Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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8 1 16 20120206 16 My professional career took me to London in the 1960s so, again, I was able to get back in touch with Séamus. This time, though, I was able to play along with him – but on the small pipes. I wish you could have heard us rantipol- ing through the “The Bucks of Oranmore” or “The Gold Ring”. Well, there’s no harm in wish- ing. In truth, I remember I managed “Hogan’s Favourite” and “The Fairies’ Hornpipe”, which I learned from him, and “The Cuckoo Horn- pipe” and a subtle variation of “The Boys of Bluehill” on the whistles. Most of our shared tunes were, however, Northumbrian pipe tunes that I knew. I kept The Northumbrian Pipers’ Society’s tune books in my pipes case so that others could read the music and play along with me, usually fiddlers. Jack’s pipes were in the old pitch, I believe nominally in ‘G’ but sounding nearer to ‘F’. I have to rely on what I was told about this by fiddlers who had to “tune down” to play along with me. Séamus’s very old pipes must have been similarly pitched because we went along together all right. I don’t know what trouble it caused him but he never complained anyway! In October 1982 I was in the audience at a music concert in a Cornish village hall when word was passed to me that Séamus had died. The concert cut out. My mind flooded with the sound of his pipes and images of the times I’d spent in his company; now treasured memo- ries. Thank you Séamus. My special thanks go to Reg Hall for notes from his inter- view with Pat Goulding; and the following for helping me out with their contributions to the memory pool: Jenny Hicks, Rhonda Miller, Paddy McEvoy and Geoff Warren. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES About the Author A native of South Devon, Bob Rundle worked for the Eng- lish Folk Dance & Song Society as a melodeon player for two years before joining the RAF for his National Service at the age of 18 in1952. At that time the EFDSS was largely concerned with pio- neering a revival of interest in traditional music, song and dance. Bob regularly joined Peter Kennedy in playing for village barn dances in Devon and Cornwall, and broadcast solo spots on BBC programmes including Childrens’ Hour, The Dancing English and various regional programmes. In 1955 he travelled with Peter Kennedy on a BBC sponsored recording trip through East Anglia, Scotland and Orkney. In 1967 he persuaded the adjudicators at the Northumbrian pip- ing competitions to hand over the winner’s medal for the in- termediate class. He appeared as guest Northumbrian piper in Ulster Television’s 1979 documentary film, Me Da, about the McPeake family of Belfast. Bob’s career, first in horti- cultural journalism and, later, experimental horticulture, took him to Cornwall where he has lived for the past 40 years with his wife Georgie. They have been married for 53 years, have two married sons and three grandchildren. His playing days ended in 1995 – with an aching left arm and a worn-out Busilacchio melodeon – after heading two barn dance bands over a period of 16 years around west Cornwall. Hobbies: Wood carving, wood turning, writing and photog- raphy. The Irish Rundles Bob writes: “My great grandfather, Edmund Rundle, origi- nally from Plymouth, moved with the Coastguard to the Drogheda area where he raised a large family. Consequently the majority of my relatives are now Irish citizens. I am cu- rious to know if any share my music gene and have become involved with traditional music.” Séamus Ennis Bob Rundle

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2012-02-01T00:00:00

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