I thought I’d share some lovely photos I came across of the McPeake family, taken in Belfast in 1952. The photos are from a collection housed in the British Library.
Frank McPeake and Francis McPeake.
Frank McPeake, Francie McPeake and [Young] Francie McPeake.
Frank McPeake
Frank McPeake
Nice photos; thanks for posting.
Always lovely to see old pics. Some of these have been published here and there in the past though. They’re Peter Kennedy’s aren’t they?
The McPeakes were quite well served by photographers, especially during the sixties, the RTE archive, Getty images and other collections have quite a few pics of them. Photographer Brian Shuel used to have a site of his photography, he had quite a few lovely ones too, including the famous ones of Felix Doran and Packie Manus Byrne. Last time I looked the site was gone but some of his shots can be found elsewhere:
And found while looking for these, anyone who can identify the man in this pic from 1940?
Yes from the Peter Kennedy Collection in the British Library. Quite an amazing collection of photos and recordings of all kinds of folk musics and musicians.
Here’s another nice one of a piper named Seamus Casey. The description reads ‘Seamus Casey, a London resident from Cork, Ireland, posing for a studio portrait with uilleann pipes. Location and date not known, but probably mid-1950s. Photograph by Jerome Ltd., London. Rear of photograph states “Seamus O’Casey, playing Kennedy pipes”.’
Probably worth mentioning the Peter Kennedy Archive website in this context.
What’s with the finger-tip position in the upper hand (upper-most photos in this post, especially)?
That’s how the McPeakes did it. Still do.
{sorry, couldn’t get a shot of him playing with the microphone there covering his hands from every angle)
The very top photo looks like it could be a scene from a Boris Karloff or Bela lugosi movie, You Know" Frankenstein meets the demon pipers" or “The vampire piper meets the werewolf”
RORY
Did the McPeakes make their own pipes or are they playing O’Mealy pipes?
They’re certainly not Mealy pipes, one look at the (reg) keywork would leave you in no doubt about that.
There was always the implication thy made pipes but I don’t know which family members did and how long it lasted (or on what scale).
There was quite a nice documentary on the family history that I saw some time ago that did show some making activity in the workshop but memory of it is dim. It probably was one of TG4’s Ceol ón Chlann programmes, if anyone want to go looking.
The set of pipes Francie play in the pic I posted was made for John Lennon (yes that one). The story as FMCP told it (and filtered through my memory of him telling it), was that Lennon developed an interest and through management contacted the McPeakes (who were very active and prominent in the UK folkscene at the time). A set was organised and Beatles management provided an apartment in London so FMcP would be at hand for teaching. Francie said he didn’t actually want to go to London and withdrew from the deal. By that time Lennon had gone on to other interests and the pipes were returned to the McPeakes.
As I remember it FMcP said something along the lines that a set of pipes was procured for Lennon, or organised or something along those lines, he didn’t actually say they made him a set (although they may have, I don’t know).
The large ferrule below the reed seat seems to be a common distinctive feature on two of the chanters. They definitely don’t look like Rowsome’s work. There seems to be at least one set of regs with ribbon keys (Francie Snr’s set in 2nd photo). Curious.
Hello Peter,
Is the first photo you posted not of the O’Mealy set here on page 7:
http://www.seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3.06/O’Mealy%20Pipes.pdf
I have seen another O’Mealy with the same type of reg key shapes, other things are similar as well.
I thought Frank played an O’Mealy and Francie a McFadden. I used to tell the owner of a McFadden about that connection.
These are wonderful photos.
Celebrity gossip, yes. So John Lennon and Jimmie Cagney had sets built for them. I was told about a certain big Taylor copy being (supposedly) built for Mickey Rooney. My own copy was in the hands of the Von Trapp family for years and years. Then there’s the story about James Deane/Burl Ives/Marilyn Monroe learning the NSP from Jack Armstrong. Or something.
In more recent times I heard a story about James Earl Jones expressing an interest in taking up the pipes. “Use the truckaleehaugh, Luke…” 
I had the pleasure of picking up James Earl Jones at the airport in D.C. and driving him to a recording session. On the way back to Georgetown, he told me that he often stole away to a friend’s place in Ireland for some quiet time, and that he would like to commission a set of pipes from me as a gift for his highly regarded and discreet host. He took out his checkbook and started to write me a check, right there on the dashboard while we were driving down the GW Parkway. He even offered to supply a few tusks that were presented to him over the years to trim the set with.
Hello Peter,
Is the first photo you posted not of the O’Mealy set here on page 7:
http://www.seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3> . … 0Pipes.pdfI have seen another O’Mealy with the same type of reg key shapes, other things are similar as well.
You’re right. I realised fairly quickly I had posted with the brain only half switched on, not thinking of the earlier O’Mealy’s. I’ll admit McFadden is also a bit of a blank spot for me, only to be arrived at at second thought, while, from what I have seen of his work (especially reeds) he deserves more credit than he is usually getting.
Sorry about that.
The other O’Mealy I’ve seen photos of with these ‘fiddle back’ reg keys is a D set I think.
There is a boxwood chanter with that ‘combed’ wooden top you see on the McPeake O’Mealy
pictured in the Sean Reid article.
As an aside does anyone know where the McPeakes got the tune they play called “Juanita”?
Something they composed or took from somewhere else? I haven’t heard the recording in a while but I remember that tune off it.
do the mcpeake’s get paid when ‘wild mountain thyme’ gets recorded by van morrison, rod stewart or any of the other dozens of famous singers who have covered it?
Thanks for chiming in, Mark. Always loved that story. Jones sounds like a really cool guy.
Juanita is a popular song from the 1850s, melody by that redoubtable Spaniard, George Frederick Handel. McPeakes no doubt picked up from Robin Roberts or some other folkie. Or perhaps it made its way over the ocean on its own. There are threads at mudcat.org about Wild Mountain Thyme that will give you the scoop on that song, or anything else folkie related.
At a tribute to Francie McP at WCSS 2010 there were quite a few references to the song’s copyright issues when the song was performed. The McPeakes still claim ownership but I don’t think the courts agreed.
James Earl Jones does indeed play the pipes, but he had to change to GHB because the Uiilleann pipes kept slipping down his leg when on his unicycle and of course the problem all Uilleann pipers have, the flames shooting out of the drones tend to burn passers by.
RORY
