Maurice & Alf Kennedy, pipemakers

Uilleann Pipes
1

I’m curious to know what you folks can tell me about the Kennedys and their pipes.

  • When were they active?
    Were they brothers, or father and son?
    Who did they learn pipemaking from, and who influenced their building style?
    Are there any prominent performers that use their instruments now or in the past?
    Did they build only concert-pitch sets?
    How would you characterize their instruments?

I’ve done some searching, and have turned up precious little information on them. There are pictures of each of them, but no textual references that I can find, in Tomas O Canainn’s book Traditional Music In Ireland. Patrick has a couple of images of Matty Connelly playing an Alf Kennedy set with a Rowsome chanter on his site, and Tom Wilsbach makes a passing mention of Alf at http://www.angelfire.com/me4/upipes/upipes.html

What can you share?

-Jonathan-

2

I believe I read that they inherited the pipemaking tools of Tadgh (Denis) Crowley, also of Cork. Fin Furey used to play a Kennedy set, also Maire Ni Ghrada. Denis Brooks, who settled in Cork of all places. Powerful pipes, as were Crowley’s. I think Brooks has a couple coat hangers in the chanter bore…

3

I was once [1980] up at the house in Montenotte in Cork, Moss was quite old and in bad health [he died in 1982], not making pipes. Alf,the son, was doing a bit of pipemaking but don’t seem to have continued on.

4

They used mostly African Blackwood for their instruments and their chanters possessed very wide bores, giving a very bright, punchy sound. The hard E on Kennedy chanters is great, you can get a nice “turkey gobble” with it.

I have a 1973 Kennedy, it was a decent stick to start learning pipes, but it needs a reed now. Ergonomically my hands just seem to work better with my other D chanter, a Koehler and Quinn made in 2000.

Maybe I’ll ship it off to Alan Burton and let him see what he can do with it, I’m certain he could have it singing in no time. It never hurts to have backup.

5

Thanks, Kevin, Peter, & Pat for your comments.

I’ve continued digging in my library, and found another passing reference in Patric Sky’s A Manual for the Irish Uilleann Pipes, which mentions a Matthew [sic] Kennedy of Cork on page 14.

I’ve been aware for about twenty years of a supposedly pristine ‘closet’ Kennedy set in my area, and recently pursuaded its owner to let me and a friend have a look at them. We’re planning to visit him in a week or so, and I’m hoping to be able to take some photos of them.

I can’t imagine that they’re in anything like playable condition; according to their owner, he’s only had them out of the case once in the last forty years. He’s promised them to his son, a top-ranked GHB player and pipe major, and an early musical influence and teacher of mine. I’d love to be able to push him into having them restored and start working on learning to play them.

I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the makers before we visit, so we’ll be able to share this information with their owner.

Anyone else had a tidbit or two to glean?

Any suggestions on candidates for restoration? Pat, does Alan Burton work on old sets, besides reeding them?

-Jonathan-

6

I don’t know if Alan does restorations, but you can ask him, he posts on this forum under the handle AlanB. He’s a superb reedmaker.

7

Jonathan,

Thanks for the link to this thread. As mentioned in my PM, I lived for many years in Cork and return there from time to time. This was all prior to my becoming obsessed in uilleann pipes. To hear that Crowley and the Kennedys were making pipes of some repute in Cork is of great interest and I’m always keen to learn more. Did you get a chance to look at the Kennedy set mentioned above and if so, how was it?

8

Pat, would it be possible to let me have a go at building a reed for your Kennedy chanter?

9

The Crowleys (Tadgh & Denis, father and son? Or is it son and father?) were earlier than the Kennedys (Maurice [Moss] and Alphonse [Alf], also father and son). Between them, this would cover the 1930s-1970s, as far as I can tell.

There were apparently also some makers named the Crowley brothers in New York. I don’t know if there’s any connection.

