…not ‘who’s your favorite’, and certainly not ‘who’s the best’. Rather, what piper has had the most significant impact on the current state of Uilleann piping in terms of either style, or promotion of the tradition?
I did.
I don’t think it is possible to fairly answer this question with just one piper, there are so many that have contributed to Uilleann Piping and shaped what it is today… many have passed away but still shape piping today. But certainly Ennis, Clancy, Doran, Rowsome, Touhey, Reck among many others are who I am referring to.
Without question…
Patrick D’Arcy
Previous similar discussion:
HERE
I am going to get some popcorn and watch the fight. 
Well here goes:
For introducing people to the sound of uilleann pipes, I’d have to say either Eric Rigler or Davy Spillane.
Promotion? That’s gotta be Paddy Moloney, shurely.
If it were a choice between these two, though I’m not convinced it is, I’d have to say Spillane. People generally saw the instrument he played, whether it be on the album cover, or on stage, whereas the pipes as played by Rigler were no more than a sound track and hence the majority of film-going public would have no idea what the sound was, nor would they really care - probably just some sort of oboe.
To throw some wood on the fire, for me was mostly Liam O’Flynn of Planxty and Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains.
O’Flynn was the main man in bringing them back into recognition…planxty and in fairness his work with shaun Davey etc (even though I don’t much like listenin to it) brought them to a new audience.
A year ago I’ve said Paddy Keenan, six months ago I’d have said Seamus Ennis, now I’d say Willy Clancy, perhaps in six months it’ll be Patsy Touhey, or Garret Barry, or whomever it may be then. ‘Most signifcant impact’ is a difficult thing to judge, for either style or promotion. How deep do you go? If Paddys Keenan or Moloney hadn’t learned from someone who’d kept the pipes alive before them, would I have heard the pipes? Take it a step farther back. Are the roots less influential than the buds?
" … O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?"
- W.B. Yeats
Mark
The 1980 SENSE OF IRELAND festival in London had a piping concert with Paddy Keenan, Liam O’Flynn, and Seamus Ennis (in that order) and was all introduced by Breandan Breathnach. There is a video of that concert floating around, too.
The first one or two Tionols at Bettsytown had to be special with that pentup interest from (it seems) virtually every piper going at the time.
I would say Ennis given that he had a ‘media profile’ before such things were broadly dreamt up for folk musicians in Ireland: he was known from his distinctive voice on radio and from TV appearences, and as a music collector/piper in Ireland and Britain besides. He also created, and recreated, a mystique about himself which proved a very attractive image and, I think, rekindled a romantic image of ‘the piper’ in the Irish imagination (an image that seems to have been very popular in the 19th century in various forms). As a cultural icon in, and after, the ballad boom and ITM resurgence era then I’d say Ennis was the most broadly influential.
Rowsome was a prolific teacher of course and had that more ‘hands on’ side of influence (teaching as he did Moloney, O’Flynn and other influential players) besides keeping the pipe’s/music’s profile up nationally with radio performances and recordings which, in many ways, were more popularly geared than Ennis’ performances: he played popular airs and marches that many people could identify with, and he seemed to have more of a desire to entertain with the instrument (not as solidly on his own terms as Ennis did maybe!?)
The McPeaks in Belfast should probably be mentioned for keeping the instrument to the fore as well albeit in different contexts than the above: they were certainly known widely as irish pipers when there were very few people playing the instrument and they toured and colaborated and generally raised the instrument’s profile.
Regards,
Harry.
Ennis, without a doubt.
I’ve read about how there was a Rowsome camp and an Ennis camp, this rivalry stemming from Leo beating Seamus’s father in a 1920s piping contest. Open vrs. Close. Ennis said the old pipers looked down on open fingering as Very Bad Flute Playing. Somewheres they said Seamus didn’t have quite so much an influence when he lived in England in the 50s.
Anymore, I’d say O’Flynn and Keenan. Most pipers I hear now sound like one or the other. I got my start from a Moloney fan but haven’t heard anyone else emulate Paddy Lo’Money.
The Francie McPeake Singing Piper record is a great one!
I would say Tommy Reck.
He’s tops in my book.
I would say Leo Rowsome.
From the late 1920’s to the early 1960’s he kept the Uilleann piping alive by being the finest of a very few pipes makers, teacher and performer.
He taught pipes to some of the finest out there too, as well as O’Flynn, Moloney, McKeon, Browne, etc some of his early students included Tommy Reck, David Page, Eddie Potts and the great Sean Dempsy who is had the priviledge to play for Hitler and a Pope!
His radio broadcasts and public performances did wonders to place the Uilleann pipes back in public eye (and ear).
Yes, a good bit of his performance tunes included some cheesy waltzes and whatever John McCormack had a hit with that month. But it kept the pipes alive. Even to this day, you tell any Dubliner over the age of 60 that you play the Uilleann pipes, the first name they mention is Leo Rowsome.
“I remember him on the wireless…”
Seamus Ennis, being 16 or so years younger that Leo, hit his stride as a piper when television was in it’s youth. So Ennis was much more is the public eye as a performer.
His collecting work was priceless too.
Both Ennis’s and Rowsome’s work in the various pipers clubs should be acknowledged too. Leo in the 1936 revival of the Dublin Pipers club and Seamus in his inspiring work with NPU through the 1970’s.
I think a mention should be given to Billy Andrews, Dan O’Dowd and Matt Kiernan for providing generations with what would be called today, ‘budget’ practice sets. And half sets too.
Dan was probably the first to publicly print instructions to reed making, to the chagrin of some at the time but to the benefit of thousands today.
I’ve read about how there was a Rowsome camp and an Ennis camp, this rivalry stemming from Leo beating Seamus’s father in a 1920s piping contest.
I’d say that rivalry went further back than that. That “Ennis style” came down through James Ennis from Nicholas Markey and William Taylor and Pat Ward.
They would have had a less legatto style than the ‘south leinster’ or travelling style as embellished by Leo Rowsome and John Doran Snr and Cashes and Byrnes before him.
Tommy
Well those “open” players used plenty of tight ornaments when they were in the mood, too. Kind of a confusing nomenclature. I’d say the difference between these schools of thought is the close players broke up the tune with pauses, shaping it that way; the openers didn’t (so much).
Do people still talk about Ennis on the Tele or radio, too?
What about Micky Drippin ???
RORY