Here are some pics of the Dungannon bagpipe I want to sell, writes Brian Mulhearn. I’ve had them a few years and spent a good bit of money getting the chanter refurbished.
They are a very rare set as I think there were only a few ever made. There is a picture of maker Henry Stark holding a set which could well be the same as the pipe I am selling.
The chanter is 10-keyed, chromatic, and difficult to play well – but I’m sure worth the effort. As Piping Press Northern Ireland correspondent Gilbert Cromie wrote recently, the Dungannon pipe was the predecessor to the Brian Boru bagpipe:
‘These pipes come from the Gaelic revival of the late 1800s and a desire to depart from the growing ‘British’ tradition in Ireland. Strangely the attempt to create a distinctive bagpipe came about in England when William O’Duane from Dungannon, County Tyrone, sought out bagpipe maker Henry Starck.
‘Initially Starck produced pipes called the ‘Dungannon pipes’ but they didn’t catch on and very few were made. In 1908 Henry Starck went on to create the present day model which generally has four keys, although there were models with up to ten keys.
‘The pipes became very popular with Irish regiments such as the Inniskilling Fusiliers and the London Irish. They did not however catch on with the Gaelic League whose bands tended to play the two-droned Irish warpipes.
‘After WWII they became popular particularly within the Unionist community in Northern Ireland probably as a result of war time performances by NI regiments at recruiting and sporting events. Two other factors contributed: former Army players returning to civilian life and some band committees opting for a different type of bagpipe to avoid having their players poached.’
That is a first class account of the history of these pipes. My set are in excellent condition. The price I am looking for this very rare bagpipe is £4,000. I also have a Dungannon practice chanter which I have made into a goose and which I would like to sell with them.
Anyone interested should email me on ayrshire.bagpipes@yahoo.co.uk or call +44(0)1292 314300.
