Sean McAloon (1923–1998) was a piper and pipe maker from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Originally from the

Rosslea Rosslea or Roslea () is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, near the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It stands on the Finn River and is beset by small natural lakes. Roslea Forest, also known as Sprin ...

area of

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

, McAloon's first instrument was the

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 ...

. However, he is best known as a master of the

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1964, but after a year he returned to Ireland. He spent eight months working as a builder's labourer in

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 ...

, but moved to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1966 to be closer to his family. There, he got a job working for the Corporation Parks Department. His major inspirations as a piper were Phil Martin, whom he saw playing at a

feis A () or () is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are () and (). The term is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Scotland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional musi ...

in Rosslea, and

Leo Rowsome Leo Rowsome (5 April 1903 - 20 September 1970) was the third generation of an unbroken line of uilleann pipers. He was a performer, manufacturer and teacher of the uilleann pipes throughout his life. Samuel Rowsome, Leo’s grandfather sent hi ...

. In addition to being a fine player, McAloon eventually became a respected pipe repairer and a highly regarded reed-maker. He produced about twenty sets of the instrument in his lifetime. Desy McCabe from Craobh plays a McAloon half set

Discography

Various artists, "Ulster's Flowery Vale", B.B.C. Radio Enterprises REC28M, no date (a compilation of traditional songs and music originally broadcast on the Northern Ireland Home Service, July and August 1968) * John Rea & Sean McAloon, ''Drops of Brandy'', Topic 12TS287, 1976 * Various artists, ''Irish Traditional Music'', Temple COMD2079, 2000 (compilation culled from three Topic releases, including 12TS287) * Sean McAloon, ''Stor Piobaireachta (Piping from the Archives)'',

Na Píobairí Uilleann Na Píobairí Uilleann (; meaning "The Uilleann Pipers") is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the Irish Uilleann pipes and its music. Organisation NPU was founded in 1968 under the impetus of researcher and collector Breand� ...

, 2004

References

*Liner notes for ''Drops of Brandy'' *Vallely, Fintan (1999), ''The Companion to Irish Traditional Music'', New York University Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:McAloon, Sean 1923 births 1998 deaths Male uilleann pipers from Northern Ireland Irish musical instrument makers Musicians from County Fermanagh 20th-century male musicians from Northern Ireland Topic Records artists Northern Ireland emigrants to the United States 20th-century Irish uilleann pipers