Episode 2 Píobairí Ard Mhacha - The Armagh Pipers

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Are there any of my singing class here? There's a few of you.

Come on, quick. See how quick you can get up here.

Even people who were in the class last year will do fine

because I need a few more bodies.

So we need everybody to sing, "I love an apple and I love a pear."

As loud as you can. Give them a bit of support.

# I love an apple and I love a pear

# I love the girl with the long yellow hair... #

# My auntie kissed the lady with the alligator purse. #

That's very good.

The only teachers were initially myself and Dara and Fintan.

And, you know, we basically just taught tin whistle.

Because there was no other instrument you could afford.

We just taught what we knew.

And since none of us could read music, you know, we had to

learn tunes ourselves, with great difficulty, from recordings,

because there were no music books, there was nothing.

And even if we had the music books, we probably couldn't have read them.

So we would be really, initially,

about one or two tunes ahead of the class.

We were just adding to our own repertoire and teaching.

But we had this idea of promoting the music,

teaching the music and particularly getting children...

because there were no children at that time playing music.

And then, of course,

the big breakthrough happened once Eithne appeared on the scene.

We got married in 1969.

And, you know, Eithne was everything that I wasn't.

She was extremely music-literate.

And could write out tunes as she heard them.

They were all hand produced and the people were avid to get them.

Because there was nothing else available at the time.

So that then encouraged us and we got a grant

and then it just mushroomed from there, you know.

But it was all with an aim to promote the music.

I got into music in a kind of strange twist.

My folks, my dad especially, was into the athletic club.

We went along to the Armagh athletic classes in the college fields.

I think I was maybe seven or eight years old

and I met Brian and Eithne.

It was my first meeting with the Vallelys.

At the start, because I'd never played music,

I had no history of playing music, it was quite alien to me.

My first couple of weeks, I was kind of a bit adrift,

at a loss, and I wasn't really enjoying it.

And then I remember Eithne giving us a tune to take home and learn.

It was in the book, the whistle book,

the Learn to Play the Whistle by the pipers club.

And it was all done out in 3,2...

the numbers, as opposed to the notes or the letters.

And it just kind of made sense to me.

In fact, so much sense that even now when I'm composing,

I compose in numbers.

It is the most bizarre thing, most other musicians, my peers,

are just scratching their heads going, "What is that?"

And so I took the book home, and then the following week

when I came back I think I'd learned two or three more

and I remember Eithne's reaction.

She was kind of looking at me thinking,

"I didn't ask you to do that." And, "How did you know?"

And it was something, it was just like a little flicker.

It takes a really present teacher to spot. It's just, like, a glimmer.

And if they're not present to it and aware, then it could pass them by.

But Eithne, that's part of the gift.

They have this amazing ability to become 150% present

to every single child.

You know, it doesn't matter how good they are, how new they are,

how brilliant, it's...

They're just as present to every child that comes through the door.

When you're in their company,

when you're in Brian's company or Eithne's company,

you know that they're watching and they're listening,

and they could be even talking at the same time,

but complete awareness of everybody in their space.

Thanks a million.

It's an honour and a privilege and a great delight to be here

back in Glasgow and celebrating this anniversary.

We're going to start off with a wee tune called Dog a L'orange.

-Thank you.

-Hello. Good evening, everyone.

How are you keeping down there? Are you good?

CHEERING

We have an incredible musician here,

a member of the Armagh Pipers Club for many years,

a great teacher there also.

He's done great work. This is the amazing Tiarnan Dinkin.

APPLAUSE

You see, when we started out...

Very clear about this, we didn't have a masterplan for

a 50th anniversary, or even looked beyond the next six months or year.

The staggering thing for me is I have to say,

in the name of God, where did those 50 years ago?

Were we really doing this for 50 years?

That type of thing, because it wasn't like that.

We just lived in the present, what we're doing now.