The piper /pipemaker R.L.O,Mealy

rorybbellows · Post by **rorybbellows** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 4:09 pm

This is a line from the Sean Reid web page “ When he (Sean Reid ) last visited O ,Mealy he found him in unfortunate circumstances and sent him a few bags of coal “
According to O,Neill R.L.O,Mealy was a outstanding piper and an even more outstanding pipemaker
I wonder what happened ?

RORY

djm · Post by **djm** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 4:58 pm

Or what didn't happen. Most of the old generation of pro pipers left at the beginning of the 20th century seem to have died in poor houses or relative poverty somewhere ... much like today ... hmm, there's a lesson in there somewhere. :roll:

djm

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:06 pm

Richard O'Mealy was a regular visitor to my Grandfathers house"The gap" in Moate.Westmeath.Me mother remembers him well as he and my grandfather used to strike up a hornpipe or two whenever he visited and she had to dance to the music.He died in 1946 or 47,I wouldna say he was impoverished more or less than most other people of the time.His hayday was long over and Irish Music was no longer popular and of course he was unable to play the concerts that were once his income.Me mother,Rós Níc Adaim, still calls him the professor and he and me Grandfather Uilliam Mac Adaim(Pepper Adamson) would spend many a long night at the music.Neither he nor me grandfather ,to look at,would be considered comfortable,but they had a treasure greater than wealth,and that was their music which they enjoyed to the full.

Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:59 pm

Garret Barry died in Ennistymon workhouse, Seamus Ennis alone in his caravan in Finglas. That's the lot of the great it seems.

Pipey · Post by **Pipey** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 10:49 pm

Can anyone comment on the workmanship, reputation of his pipes?

glands · Post by **glands** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:36 pm

He had the greatest name ever as a middle name. God bless his parents, may they RIP, for their wisdom.

He had a great moustache.....BTW, our C&F "member" Rick Hall has a superb moustache (I want one of those)...much like O'Mealy's.

His sets looked a little like Taylor sets and a little like sets made by a chap named Hamilton. Hamilton's sets looked like O'Mealy sets and Taylor sets and it is possible that they could be mistaken for one another in some cases if one did not have documented proof of craftsmanship.

That Tayloresque style is rather interesting and, after having seen an original Taylor owned by a C&F member, and a recent set made by DMQ that, IMHO, exceeds the asthetics presented by the Taylor bros, I can see why folks, including O'Mealy, were really enthralled by them and chose to make pipes with that general similar appearance.

Seanie · Post by **Seanie** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 3:41 am

Hello

Andy Conroy visited O'Meally some months before he died and found him bedridden. Andy sent the young lad, who lived next door, off to buy a can of porter as well as some groceries. ( that young lad was Sean Maguire, the fiddler).
Andy, who was a bricklayer, also used to hire Johnny Doran to be his laborer.
Very few pipers made a living out of it and many seemed to succomb to the lure of alcohol.

John Moran

Chris Bayley · Post by **Chris Bayley** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 3:54 am

R L O'Mealy made a series of recordings for the BBC in 1943 - for those who do not have a copy they can be heard from the link to Ross Anderson's site below

There are also copies of his instructions on playing a number of tunes together with transcriptions to a piper by RL O'Mealy on Sean Reid Society Journal (CD) volume 1

Happy New Year to you all

Chris

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/music/index.html

and photographs of an O'Mealy set can be found here

http://www.uilleann.nl/pipes/pictureGal ... index.html

elbogo · Post by **elbogo** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 12:25 am

Thanks, Chris, for the tunes. I am amazed at O'Mealys' playing! Really exquisite!

totherleslie · Post by **totherleslie** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:48 pm

Richard O'Mealy was a regular visitor to my Grandfathers house"The gap" in Moate.

I'm really interested in the visits paid by O'Mealy to your grandfather. I am a g-g-neice of RL O'Mealy and I know that his grandfather's people were from Horseleap before coming to live at Tristernagh. I beleive Horseleap is at or near Moate?

Do you know if there was any family relationship between Dick and your grandfather at all?

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:20 am

Hello Leslie? Yes Horseleap is just up the road frae Moate and me Auntie and some cousins live there.There was no family connection immediately between me grandad and your GG Uncle.The connection was of course the music.That said of course we are all related to each other at some point in time so maybe we should be nicer to each other as we are all cousins.

Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
ps are ye in Cambridge? in Englandshire?

Steampacket · Post by **Steampacket** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:27 am

Cambridge piper Lucy D. is a great grandaughter of O'Mealy and has a nice boxwood set by O'Mealy, she plays a Dave Williams set as her main nowadays though.

Traveller piper Tim Rainey also died in the poorhouse in Galway back in ´54-55. Johnny Doran died in hospital. Felix Doran died in Grimsby after a excessive evening out, according to a son. I believe the Taylor Bros. died in poverty too, as did Michael Egan. I'm not sure how Willie Clancy died, a heart attack I believe?, but I'm not sure of the circumstances. Leo Rowsome passed away whilst officiating as a judge at a competition

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:58 am

Thanks Thomas I knew there was an O'Mealy relation in Cambridgeshire so now we can unite Great Granddaughter and Great Niece we should call this pipers reunited

ps I think ye could add poor auld Dave to your list of demised pipers after a night o music.RIP
Slán
Uilliam

myrddinemrys · Post by **myrddinemrys** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:51 am

:edited:
Mr. Bayley beat me to the link it seems.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:58 am

myrddinemrys wrote::edited:
Mr. Bayley beat me to the link it seems.

by about 26 months too