The Doran weekend is in full swing, well, sort of. It’s the usual scene of pipers hanging around socialising in a hotel bar.
That aside just now there was:
Teaching:
Reedmaking:
There was a large group from the extended Doran family, John Rooney, Jimmy Doran (Johnny’s son) and others. Some playing here:
I skipped last night, piping weekends get me far too much anxiety. Home now for sandwich and coffee, more later.
Why “anxiety”? Are they armed? 
djm
I don’t know DJM, big groups of pipers with screaming concertpitch sets give me a terrible fright.
Anyhow, went up for another two hours and am home to cook my dinner before going in again tonight.
Michael Falsey and Paddy O Donohue talked a bit about their memories of the Dorans. Here with a group of the Doran family:
Talking to Paddy after the talk he told me he had actually played with both Felix and Johnny in his young days. As a young man in the 40s and 50s he was considered a very good piper, never able to afford his own set he had Sean Reid’s (now Liam Flynn’s) pipes for a long time on loan. With a degree of embarrassment he also told me how Leo Rowsoem awarded him first prize over Willie Clancy at a competition in Miltown during the 50s ‘I don’t know why, Willie was miles ahead of me’. By the 1960s Sean Reid’s set went to Willie Clancy and Paddy has been a fluteplayer since, never getting a set of his own.
Jimmy Doran speaking a few words into the videomachine:
Mickey Dunne playing outside with a young one, Mickey doing the utter sensible thing: bringing a fiddle to a piper’s weekend:
Billy McCormick and Mickey Dunne:
Billy again (just to get another Taylor on the forums):
Gay McKeon joining the lads:
That set looks familiar.
From another thread:
Looks like an awesome weekend there, my kind of weekend.
It’s also awesome to see young kids taking up the uilleann pipes, that indeed is a beautiful sight.
Some nice photos there Peter. Do you know who the two pipers are playing what looks to be like D. Williams sets in the photo after the reedmaking photo?
The piper to the right looks like the piper in the Youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d66qTq4w6s&mode=related&search=
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkhyQA0xpns
Is he a Doran?
jesus, youve eyes like a hawk 
Anybody notice ballcap boy giving us the bird? Very juvenile.
Also notice Billy’s set has different reg caps than Eddie Joyce’s. Hrmm.
Ditto with the nice pics Peter.
Also notice Billy’s set has different reg caps than Eddie Joyce’s. Hrmm.
Oh, I see. The chanter is also different. There appears to be keys on Eddie’s.
Regardless, it must be nice to make a connection with the gentlemen present. History doesn’t just live on pages of a book…
The old story of how Billy got the set is he was busking. An America nun stopped to talk to him and eventually asked his name ‘Billy McCormack’ he replied. 'Isn’t that a coincidence my uncle (?)‘s name was Billy McCormack too and he played the pipes. I still have them. Give me your address and you can have them’ Some time later a big package arrived from the US with the pipes. Billy took them for fixing to Sean McAloon who in the tuning process took a quarter of an inch off the chanter. That;s why he plays an O Briain chanter with the set. At least that was the story.
Gotta be careful with those gouges. 
Talented repairman could epoxy the end (which?) of the bore back on.
The bass drone and bass reg bend look much like Eddie’s set. Perhaps McCormack had the reg caps “dressed up.” Isn’t impossible you know.
I’d say the left hand man looks like Johnny’s son Larry (and if so, then yes it’s a DW set). Johnny and Larry et al were in town recently here, and a good fun night was had.
“The bass drone and bass reg bend look much like Eddie’s set. Perhaps McCormack had the reg caps “dressed up.” Isn’t impossible you know.” Kevin.
Isn´t it possible that Sean Mcaloon also shortened the regs to match the chanter. I was told that Billy received the set in 1976. Prior to that the set was just stored in the attic after Billy number one passed away. The different reg caps which resemble L. Rowsomes work could be because the regs have had pieces added on to bring them back to their original lengths, and the metal before the ivory end caps hides the joins in the wood. Just a theory, Billy would know for sure. Prehaps Sean McAloon was also one for adjusting chanter throats in order to obtain desired results? Otherwise if the original Taylor chanter was just shortened at the bell end and nothing else was interferred with it wouldn´t be difficult for an experienced pipemaker to remedy the damage.
In the old photo of the set I noticed that the regulator mounts are ivory on wood. The set now has ivory > nickle > wood. McAloon might have added the tube to incorporate a plunger tuner?
Pat.
More on Billy and this set here:
http://www.gnipc.org/tionol/tionol2003.html
Also some swell video footage.
T
…I always thought there was a rather striking similarity in appearance between Billy and our own Tommy K…
Coincidence? I think NOT!
"…I always thought there was a rather striking similarity in appearance between Billy and our own Tommy K… "
…wish I could play like him 
t
So, ummm, who was the dope addict “honking” during Billy’s Playing on clip #3 at the bottom of the page?
Not sure as I was not at the event. My guess is that it was one of those mouth-blown “uilleann” “practise” “chanters”.
Someone felt motivated I guess.
t