Recent readings concerning the flute player Paddy Taylor all seem to suggest that he played on a Radcliff model flute.
On looking in Grey Larsen’s “Essential Guide…” the image on page 381 shows Paddy playing what to me looks like a Rudall Carte Old System or by its full name “Old System of fingering all holes covered”. Is the image a one off or has the whole flute fraternity got their Radcliffs and Old Systems in a twist? 
I welcome your informed comments.
Martin
from Bailiúchán, National Photo Archive
as you may see it seems to be a simple system flute,
with keys added to cover all the holes plus bohem style foot
not uncommon in early 1900
This is what we might expect to see on a Radcliff flute at that angle:
Of course Taylor might have had more than one flute, or could be borrowing a flute for a gig while his was in being fixed!
Is there also possible confusion between Paddys Taylor and Carty? Carty used the Radcliff.
Note that, being a high-pitched-era flute, Taylor has to have the head out at near-falling-off position (those flutes had really short slides, integral with the top tenon).
For more on who probably invented the Radcliff model, see:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Radcliff-genesis.htm
Rick Wilson also has a great page on Radcliff flutes:
http://www.oldflutes.com/articles/radcliff.htm
Unfortunately, Rockstro, the man who was in the best position to tell us everything we’d like to know about Radcliff and his flute goes to great pains not to mention him!
Hmmm, there’s that strange smell of sulphur again …
Terry
Huh. OK, how about this yoke?
This says Billy plays the Boehm: A Guide to the Irish Flute : Choosing a Flute, but that looks like a Radd flute in the pic.
Lots of sound clips of Billy in the Comhaltas Archive. Great musicianer.
To be fair, Kevin, it just shows one picture of him playing a Boehm.
See the comments here: http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/1286
Kenny, kkrell, and “Floss the Tethers” all indicate he plays the Radcliff flute (and kkrell says that and the boehm), so…
there is something niggling at the back of my mind , and what an expansive area that is .
(a brain the size of a planet, and all they want me to do is play a polka ) , about that photo of Paddy Taylor (?)
i keep thinking " Comhaltas" , and i just can’t imagine why . is there something subtle , some subliminal message there ?
it may be a subliminal message…
And I should know, having recordings of the same tunes, from the same recording session in 2003, on both. The Wood Boehm was used for the track on WFO because it was in better mechanical shape. Maybe I’ll snip a couple of fragments played on both for comparison.
Kevin Krell