Last week on ebay I purchase an Irish flute, which was advertised to have been hand made in Dublin, Ireland. The ebay seller purchased it originally from England quite recently, but he said that he wanted to sell it to buy another Irish instrument. He said that the music store in England had told him that the flute was made by a well-known maker, Paraic (Patrick) McNeela. He offered me a buy-it-now option to buy, and since the price was right, I went ahead and purchased the flute. I saw that the seller had completed over 100 ebay transactions with a 100% positive feedback rating.
However, after I placed the winning bid I did a little googling on Paraic McNeela. I saw that he was indeed a well-known maker of bodhrans and that he dealt in other instruments including Irish flutes, but that he was not a maker of flutes himself. I communicated with Fionnuala at the Essaness Music store in Kilkenny, Ireland. She said that McNeela was no longing selling the rosewood Irish flute, but that they have been getting it from Omagh, Co. Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Since the flute has no markings as to the maker, she didn’t know whether the flutes are being made in Ireland or whether they are imported. Their current store price for the rosewood flute that they carry is 190 euros, or about $232 US dollars.
When the flute arrived today, I was pleased to see that it was an attractive and apparently well-made flute with good tone and intonation. The main tenon cork is a little loose, but other than that, the flute is new. The wooden carrying case is also very well made. My question is whether anyone on the flute forum knows whether flutes of this quality are being made in Ireland for the price that I just mentioned or whether they are imported?
Lastly, I am familiar with the flutes made in Pakistan, but are there other countries that are making lower cost, quality Irish flutes. What about China or other Asian countries, do they make Irish flutes? Does anyone have an idea where this flute was made?
Hi Doug,
FWIW on the Essaness site it says Mr McN is now supplying De Keyser(sic) flutes, and comparing your picture with a De Keyser on Hobgoblin’s (European) site, the rings, slide, crown shape look pretty alike. But a De Kuyser is much dearer
Not that I know much about much, mind you. Also did you see http://www.shannaquay.com/homepage.html
I think they are selling the flute you have AND de Kuyser’s.
Looks like you made a good buy since it works ! Nice swirly grain too
Julia C
(sorry to keep re editing, trying to gt the link to work)
Doug - that does look well made (having had a Pakistani made flute that was terrible, even if Pakistani it’s well made). I thought I’d read somewhere in the past the McNeela was fine tuning flutes from Pakistan or somewhere else. Here’s something on Shanna Quay’s website:
Shanna Quay Budget Flute
Tunable three piece wooden Irish Flute Made in Rosewood (mid brown colour). Nickel Silver tuning slide and section rings. Free Lined wooden case. In key of D. Supplied to us by Pariac McNeela in Dublin. A great sounding wooden flute at a remarkable price!
(#SQ9(budget))
The big question is…how does it play? Who cares where it came from if it plays well. David Levine is selling a Pakistani flute revoiced by Rod Cameron which I’m sure rocks…so I think even if Pakistani made there can be good ones or they can be worked on and made good.
The music store people are only saying “supplied by,” not “made by.” It looks to me like a reworked Pakistani flute. I don’t think it’s cocus, though that’s what some of the importers are calling it. Rather it’s a local Pakistani wood with which we’re not familiar.
As far as reworking the flute, why not? Assuming the wood is good-- well-aged, tight grain, dense – a flute can certainly be improved by a master-maker’s attention to detail.
How good the flute will be after being reworked will depend on the skill of the maker and his final approach, rather than what the flute was when it left the Pakistan workshop/factory.
If you start with, say, a blackwood flute with a moderate bore and a small embouchure hole then the chances of making it a good flute are better than if the flute had large holes and big bore. And Olwell, Wilkes, or Cameron will do a better job of reboring, undercutting, etc., than somebody just learning the art.
The flute that has been reworked by a master will bear more in common with his own flutes than with the original, which is often barely playable. I’d rather play a flute that has been reworked by a Murray or a Cameron than play a new flute by a lesser maker. In any event, one should always ask for a trial period and will ideally know the seller. Feedback on this list is a great incentive to honesty.
To answer your question, Julia, I bought the flute mainly because I was curious about it, not because I needed another flute. As it is right now, I seem to be living with flutes. That is what happens when you make flutes and live in a one bedroom apartment. The drill press has to set on top of the clothes dryer, and please don’t ask me where the miter saw is.
With regard to the flute in question, yes, it is a very nice flute and well in tune. My problem with the flute has to do with my sensitivities. The flute has a strong smell which bothers me, and also my fingers begin to itch after I hold it for awhile. I plan to list it on ebay during the holiday season and see if I can get my money out of it ($150).
I notice that there is a current ebay auction for another flute that appears to be identical to the one I have. The music store in the UK is describing the flute as handmade in Dublin, Ireland, and their “buy it now” ebay price is $171. As has been said here on the forum before, this flute is also mostly likely a Pakastani flute that has been revoiced in Ireland.
Well now I gotta ask- where IS the mitre saw? If it’s any comfort, my carving gouges live under the bed. Woe betide nighttime intruders.
Yes I was curious too , to see a wooden flute for so cheap that according to you (=expert) works fine! Sorry to hear about the allergy.
Julia, my 100+ year old apartment house has an unheated basement that reminds me of those that you see in horror movies. In the warmer weather my power tools stay down there. I have an agreement with all the spiders that we leave each other alone. When the weather gets colder, there is an upward migration to a workbench in my living room.
That is one of the few advantages of living by yourself. If you want to have a workbench in your living room and sand flutes in your kitchen sink, no problem.
