The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-03-25

u
Il superstition asids, The history Of q e WI
il Ike instrument extends away baca Y to th,
q dark ages. In the Senachus II or, tth,
great law compilation made, accord ingt
the annals Of Ulster, A. D. 4S9, pips ar
mentioned, and reference is made te, the
fines or recompenses levied sgaink t o.
paid to them. And the renowned II isl
philogist, O Curry, tells us that the nan ,ei
lgiven to piper IN the latter day gloss q
ries imply q 'suiud- man" and that the
pattern Of the pipes was similar to tina,
OF the Highland pipes of Scotland. There
| is reason to believe that the troops Of
Fergus McEri, whom he invaded Caledo-
MIA, were reused by the music Of the
pipes. Petrie asserts in the Antiquities
Of Tara Hall'' that the bagpipe was
known from time immemorial among the
Irish; and in all the poems descriptive of
the banqueting hall, varying from the
sixth to the tenth century, they are ire
quently mentioned. In O'L,ochain's poem
on Tara he mentions that pipers and
tricky jugglers had the lawful privilege
Of frequenting the Kings house and
drinking his beer. A very great privilege
indeed for the pipers, from which the
fact. of it's having been also extended to
tricky jugglers seems to detraot some
what. We are told in the book of Lein-
ster, compiled in the middle of the twelfth
century, that ''pipers, fiddlers and tube
players" used to play at the fair of Car
men held for the last time in 1923. In
the Dinscarchus, collection of history
and topography made in the year 1900 a
fine illustration OF the pipes is given. It
represents a pig performing on the instru
ment. He presses the bag against the
underside of his body with his foreleg
land from his lungs into the bag is blown
supply of needful air to feed the growl-
ing drone."
In the middle OF the fourteenth CEN
fury John lie Archer, Prior of Kilmain-
ham afterwards Lord Deputyof Ireland)
accompanied King Edward III. to the
siege of Calais with an Irish cohort which
brought their pipes. In government
letter dated December, 1872, it is stated
that those spoilers of the pale Each Mac
Hugh O'Byrne and Rory Oge O'Moore,
were accustomed to come by day with
bag pipes and by night with torch lights
on plundering excursions. This will give
some idea of the antiquity of the bag
pipes, and many more references could,
if necessary, be given. Unfortunately not
single specimen of the Irish marching
bagpipes is preserved in Ireland, but it
is believed there is specimen of it in
the Musee de Cluny, Paris, brought to
France, possibly. by one of the 'Wild
Geese" Respecting the antiquity of ex-
listing Irish bagpipes, Messrs. Glen, of
Edinburgh, have in their possession one
carved with the initials r. Med, and the
Hebridean gallery, that bears the date
1909. but this is not considered the oldest
existing, as the Mcintyre pipe, belong
ing to Mr.. Robertson Med Donald, of Kin
lockmoidart, is said to have been played
at the battle of Bannockburn in 1914.
The bellows pipe is not an ancient instru-
ment, and Doctor O'Gilvie calls'it the
"Scot's Lowland bagpipes." In the lat
ter half of the eighteenth century an i'm
proved instrument called the Union pipes
came into use. Two specimens of this in
strument are to be seen in the collection
at the Royal Irish Academy, one of which
/ belonged to Lord Edward Fitzgerald.
How it came that the bagpipes were
dropped in Ireland does not seem clear,
but we believe it was shortly after the
Treaty of Limerick that they were dis
carded. We are pleased to see that there
is now a movement on foot to resuscitate
the bagp1pes as the national musical in
strument Of tho Emeral Isle.