Owner brought it second hand and does not know maker - no identifying stamp on any part. Suggestions have been Keirnan, O’Dowd or Ginsberg -anyone wish to add to the list or able to give a positive ID ?
Bass drone had been modified with an additional tuning slide on the loop to lower pitch to B - problem was it would not reed comfortably to C. Keys had been coated with gold paint !
Chanter Ebony, Drones Regulators Box, Elephant Ivory and Brass
I´d say it is too dispropotionate for a professional maker.
Yes - my thoughts were someone who was learning with Matt Keirnan or possibly Dan O’Dowd
Keywork is beaten from rectangular rod and most of the tone hole covers are very thin
Some large chunks of ivory used so would guess they were made when this material was easily available.
Chris
Chanter looks a bit like a Hughes and McLeod that I saw lately.
Makers like Dan Dowd, Rowsomes, Matt Kiernan, etc had a lot of folks who would come over to the workshop and help turn out stuff, make bags and bellows etc. Some were craftsmen eager to learn and some were just nosey neighbours.
Some names spring to mind like John Clarke (worked with Willie and Leo Rowsome), Tom Meehan (worked with Matt Kiernan) I’m sure there is dozens more.
Some of these became apprentices and fine makers in their own right.
But what is kind of suprising / confusing here is the ‘huge chunks’ of ivory being used.
Thats a lot of expensive material for a maker to let an apprentice use on a set.
My 2c.
Tommy
This reminds me of a nice story I simply have to let on here:
Years ago I was visiting this pipemaker. He was about to reed this chanter made by somebody else. He looked at it and said: “Jaysus - look at the luvly wood and the beautiful ivory -
what a waste!”
Cheers,
Hans
Looks like an early Ginsburg to me. Before he’d settled on his style. You can mail him pictures if you want him to confirm/offer an opinion. He’s very helpful.
Dionys
Don’t know about Ginsberg…
Looks like an early Ginsburg to me.
Alan had some bad press in the early 80’s. But promenent pipers like Tommy Keane and John Murphy played Alan Ginsberg sets and they sounded great.
I honestly think that if reed making information was as available then and more people could make a good reed, well then Ginsberg pipes would be as respected as newer makers
This a bit off topic but Alain Froment really upped the standerd of pipe making in the mid/late 1980’s
Before that we had makers, in Ireland, like Dowd, Kiernan, (thats probably it..)(post Rowsome retirement, 1960ish)
They spawned great makers like Tom White, Kevin Thompson, Dave Hegarty, Eugene Lambe, Johnny Bourke, Des Spillane (Daveys dad) Donnacha Keegan (my favourite concert pitch maker) , there could be another 10 on the list.
These makers made great pipes and those alive still do!!!
Froment came along (early 1980’s) and really improved the external aesthetics (sp)
of the concert pitch set of pipes.
Previous makers were working within the economics of peoples budgets. Brass, african blackwood or a fruitwood. Limited decorations but very affordable.
In 1987 my stock and drones from Kevin Thompson was 300 pounds.
My dad haggled with him and we got it for 275 but I tended his orchids (yes orchids, Kevin has won competitions for them) raked his driveway and did other chores to work off the balance that my dad haggeled/bartered.
but
Figure in a bag, bellows and chanter and his half set was about 450
Mr. Froment was about 700 for a half set then
And rightly so! Stainless steel and high end ebony!
(I’m still not a fan of Froment concert pitch chanters but his craftsmanship is sheer excellence)
I’m not really sure where all this is going but suffice to say that this set in the pictures was probably made pre 1980 and may well be nicely in tune.
The insides may well work perfectly but the outsides looks like they were made by a plumber wearing boxing gloves…
Tommy
Random thoughts, I know…
The owner has previously contacted Alan Ginsberg and confirmed it is not one of his.
You know. I was mistaking Ginsburg in my head for Lorcan Dunne. I have an early Ginsburg chanter (early 70’s) and agree that Ginsburg got a bad rap if this chanter is indicative of his work at that time. I love it. It looks nothing like that chanter. I was terribly sick the last week or so, so my brain’s not all together yet.
The regulator work and keys look somewhat like early Lorcan Dunne (not Ginsburg - my apologies to Ginsburg). He’s the one I meant would also be helpful with ID. The early sets of his I’ve seen, though, didn’t have the Ivory/false Ivory turnings, though, so I can’t comment on those.
Hopefully you’ll find an answer! 
I was looking at this picture…
Were’s the stock key (drone switch)!? Is it that little brass bump protruding off the far side of the stock? Are the regs in the wrong holes? I’ve seen a bunch of sets assembled like this. Were they made this way? It seems that switch would be hard to use then. Does it have anthing to do with not interfearing with regulator keys?
There is no guide on the stop switch and in unplugging the regulators to remove the gold paint from the keywork it had swivelled round. It should be between the Tenor and Baritone.
Ah, I see. Thanks for clearing that up!