANTER-MAKING COURSE, PIPECRAFT, Clonshaugh, with Jim Wenham. First two days of six-day course,
followed by dates one and two weeks later. Cost €600.00. Contact NPU at 01-8730093 for details.
AUG 27-30
TØNDER FESTIVAL, Tønder, Denmark. Contact: www.tf.dk
AUG 29-30
SOUTH WALES UILLEANN PIPERS TIONÓL, Tylorstown. Classes with Mick O’Brien. For further info ring
07809423527 or email [email protected]
(+45) 74 72 46 10
The cover picture shows Claire Fennell
performing at the Young Pipers concert
at the Tionól in Tramore
(Photograph : Brian Stafford)