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Ceol na hÉireann / Irish Music, Volume 1, Issue 3, Page 13

Ceol na hÉireann / Irish Music, Volume 1, Issue 3, Page 13
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
Ceol na hÉireann / Irish Music
volume Number
1
issue Content
18Ceol na hEireann Irish Music19An obituary from The Newry Telegraph. November 11, 1834.The Famous Blind Man of Armagh, from The Ulster Gazette, 1844.Celebrated Blind Men - William Kennedy, from the Banbridge Chronicle,February A, 1880.William Kennedy the Blind Pipemaker of Tanderagee, from the Ulster Journalof Archaeology, Volume XXXII Number 2 April 1906.William Kennedy, The Tanderagee Clock Maker, from Harvest Home. Acollection of the writings of T.G.F. Patterson, Armagh 1975.The Blind Man of Armagh, from T.G.F. Pattersons cuttings book. Dateunknown.The Famous Blind Man of Armagh, from The Ulster Gazette, 150thAnniversary Supplement December 22, 1994.WILLIAM KENNEDY PIPEMAKER OF TANDERAGEEWILLIAM KENNEDY THETANDERAGEE CLOCKMAKERThis piece is from a book called Harvest Home. A collection of the writingsof TG.E Patterson, Armagh 1975.William Kennedy was born in Banbridge in 1763. He lost his sight throughsmallpox in the fourth year of his age, but even as an infant was interested inmechanical pursuits. His genius first showed itself in the manufacture ofchildrens toys, in the formation of which he used home-made tools. These wereadded to by a gift from a friend in his ninth year. Soon afterwards his workbecame so perfect that he became well known locally.At the age of thirteen he decided to study music and was sent to Armagh to learnthe violin under Mr. Moorehead, a notable teacher of those days. During his stayhe lodged with a cabinet-maker from whom he acquired much usefulinformation and experience of tools and their use that later proved veryprofitable to him.He remained in Aimagh about fifteen months, afterwards returning home, there- to specialise in household furniture. Later he became desirous of attaining aknowledge of clock-making. He set about his new hobby by buying animperfect clock and making it whole. About that time (1786) he attracted theattention of Mrs. Reilly of Scarva for whom he made an elegant writing cabinet.There he first became acquainted with the Irish pipes and, incidentally, met andheard the celebrated Downey, one of the great pipers of those days.The music of the pipes instilled a desire to master them also so he purchased anold and defective set that gave him so much trouble he set about contriving anew one instead. In that he succeeded also.About 1793 he married. At that time he was repairing wind and stringedinstruments, constructing clocks, ordinary and musical, as well as cabinet-making. He also designed and made desks, book-cases, clock-cases, chairs,tables, etc. His principal employment, however, was the making of Irish pipesand shuttles and temples for weavers.He left County Down in 1798 and settled in the parish of Mullabrack, CountyArmagh, in the vicinity of Markethill, there to teach a young man theclock-making business. In March of 1800 he removed to Tanderagee where hecontinued to work on the Irish pipes, eventually adding various improvements.At the same time he continued turning out clocks and clock-cases, and wasmuch in demand for the repair of barrel and chamber organs.An account of his life was written in 1815 and published in Newry in thefollowing year. He was then alive and an absolute master of the various craftsin which he worked.WILLIAM THE FAMOUS BLIND MAN OF ARMAGHHere follows the piece of folklore mentioned in an earlier article. This ispublished as is from the Ulster Gazette 1994. 1 think the modern introductionsets the scene well. The dates given in the story are definitely incorrect.A great deal of moralising, in the form of anecdotes, poems and short stories,passed through the pages of the Gazette during the papers early years. And onesuch tale appeared in the January 10 edition to commemorate the life of an oldblind man from Armagh who died in the city 100 years earlier. Thestory-within-a-story, imbued with fact and fiction, was told in the style of theancient bardic tradition, and encapsulates the significance of the ancientstory-teller who passed proverbial folklore down through generations. The old
issue Number
3
page Number
13
periodical Author
[Various]
issue Publication Date
2001-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Ceol na hÉireann / Irish Music, Volume 1, Issue 3

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