Hello all you whistlers,
I have a question about how to get ahold of an O’Riordan whistle. I would love to own one but i know it is probably not possible. I was wondering when Mr. O’Roirdan would be taking orders again, or is he only taking orders from professional players?
thanks alot! 
To get one of these whistles you have to watch the board and other places that sell whistles second hand. Pat will most likely not be taking any further orders once he clears his current backlog, which is reported to be several years long at this point.
There was just an O’Riordan whistle on e-bay - I believe it’s a Traveler G. I don’t know whether the bidding is still open. If it’s the Traveler, it’s black anodized aluminum tuneable with either nickel silver or brass ferrules. The G is my favorite of the Travelers.
Philo
Yes there was and it was a Traveler. I bid on it but stopped at THREE HUNDRED dollars!! It went for $310. I decided my Bleazey and Overton G’s would be 
“good enough” 
for now. I have seen C/D sets go for 6-700 dollars. Even at that price my wife will NOT let me sell mine.
This should give you an idea on what the values are for his whistles.
A concert D all by itself went for nearly 700 not too long ago. Just depends on who’s buying that day I guess.
Thanks everyone 
I will keep looking
–Andreas[/b][/quote]
Yeah, I picked up the D/C set - it was the one and only time I ever won a bid and I rationalized that it wasn’t really so much for two whistles. Anyway, Steven, if you ever have the chance to get a Traveler G (no, you’re not getting mine ), consider it. That particular whistle has one heavenly sound.
Philo
I thought that is what you had said some time ago, but I could not remember for sure. If I had known for sure I probably would have gone $350 or a little more.
Se La Vee (or something like that)
I had the money and probably should have gotten that full set from Jessie when she was selling them a while ago.
Se La Vee (or something like that)
C’est la vie, mon ami…
Philo
Yeah, what he said! 
The O’Riordan is not the holy grail of whistles. I’ve played one. Great tone and loud volume, but big difference in breath requirement between the two octaves. It’s very good, but there are other very good brands out there, most costing $300 plus.
No, but it is a really fine whistle made by someone who seems like a really fine man and sold by him at reasonable prices. I really like the Travelers, but they don’t IMO play any better than my Copelands or Burkes, albeit differently. They (the Travelers)are also different in appearance than any other whistles out there. I like having them as much as a collector as a player and appreciate having something Pat made. Other than that, it’s the demand that drives the second market prices up, but that also has to do with some artificial stuff, some intangible stuff as well as some real stuff (maker, appearance, quality).
There are also some makers considered the ‘holy grail’ of knife making - and I don’t get it either as a collector or a user. Here at least there’s enough positive real attributes of both maker and product to realistically drive the market.
Philo
Oh, BTW, I’ll try to bring my O’Riordan G to the next NE Gathering so that others can judge for themselves the value of what I consider perhaps the heavenliest tone among whistles. And, really balanced octaves as well.
Philo
I agree Philo, I would not part with my O’Riordans. These whistles ARE
very special. I do not notice any difference in wind requirements for
the two octaves in any of my O’Riordan whistles. " Heavenliest", great
word, it describes the O’Riordan sound. It is, as you stated, the
DEMAND for these whistles that drives the second market prices up.
There is a reason for this demand, these whistles ARE very special. I
will be bringing my O’Riordans to the Milwaukee Irish Fest on Sunday
August 21st so that other members of the Chiff and Fipple family can
look at them. They include: A Low G, a Low D, a Concert Set D/C in
Kingwood, a Traverler Set in D/E Flat, and a beautiful Brass D whistle
with shamrocks made in 1994.
James
Uh, James, would you please wrap up that brass D and send it to me at… 
Philo