Patrick "Pecker" Dunne (1 April 1933 – 19 December 2012
) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
musician and
seanchaí
A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In Scottish Gaelic the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ).
The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural ''se ...
.
Dunne was born in
Castlebar
Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...
,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
, "in the old
county home".
His family were
Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...
originally from
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
, where his father was a
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
player.
In ''Parley-poet and Chanter'', an autobiography transcribed by Micheál Ó hAodha (page 21), he stated that he later lived in the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
suburb of
Drimnagh
Drimnagh () is a suburb in Dublin, Ireland to the south of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordered by the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12.
History
Early to mediaeval
Drimna ...
. He was one of Ireland's most noted
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
players and was also proficient on the fiddle,
melodeon
Melodeon may refer to:
* Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion
*Melodeon (organ), a type of 19th-century reed organ
*Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts), a concert hall in 19th-century Boston
* Melodeon Records, a U.S. record label in the ...
and guitar, and was among an elite of Traveller musicians.
Dunne became known to a wide Irish audience from his regular busking at
GAA sporting fixtures, particularly in
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
. Later he played in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he appeared with
The Dubliners
The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...
. He also performed alongside
Richard Harris
Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...
and
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...
in the 1996 feature film ''
Trojan Eddie
''Trojan Eddie'' is a 1996 British-Irish crime drama film directed by Gillies MacKinnon
Gillies MacKinnon (born 8 January 1948, Glasgow) is a Scottish film director, writer and painter. He attended the Glasgow School of Art where he studie ...
''.
He lived in
Killimer
__NOTOC__
Killimer () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in a civil parish of the same name. It is located on the northern bank of the Shannon and the N67 which passes through the village.
Location
The village is the northern port of the Kil ...
,
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
with his wife and four children. He died there on 19 December 2012, aged 79, and is buried in Burrane, near Killimer.
"The Pecker" Dunne: The Last of the Traveling People
/ref>
Recordings
* ''Ireland's own Pecker Dunne - the Tinkerman''. 1987 (re-released on CD (Paddyland PLMCD) in 2001)
* ''Travellin' People from Ireland''. Margaret Barry
Margaret Barry (1917–1989) was an Irish Traveller, traditional singer and banjo player.
Biography
Born Margaret Cleary in Cork into a family of Travellers and street singers, she taught herself how to play the zither banjo and the fiddle ...
& Pecker Dunne
* ''Very Best of Ireland's Legendary Street Singer''
References
* ''Parley-Poet and Chanter: An Autobiography, Volume 1'', (2004), by Pecker Dunne & Micheál Ó hAodha,
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Pecker
1933 births
2012 deaths
20th-century Irish people
21st-century Irish people
Irish fiddlers
Irish banjoists
Musicians from County Mayo
People from Castlebar
Irish Travellers
Irish buskers
20th-century violinists