I was in Chicago recently and had the pleasure of spending an afternoon in the company of Kevin Henry and Pat Broaders, two of that city’s finest pipers.
Kevin produced a copy of O’Reillys 1817 Irish-English dictionary which had some great pipes references.
a bellows blown bagpipe - piobshionnigh (fox pipes)
uile or uilean - an elbow, also a nook or a corner
uilleann - honeysuckle
i think we’ve been had…
Tommy
A hive of honeyed sounds …
Dwelly’s Illustrated Scottish Gaelic-English Dictionary (first published in 1901) also lists “bellows pipe/Irish bagpipe” as “piob-shionnaich.” Sionnach means bellows, but, as in Irish, it can also mean fox. Another term listed specifically for union pipes is “piob na comh-sheirm” which I’m guessing would be something like “pipe of joined melody.” Though not common, union pipes were not unknown in Scotland in the 19th century, though they mostly were played by Irish immigrants living in Glasgow & Edinburgh.
Among the many fascinating terms listed is “piobadh” which can mean either “piping; the act of piping” or “squeaking.”
Fox pipes? Beats that “woollen bagpipe” rubbish…
If memory serves correctly the original debate about woolen pipes referenced the Irish word “uilean,” one l, one n. Had the spelling changed by Flood’s time?
So pipers are squeakers? And bodhran players are deafeners? Who listens to this fackata Irish music anyway!
Well, at least now we know that the Honeysuckle Hornpipe was indeed meant to be a piping tune. 
From Focloir O’Duinin;
‘Uile’ - The omnipotent, the supreme!
Le
Another cattle of fish: I think (I remember) that in Donegal Fox is madra rua (you might know the similiar “The Otter´s Holt - poll an madra uisce”). I´m not sure though. Please correct me.
not just in Donegal - either sionnach or madra rua (literally ‘red dog’) can be used, both are correct.
It turns out that “The Fox Chase” is really about buying a set of pipes, complete with the crowing of the reeds, haggling over the price and the lament for the empty bank account.
No E
