Sergeants Early and Cahill chanters

[RLines]

Just read the interesting 1901 interview with Patsy Touhey in the newest issue of An Piobaire.

In it, Touhey mentions both Sergeant Cahill and Segeant Early of Chicago, noting that in addition to being pipers they were both making 'first class chanters'.

I know Cahill made chanters, and is written up by O'Neill, as well as named in the SRS list of historic makers. But I wasn't aware of Sergeant Early also making chanters?

Does anyone have any more information on this? Does anyone know of any chanters by either Cahill or Early in existence or being played? Cahill's work received high praise from both O'Neill and Touhey, and from the interview it sounds like Touhey also thought highly of Early's chanters as well.

Thanks
Rick

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

Never heard of a chanter stamped Cahill showing up, for that matter. Delaney and another piper - Early himself, maybe? can't recall at the moment - were said by O'Neill to prefer Cahill's chanters to the stock Taylor chanters their sets came with, and their sets have been found, so there's your opportunity to see what the fuss is about. Assuming those sets are really theirs, or that the Cahill chanters are with them.

[tompipes]

Was it not Carbrary chanters that Early and Delaney played?

Tommy

[Kevin L. Rietmann]

So right you are, Tommy, it's all laid out in the chapter on pipemakers from O'Neill's book "Irish Minstrels and Musicians." I knew it was some fellow last name begins with 'C,' at least.

Here are pics of Delaney's pipes, or so we are led to believe, anyway. Ain't but the one chanter there. Nice stick although do I see a bit of nickel plated brass on the popping valve? Matches up nicely with what we see in this massively blown up photo of Delaney, though. The chanter looks to have horn mounts that match what's on the set so I'd figure that's the original Taylor.

Early's pipes I heard wound up in Ulster somewheres, with a flutemaker I think? They wound up with the Dunn family I think, the people with all the O'Neill cylinders, and gave them to this flutemaker, if I remembering this correctly. A Taylor and a Coyne.