The James Ennis having no sound, is the O Mealy our earliest “talkie” where we can hear the piper?
The O Mealy thing is wonderful, his regs going great.
So, who is the piper? I have been thinking a lot about this. What follows are some facts and alleged facts. My own assessments are guesses. Good guesses, perhaps, but that’s all. I’d be happy to see more data that support or confirm the piper’s identity.
The movie was supposedly filmed in New York City in May-June 1906.
The piper is playing in a left-handed configuration. Looking at the dancers, women on the right in a promenade, and couples swinging clockwise: that’s the usual way, so I don’t think the image is reversed. To this point I have identified 8 pipers from that era who played left handed. There were more out there. There are also several pipers with show-business experience who may have been left or right-handed; they too might be candidates.
Three candidates seem most likely, given the evidence I know of: Pat Touhey, James Touhey and Michael Carney. I made lists of other potential candidates but for most there is very little data. Or it could be someone not on the lists: unknown to me or just passing through.
Pat “Patsy” Touhey. Born 1865, was 41 years in 1906. Lived in the Bronx in 1906, not far from the Edison movie studios. Up till 1906 P Touhey had been in several plays, a couple on Broadway, performing in scenes exactly like this: the celebratory village dance, after the plot had been resolved. He was well-known and had entertainment industry connections. Touhey had a gig in Trenton, New Jersey May 5, 1906. The next known gig after that was in Rhode Island, July 21, 1906 (BTW, this is the earliest gig I have found which mentions Mary Touhey and Pat together. If Touhey is the movie piper, then there is a tantalizing possibility that Mary might be among the dancers). I have heard least one anecdotal account of him moving about a lot when playing. Circumstantial evidence indicates that he is the best candidate. But I do not like what I see. To my eye he does not resemble the movie piper. The set of pipes in the movie is bigger than the set seen in photos of Touhey.
Pat Touhey at the St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904. From uilleannobsession.com website, courtesy Tommy Martin of Dublin via St. Louis.
James Touhey. Born about 1870 (perhaps earlier), was about 36 years in 1906. Lived in Jersey City, NJ at the time. Like Pat Touhey, he had extensive stage and performance experience, also appearing in plays with dance scenes. I have found no references to him between Nov. 1905 and March 1907. Circumstantial evidence is scant. And there seems little resemblance between the movie piper and the photo of Touhey, published in 1899 and taken who knows when.
Montreal QE Canada The True Witness and Catholic Chronicle April 8, 1899 p. 11 column 1
Michael Carney. Born about 1877, was about 29 years old in 1906. Emigrated to the US about 1903. As far as is known, lived in Brooklyn in 1906. His obituary indicates that he became paralyzed in the legs about 1909. The earliest public performance that I have found for him was in March, 1914. Anecdotal evidence exists that in his later years Carney did not play regs much, if at all. Circumstantial evidence indicates that he is a longshot to be in the movie. But to my eye he most closely resembles the movie piper. He was also photographed with a big old set which looks like the one in the movie.
“This card is part of the Tom Busby Collection of photographs, kindly donated by Tom to Na Piobairi Uilleann.”
Enjoy!
Nick Whitmer