The Kennedys, at least, also made GHB, and Alf was the pipe major of the Carrigaline Pipe Band in Cork.

Did you get a chance to look at the Kennedy set mentioned above and if so, how was it?

Amazingly well-preserved for a 40±year-old instrument. The silverplate was tarnished, and the imitation ivory had gone quite orange, but the instrument is otherwise in as-new condition. It has the original rubber (!) bag, which is still servicable, and all of the original reeds were working except one drone reed. It took less than five minutes of adjustments to get the set going.

There was a box of unused original spare reeds, two complete sets and some extra chanter reeds, all labeled.

It’s pitched a bit high of concert pitch, but closer to D than Eb. Becky Taylor says her Crowley chanter is high, too; same reamer, perhaps? Kevin Reitmann has said that he thinks the Kennedys inherited the Crowley’s tools.

Jonathan

10

Great photos!

11

Yep, my friend’s Crowley set plays high of concert pitch too. Seems to be a Crowley thing. I hear Michael Hubberts sets are based on Crowleys, does that mean Hubberst sets are pitched higher as well?

Cheers,

DavidG

12

:laughing:

I’m sure the owners of his instruments can answer that question more precisely, but I doubt it. Michael makes his own reamers, and has been making and restoring woodwinds for decades. He also makes flat chanters based on historical examples. He’s an outstanding craftsman.

Jonathan

13

A few years back I was visiting family in Cork. I went into the Living Tradition on McCurtin St. I was told that there was a piper in Montenotte, apparently the only one in Cork at that time (1997/98). Would this have been Alf Kennedy?

Also, on McCurtin St. there’s another music shop - Crowley’s. Any connection?

14

If you look in Pat D’Arcy’s archives, 2002 or there abouts; I sent him a clipping of Denis playing his set, complete with beard, but sans pipe in mouth, from Sunset Magazine, circa 1978.

Edited once, wrong archive date

15

Moss Kennedy was up in Montenotte, possibly the son stayed there. He would hardly be the only piper in Cork though.

16

I began writing to the Kennedys in Feb. 1973, and ordered a full set (price: 175 Irish Pounds) it never came.as they had a very long waiting list (sound familiar?) I barrowed a full set (made in 1959), from Pat and Sheila Brosnan of South San Francisco, in Sept. 1973. Then I visited the Kennedys at Cork, on two occasions, during August, and September, 1975. The workshop was in the Garage of the family home.
Moss was the main maker of the Uilleann Pipes, and Alf did GHBs (good, musical ones, I’m told, with a D at a perfect forth interval to the drone). Yes the Kennedy pipes were sharp of A=440, possibly at A=456, I think that was a standard pitch for a while, not just GHBs but Pianos, etc. The Pianos, I found on my visit to Ireland, chorded well in tune with my barrowed Kennedy set. (By-The-Way, Micheal Hubert’s pipes are at A=440) Another version of sharp pitch standards, was called “Philharmonic Pitch”. Barry O’Neill plays an English, Wheatstone concertina at that A=almost=Bb, “brilliant” tuning. Some notable features of Kennedy Pipes are: The “sound box” on the Bass drone slider is really a big, metal, hollow resonator, that booms out the bass “D” like a note off a Hammond B3 electric organ, with a Leslie speaker(Rock and Rollers will understand this reference) Owen Reagh’s Dad, Micheal, made a point of calling my attention to this, as a undesirable, non-musical quality. As neighbors of the Kennedys, in Montenotte Park, the “Rays” had not spoken to Moss, or Alf, for years. I’m sure that Owen has lots of info on the Kennedys.
I, myself, happened to be captivated by the drone sound of Finbar Furey “kicking it in” on the “Pipes of Finbar Furey” album (Leader Records/Nonesuch) with that drone sound! Another feature, which WAS trouble, was the the position of the top hole on the Baritone regulator (the “A”). Dennis Brooks repositioned this hole and key, “North” on the reg body, to bring it into tune. This problem was consistant though a number of Kennedy sets, REGARDLESS of the reeds used. The pink rubber of the bag and on the bellows (hotwater bottle rubber) with use, went away fairly soon, with the sulfides attacking the material here in the USA, due to local air pollution. Dennis Brooks made this observation, and I agree, based on my 3 years experience with the Kennedy set. I did replace the bellows rubber with tacked cowhide leather cheeks. The rubber also keeps curing until it cracks, as the plastisizer “evaporates”, in addition to the air pollution effect. Moss made rectangular reed heads, and his reed bench was behind a little pickett fence, with its own gate, to keep people from crowding over him, as he made reeds. He did show me how he tied the cane to the staple with maximum force, with the yellow hemp "handwaxed’’ with (shoe)cobblers brown wax. One end of the string tied around a doorknob, as if being tied in like a stock into a bag. Moss was really adamant about it. No movement of reed head on the staple! I was given Tea and had my photo taken with Moss and I, seated on a park bench, that was in front of the house (myself with the N.Umberland Pipes in play). At one time (1970s), Kennedy set Pipers in California included: Dennis Brooks, Pat Cotter (RIP) and Dan Cotter, his younger brother. David Page (RIP) that set now with John Touhey. P.M. John Rosenburger, (he was in hospital when I visited San Diego, in June, I hope he’s recovered), and the Brosnan set, of course. The Kennedys did make some wide bore A=440 chanters, late in the 1969-70s period, as Pat Cotter had one. I hope this adds to the knowledge about these remarkable makers, who “soldiered on” when no one else was making ANY full sets with all the Bells and Regulators! Your reporter: Sean Folsom P.S. Do any of you Cork Pipers know where Alf Kennedy is, these days? S. F.

