I am related to the O’Toole Clan so ye shouldnae mind the correction…in Irish it is O’TUATHAIL O’Toole and Touhey are the anglicized mutations thereof…
John Lennon did get lessons but couldnae hackit.. and returned them to Francie…
Slán Agat
Uilliam
That’s correct. Touhey’s birth certificate says “O’Toole”.
Apparently the pipes that John Lennon got lessons on were made by the Kennedys of Cork, I think it was Moss who made them, John had a few lessons and by all accounts was a fast learner but got interested in other things which meant a decline in his interest in the pipes, the pipes are now in the hands of the McPeak family or so I have been lead to believe.
Colin29,
Am I addressing a Cork piper? If so, you’re the first I’ve come across. Are there any more pipers in Cork?
By the way, any info you might have on Kennedy or Crowley pipes would be of great interest to me.
WRT pipers in Cork, I expect a full head-count would net between 50 and 100.
Just because you haven’t come accross them doesn’t mean they’re not there.
I’ve no doubt. 
But I lived in Cork from 1984 to 1996 and never came across a single uilleann piper. However, it was only when I left Cork that I became interested in UPs. (One thing has nothing to do with the other 
). I go back from time to time and would love to find out who the pipers are and where they meet. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
There’s John Mitchell, living in Ballincollig somewhere, plays, makes pipes, Jimmy Morrison in Fermoy, plays, teaches, Dennis Brooks in Cork City, architect of west coast piping in the USA. There’s the Cork Pipers Club, based in the city, there’s Diarmuid Moynihan and his clan, Diarmuid may not still live in Cork, I heard something about him in Prague. Sean McKiernan teaches at the Cork school of music I believe, altho’ he lives in Carna, Co. Galway. There are a bucket load of young upandcoming pipers there too.
Great to hear. I’m already looking forward to my next trip back to Cork.
Thanks,
Eoin O’Riabhaigh too!
PD.
Didn’t Paul recorded Mull of Kintyre and had pipes of some sort?
Cork Pipers Club is going strong; met John Murphy, their secretary on my visit in 2003. He plays a D Rogge set. Very nice person to talk to; really helpful with visitors. The club is meets on Mondays, I think. They had a tionol the weekend I left (darn). I have a picture of John Murphy and John Mitchell playing together. (thanks Dave, for the reminder) omeone tell me how to load a picture and I’ll post it.
Address follows:
15 Aras Na Dige,
Mardyke,
Cork
Ireland
Edited twice, added comment on Cork Pipers Club
John Murphy (playing his Rogge set),and John Mitchell (playing a set of his manufacture). Great time was had by all.
Another story of well known people on pipes…from my friend Jeff Stonehill, poet, juggler, multilinguist, actor,clown, “music man”,etc. Jeff was busking on the Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz, California, circa 1984, when the film “Creator” (released 1985), was being shot at the UC Santa Cruz campus. Peter O’Toole walked up to Jeff, and asked him if he could play Jeff’s GHB. After some tuning (Jeff would have me work on his pipes and tune them, every 2-3 months, and leave the drones EXACTLY at the positions I moved them to, a"factory tuning", sort of..). Mr. O’Toole continued on to play several tunes. Jeff couldn’t tell me the titles, as Jeff improvised on the pipes, and never really learned either “Scotland the Brave”, or “Amazing- You- Know- What”. After Peter stopped piping, Jeff then asked Peter what he was doing in Santa Cruz, and receiving the reply, “Making a Movie”, Jeff asked to be hired on, so Mr. O’Toole gave him the name and location of the “film extra” casting director. Jeff said in reply, that he really wanted to “cut to the chase”, and not spend time as an “extra”, but as “Star” in his own right. Mr. O’Toole responded that he, Peter, had spent plenty of time himself as an extra (paying those dues) and turned on his heel and walked away. I offer this second hand story as a “proof” of some kind, that Peter O’Toole DOES have some knowledge of piping. As to O’Toole’s prowess on Uilleann Pipes, somebody going to have to ask him! Submited for your amusement, by Sean Folsom, currently at Carmel Valley.
A full marching Highland Pipe Band :roll:
Uilliam
Yes there are alot of Pipers in Cork, the pipers club meet every Monday night at ARAS AN OIGE down the Maradyke, Kennedy gave up making Uilleann pipes as he found it far easier and profitable to make GHB, I myself have the fortune to own an Alf Kennnedy practice set but it is in need of repair, I was told he used to take part in sessions in the house my Mother grew up in in Montennottee along with Sylvie Ryan. On another note the Cork Folk Festival is taking place in September including a Tionol in An Spalpin Fanach featuring a number of well known pipers, there is also a tribute night to the great piper, singer and composer Tomas O’Canainn who lives in Glanmire on the northside of Cork,
Also incase you didn’t realise the Cork Pipers Club is the oldest in the world, 1898.
I’m both amazed and shamed. All those years living in Cork and not knowing this. I’ll have to make amends on my next visit.
If you look at the picture I posted, there is a piece of scuplture on the back wall and has a small plaque that (if I remember correctly) that has the club’s founding date.
[quote=" there is also a tribute night to the great piper, singer and composer Tomas O’Canainn [/quote]
Now then…lets not get carried awa wi this!!Tommy Cannon may be a good plumber but a great one?? come on!!!:really:
Uilliam
Chris Langan once took me aside and said into my ear: ‘They used to say of that man he has pencilmarks on his drones so he knows where to tune them’ 
Wally Charm wrote about penciling in where the drones tune, back in the days when it seemed Rogge had invented the Uilleanncordion.
You could put numbers on the slides, ala those old flutes with “1 2 3” etc. marked on the tuning slide. Then you’d have guys talking about playing in 3.2 and the like.
I believe there is a reference to pencil and drone in “A Spaniard in the Works”.