Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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an enormously successful amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. I have documented almost four engagements per year in 1903-05. Nothing in 1906. Then from 1907 through 1913 about 12 engagements per year. Approximately 104 engagements in all from 1903 through 1920, at least two-thirds of them in vaudeville theatres. No doubt they played many more engagements than this. They mainly played theatres throughout New York and the New England states. Furthest west, Michigan, probably Detroit. Furthest south, Norfolk, Virginia. They played “big time” theatres once in a while, but mostly “small time” stuff; smaller towns, or less prestigeous venues. They also played for political and fraternal organzations, church groups, businesses, etc. Their act consisted of a skit or “playlet”, usually about 20 minutes long. It evoked nostalga for a remembered Ireland. Names of the skits bear this out. Here are a few: Dear Old Ireland A Bit of Old Erin Ould Times In Olden Times The Old Neighborhood By the way, there is as yet no evidence one way or the other that the brothers ever visited Ireland. From the scrapbook, this newspaper review of a performance in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1912 gives some idea of what their act was like: “...[T]he act being presented by the O’Donnell brothers at the Opera House compares favorably with acts given in leading vaudeville houses in this part of the state. The act consists of comedy, pathos and music and is bound to please. It was loudly applauded last evening and all who saw it pronounced it the best given here. “Edward O’Donnell is a talented bagpipe player.... Cornelius represents an aged Irishman playing a violin. While he is playing a typical Irish air, Edward steals in and joins his brother in playing the same tune on the pipes. The motions that Cornelius makes as he hears the pipes is alone worth the price of admission. Cornelius then entertains the audience with a dance, although he begs his brother to stop playing as he is too old to continue the dance. He finally collapses on the stage. After being picked up, they bid each other good night, and Cornelius renders that old favorite, “Home Sweet Home”, in a very impressive manner.” There are few clues as to exactly what music was played. The music manuscripts are extensive, but mostly from their father’s era and mostly for violin. Even so, there are several tunes in the music manuscripts which are well known today. “Rakish Paddy”, “McCloud’s Reel”, “Top of Cork Road” among others. There is a handwritten sheet with “The Blackbird” and “My Former Wife” dedicated to the Brothers by John Marron, another vaudevillian who played Irish pipes. And there are music parts for “Wearing of the Green” and “Have you Seen Maggie Riley”, the first intended to be played by the theatre orchestra as the Brothers take the stage. “Maggie Riley” is an “Irish Waltz”, a Tin Pan Alley tune published in 1904. It may have been played in the course of the playlet. The brothers did well enough at performing to sustain a career for more than a decade, but were by no means at the pinnacle of the profession. In vaudeville, a pitiless indicator of success was an act’s position on the theatre program. To oversimplify, the least esteemed acts played earlier in the show, the most popular near the end. In this respect the O’Donnells were usually in the middle. Not infrequently, as with the review quoted above, they were a decided hit.

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2014-02-14T00:00:00

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