17

I was in Cork ealier this year and was walking around and stopped in a music shop. I hadn’t noticed the name on the store when I entered. I looked at some of their whistles and other stuff and inquired of any uilleann piping paraphernalia or any local places that might sell such. I ended up in a long conversation with the owner who came from the back room eventially to talk about UPs. As it ends up, the name on the store was Crowley’s Music. The owner is the son/grandson(?) of the UP maker(s). He did say that they stopped making the pipes around 1950ish I think and that the equipment was sold to the Kennedys. His perspective was largly from a boy’s perspective, and apparently diddn’t reach an age where he could have aprenticed the talent before the elder Crowleys quit making the pipes.

I was also visiting Alain Froment on the trip and he mentioned that he acquired some very large wood posts many years ago, that were originally belonging to the Crowley pipe makers. Those posts were imported around the time of WW1, but sat at the docks when the war broke out as able bodied men were working only on war efforts. Apparently, the Kennedys only purchased the machines/tools but not the wood stock.

Neil

18

Years ago, in the ‘70s, I, along with Liam Clancy, visited “Moss Kennedy” at his house in Cork. He and his son were still making pipes and he showed me around the place.
Moss was making the reeds and his son was making the pipes.

I remember walking into the house and noticing that the place was full of Ivory and elephant tusks a couple of them at least 10 feet long.

I believe that Moss Kennedy actually studied pipe making with Crowley and inherited the tools. The Kennedy pipes are very close In design to the Crowley’s. Yes the pipes were sharp to concert pitch.

After a look around I got to talking with Moss about reed making. He asked if I made my own reeds and I told him that I did. He asked me to play a few tunes on my Rowsome set,
which were going bang on at the time; playing in perfect pitch and tone. I blasted out a couple of old jigs and Moss asked to take a look at the chanter reed. I removed the reed and handed it to him. He took it, looked long and hard, turning it over several times, finally he says, in a very thick Irish accent “ that’s not! how you make a good reed”. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. Later Liam and I both cracked up.


All the best,
Pat Sky

19

:laughing:

There’s the right way, the wrong way and then there’s the Cork way of doing things. :wink:

20

:wink: