A call from James Gandsey

[tommykleen]

And as a point of chronological reference, Walker/Walter 'Piper' Jackson lived ~170 years before the fictional Constable Harry 'Snapper' Organs.

t

[Uilliam]

I think I will stick wi O'Neill altho ye are right aboot him being called Walker as well so it seems. He being of the landed gentry Walter seems more probable.
So Walter/ Walker . take yer pick .
Here is a link to his tunes,prolific writer.
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/JACKSON.htm
Uilliam
ps
http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/piranha.htm :boggle:are we straying a bit Tommy?

[waymer]

And as a point of chronological reference, Walker/Walter 'Piper' Jackson lived ~170 years before the fictional Constable Harry 'Snapper' Organs.

wasn't he the garda for Lord Phillip Oliver Hollows?

[djm]

It is my understanding that Mr. W. Jackson published a manuscript of tunes back in the day, and that tunes in this book are where the reference to "Jackson's" comes from on various tunes. I can't recall reading if any copy of the original published work survives. Perhaps in the ITM Archive? For all the old books now being made available on the internet, I think that one would be of great interest to pipers. Does anyone have access to a copy?

djm

[Jumper]

From An Piobaire, Aibrean 1973:

Walker Jackson is a native of the County of Limerick and a good musician, who has composed a number of excellent pieces of music, which are much admired for their harmony and expression. The most favoured of Mr. Jackson's compositions are: Jackson's Morning Brush: The Turret: The Humours of Castle Jackson: Jackson's Ramble: Roving Blade and the Cream of the Jest.

The above paragraph from "Ferrar's History of Limerick to the year 1787" (A Watson & Co., Limerick 1787) clears up three points of doubt or dispute about Piper Jackson. His name was Walker, not Walter as Grattan Flood and O'Neill have it. He was not a clergyman as it is sometimes thought and he was a native of Limerick and not of Monaghan as suggested by subsequent writers on the strength of Bunting's reference to Jackson having been resident in that county.

[emer]

some more on Jackson

http://www.libraryireland.com/IrishMusic/XXIII-2.php

[Roger O'Keeffe]

The fact that he is referred to as "Mr" Jackson furthemore indicates that he was a gentleman piper, not a professional (cf. British usage with regard to jockeys and cricket players).

[Cayden]

There's a long article about Jackson by Breandan Breathnach, reprinted in 'The Man & his music'

There's a plaque on the house where Gandsey lived in Killarney. I think it's on the Muckross estate but can't exactly remember it. I did take a piccie of it when I was there, in 1989.

[seándonnelly]

There is no doubt that Jackson's forename was 'Walker'; it's given in a number of contemporary notices, including his obituary in 1798. He was born in or before 1722, as he was an adult in 1743. He was the son of a Miles Jackson, and had brothers named Miles and Clifford; both succeeded to Lisduan in turn. His sister, Fanny Jackson, married a man named Mason, and they had a son, Walker Jackson Mason, born 1793, among several other children. Unfortunately, not much has been discovered about his own family. There is a tradition, which Dennis Brooks mentioned to me, that the Freeman-Jacksons of Mallow, co. Cork, are the same Jacksons. Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes was published in 1790, and appears to be a reprint of a collection advertised in 1780. 'Jackson's Morning Brush' was advertised in 1776 as a new country dance for 1777.

The foregoing is from a forthcoming supplement to Breandán Breathnach's article.

[seándonnelly]

There is no doubt that Jackson's forename was 'Walker'; it's given in a number of contemporary notices, including his obituary in 1798. He was born in or before 1722, as he was an adult in 1743. He was the son of a Miles Jackson, and had brothers named Miles and Clifford; both succeeded to Lisduan in turn. His sister, Fanny Jackson, married a man named Mason, and they had a son, Walker Jackson Mason, born 1793, among several other children. Unfortunately, not much has been discovered about his own family. There is a tradition, which Dennis Brooks mentioned to me, that the Freeman-Jacksons of Mallow, co. Cork, are the same Jacksons. Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes was published in 1790, and appears to be a reprint of a collection advertised in 1780. 'Jackson's Morning Brush' was advertised in 1776 as a new country dance for 1777.

The foregoing is from a forthcoming supplement to Breandán Breathnach's article.

[billh]

Welcome aboard, Seán!

And thanks for the definitive answer.

[rorybbellows]

Old Gandsey sleeps,whose minstrelsy
Has won a world-wide fame;
Whilst with his own Killarney,we
Still wed his cherished name...
And oh how rich his " Madareen Rue"
With all its variations;
With "Jack O'Connell's beagles" thrue...
The Horn, the challenge-view-halloo-o-o!
And "Reynard's Lamentations!"...
The lake in view at aghadoe,
A bard-befitting pile;
Thither can boatmen point and show
Gandsey's last domicile.


Part of a tribute written by "Fitz-Erin"

RORY

[Roger O'Keeffe]

From the nature of the post and Bill's words of welcome, as well as the fada on the a, I take it that new member seándonnelly is indeed the real Seán Donnelly .

So welcome indeed to C&F, Seán. In among all the trivia and rank ignorance, there's a lot of knowledge here and a lot of people dedicated to sharing it, and C&F seems to reach a much wider community than the NPU forum.

If you stay with us, and don't go through Peter L-type moments of frustration and withdrawal, we can look forward to a sharp increase in the ratio of fact to fantasy on this forum!

PS, I look forward to connecting with you again in a couple of years' time, when Joëlle and I move back to the green and musty, and Bill will have a little something emerging from his workshop to make the move home even more appealing.