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Píobaire, An, Volume 7, Issue 1, Page 8

Píobaire, An, Volume 7, Issue 1, Page 8
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
An Píobaire
volume Number
1
issue Content
Píobaire, An 7 1 8 20110224 P IPERS from all parts of Ulster brought a great sense of energy and enthusiasm to the Breathnach Commemoration at the end of January. This year the focus was placed on Ulster piping, and all the teachers and per- formers were selected from the northern coun- ties, with piping classes by Tom Clarke, Conor Day and Cormac Ó Briain, reed-making with Martin Preshaw, and piping performances from Barry Kerr, Ciarán Mac Fheidhlimidh and Paddy O’Hare. For good measure, Kathleen Loughnane delivered a talk on the 17th c. harpers the Connellan brothers, who hailed from Sligo, (which is further north than some parts of Ulster). The morning and afternoon were occupied with the piping and reed-making workshops, and positive results were reported from both fronts. One piping teacher reported that his stu- dents were ‘hoovering up new tunes’ and that, after imparting six or seven, he switched to technique and to appraising how much piping his students were able to inject into the tunes that they already had. Martin Preshaw’s reed- making students, meanwhile, became converts to Martin’s convictions as to the advantages of composite drone reeds. The days of cane guills could be numbered! A large number assembled to enjoy the evening activities. These started with Kathleen Lough- nane’s presentation on the lives and music of the harping brothers Thomas and William Con- nellan who were born c. 1640 in Cloonmahon, co. Sligo, and whose careers overlapped, in the latter part of their lives, with that of the better- known Turlough Carolan (1670-1738). Tunes associated with the Connellans include such items as “Limerick’s Lamentation”, “Molly MacAilpin” (better known nowadays in the dance rhythm version as “Poll Ha’penny”), “Molly St George” and “The Two William Davises”, among others. Assisted by her daughter Caitríona on harp and son Cormac on the pipes, Kathleen illustrated her talk with performances of several Connellan composi- tions. The results of Kathleen’s research into the Connellans have been published in the form of a book and a CD. Details of the CD can be found in An Píobaire, 5.4. Following the Connellan presentation, Niamh Bhreathnach took the stage to launch Sean- cheol ar anSeannós – a re-issue in CD format of a six-track ‘EP’ (a seven-inch vinyl ‘ex- tended-play’ recording) published in 1963 by her father Breandán Breathnach. The musi- cians featured on the EP were Aggie Whyte 8 ~ BREATHNACH COMMEMORATION ~ Peadar O’Loughlin with Aggie Whyte’s daughters Maureen Harney (left) and Kathleen Harrison. Terry Moylan
issue Number
7
page Number
8
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
2011-02-24T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

An Píobaire, Volume 7, Issue 1

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