How many Harrington sets exist?

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bensdad
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by bensdad »

Re: Christy Fitzpatrick, sorry, I actually managed to misquote my own research! Not an ostler with the Gardai!

Chris emigrated to Canada in 1957, and brought the Harrington 3/4 set with him. He bought the set from Christy, who was a piper in Dublin. Christy was, according to Chris, a very peculiar but very nice old chap, a collector of pipes, with a brother, Andy, who played fiddle in the Gardai ceilidh band, and taught fiddle to members of the Pipers' Club. Chris met Christy through his (Chris') brother-in-law Jack Dunne, who was a male nurse at St. Brendan's, Grangegorman, a mental hospital in Dublin, where Christy worked as a groom with the horses.

Mick O'Connor told Emmett Gill that he thought Christy was a member of the Grangegorman attendants' pipe band. He met some of Christy's relatives who, he recalled, said his pipes went to the US.

Sean Donnelly said that Butlers were mainly manufacturers of warpipes, supplied pipes to the Army, and also had premises in Dublin, beside O'Connell Bridge. I am still fascinated by the prospect of a set of ebonite uilleann pipes in the 1950s. Apparently ebonite warpipes were a thing, bu as Chris also played the warpipes I doubt it was a case of mistaken identity.

If you wanted to pursue this further I would contact Emmett, Terry, and Sean directly.
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Steampacket »

Chris emigrated to Canada in 1957, and brought the Harrington 3/4 set with him. He bought the set from Christy, who was a piper in Dublin. Christy was, according to Chris, a very peculiar but very nice old chap, a collector of pipes, with a brother, Andy, who played fiddle in the Gardai ceilidh band, and taught fiddle to members of the Pipers' Club. Chris met Christy through his (Chris') brother-in-law Jack Dunne, who was a male nurse at St. Brendan's, Grangegorman, a mental hospital in Dublin, where Christy worked as a groom with the horses.
Thanks for that Bensdad.

There was a photo in the Piobaire when it was stolen 'Egan stolen' it said. 1987-ish. Mr. Gumby
I 'll look that up. Noticed in IM&M page 269 that Shane O'Neill seems to be holding what looks like a Harrington set with a straight bass drone in the middle position, and by the Harrington looking mounts. Also Mollie Morrison on page 335 looks to be holding a Harrington judging by the bass drone and mounts. Mollie was from Cork, as was Shane (John) too, so it's possible they both would have had access to a Harrington set in the neighbourhood back then.
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myles
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by myles »

Are there any recordings of Leo playing a flat set, a Harrington or Egan for example?
There's also that picture of him playing the Moloney bros. Vandeleur set. I'd have loved to have heard a recording of that!
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by PJ »

On the Drones and the Chanters, he plays 3 sets. His own, a double chanter (in C#?) and a flat set (in B?). I'll check the inlay card later.
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by geoff wooff »

Steampacket wrote: Are there any recordings of Leo playing a flat set, a Harrington or Egan for example?

Leo plays a Bb ? (I think) Coyne set , just one track, on "The Drones and the Chanters" volume 1. It is quite something !!
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Steampacket »

On the Drones and the Chanters, he plays 3 sets. His own, a double chanter (in C#?) and a flat set (in B?). I'll check the inlay card later.
Leo plays a Bb ? (I think) Coyne set , just one track, on "The Drones and the Chanters" volume 1. It is quite something !!
Yes of course , I have the LP. Haven't listened to it for years. Have to get it out
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Steampacket wrote:I 'll look that up.
According to your own index of An Piobaire:
Sraith 2, Uimhir 26, Iúil 1985: page 7, "Pipe stolen" photo of a set of pipes thought to be by Egan that were stolen on the 24th of January 1985 from the Cliffe Castle Art Gallery & Musem at Knightly, West Yorkshire. This set has been identified as a Harrington set, measured by Iain Camerons father at the time of theft
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Fergmaun »

Kevin Rowsome plays a C natural Harrington full set.

On the CD The Rowsome Tradition he plays the C natural set and quotes on the sleeve notes "possibly made by Harrington.

I have seen and heard the Kevin C set at the Belfast Tionol many years ago plus have cassette tapes recording also.

The C sharp set Kevin plays is made by this great grandfather Willie Rowsome.

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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Steampacket »

Right you are Peter. I had indeed indexed it. What a fine looking set it is with the extra drone up there on the stock. The mounts look typically Harrington as does the bass drone bend. The chanter bottom mount looks unusual though, perhaps a custom order or another maker's chanter?

I've read the article by Michael Grainger about Harrington in An Píobaire nr 30, 1986. Looks like Harrington's muse was the set of pipes played by James Gandsey, born 1757 or (1769) - died 1857. Gandsey was from Killarney. Grainger writes that possibly Harrington copied bore and other measurements from Gandsey's set. Gandsey would have been 43 or 31 at the turn of the century, 1800, so could have been playing a Kenna or Egan set as he was a professional piper?

Grainger also mentions in the article that a writer claimed in 1901, 49 years after the 1852 event, that an "elaborate set" shown in the 1852 Cork Exhibition, and now owned by the Browne family of Dublin (this is in 1986), was Gandseys set. Grainger is of the opinion though that this 1852 Cork Industrial Exhibition set doesn't resemble the the set seen in the well known portrait of Gandsey.
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Mr.Gumby »

the set seen in the well known portrait of Gandsey.
A little aside : I found this for sale two years ago:

Image

You won't identify pipes from it (although the set in the drawing has a bass reg not present in the more wellknown portrait) but it's another take on what can hardly be anyone else but Gandsey. I passed it on to Terry M. and he bought it for NPU.

For all things Gandsey see : James Gandsey : The celebrated Killarney Minstrel by Ciarán Dalton (although it looks it has sold out in most places by now)
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by PJ »

From D'Arcy's site, Diary 2000:

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Iain Cameron sent me these photos of this lovely Harrington set. He told me "This set was one my dad copied, it was in a museum but was stolen during his work, he did however get a full set of measurements which I still have, I think he made two copies one in boxwood and one in ebony".
Is this the Cliff Castle set which was stolen in 1985, or the copy made by Iain Cameron's father?
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by jon1908 »

That’s the original.
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by stew »

Dosen't Becky Taylor have a Coyne or Harrington Set? They'll be a lot more than you think, if you average 2 full sets a year, then practice and half sets over their Pipemaking Careers, some would have had an apprentice or family member helping in their work shop I would of thought?,,
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by Steampacket »

Dosen't Becky Taylor have a Coyne or Harrington Set? stew
I believe Becky has a Coyne set with a possible Harrington chanter.
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Re: How many Harrington sets exist?

Post by stew »

Didn't Becky Taylor have an Crawley set as well as a Harrington or Coyne set that Peter Hunter worked on? Thought I remember hearing something like that a few year back, but I could be wrong,,
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