Martin O'Reilly (1829–1904) was a blind Irish

piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

Francis O'Neill Francis O'Neill (August 28, 1848 – January 26, 1936) was an Irish-born American police officer and collector of Irish traditional music. His biographer Nicholas Carolan referred to him as "the greatest individual influence on the evolution of ...

1913. "Irish minstrels and musicians: with numerous dissertations on related subjects

The Regan Printing House p. 239 Although associated with east

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

in some sources, O'Reilly was born in Galway City, living at the junction of Eyre Street and Suckeen (now St. Brendan's Avenue). At one stage he became step-father to the piper John Moore (1834–87), as he married the boy's mother when her first husband died. He also taught the piper Peter Kelly and 'Old' John Potts (father of

Tommy Potts Tommy Potts (1912–1988) was an Irish fiddle player and composer from Dublin who gained iconic status in traditional Irish music circles for his virtuoso musicianship. Potts' given name is also frequently spelled Tommie. His music has influenc ...

). He kept a dance hall in the Suckeen for some years before it was forcibly closed by a local priest.

who published a short biography of him in 1913 wrote that "Sightless and old and unable to make a living by other means than music, he was obliged, like many another unfortunate Irish minstrel, to take refuge in the poorhouse as his only escape from starvation.

The intervention of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

caused him to participate in the Feis Ceol of 1901 in Dublin, where he won first prize in the piper's competition. His performance - under the heading ''Large Concert Hall of the Rotunda'' - was described in a Dublin newspaper as follows:

"A notable incident was the playing of Mr. Martin O’Reilly, who played a selection entitled “The Battle of Aughrim,” descriptive of the advance, the trumpets of the British, the battle onslaught of the Irish soldiers, and the wail of the women. Aughrim was of course a lost field, but, nothing daunted, the gallant old piper, throbbing with a spirit that might long to play his countrymen into battle, fired them with a stirring and strident version of the victorious march of Brian Boru.

Following this he performed at a number of concerts in various towns around Ireland, such as the Belfast Harp Festival of 1903. A photograph was taken of him by a Father Fielding in Dublin, which in 1907 became the frontispiece for ''O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland''. O'Reilly however ended up back in the poorhouse, in

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

, where he died in 1904.

References

External links

* http://billhaneman.ie/IMM/IMM-XXI.html * http://www.sin.ie/cms/view/1516/ {{DEFAULTSORT:OReilly, Martin 1829 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Irish male musicians Musicians from Galway (city) Irish male uilleann pipers Irish blind musicians 19th-century Irish uilleann pipers

See also

References

External links