Thomas "Tommy" Joseph Reck (8 November 1921 - 1991) was an Irish
uilleann piper
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 ...
, known for his discography of traditional Irish music. Born in the
Liberties area of
Dublin, Reck learned to play the uilleann pipes from the age of eleven from teacher "Old John" Potts (1871–1950) who lived just around the corner from his then home in
Walkinstown. Potts (father of
Tommy Potts), in turn, had been a pupil of
Martin O'Reilly
Martin O'Reilly (1829–1904) was a blind Irish Uilleann pipes, piper.Francis O'Neill 1913. "Irish minstrels and musicians: with numerous dissertations on related subjectsThe Regan Printing House p. 239
Although associated with east County Ga ...
of
Galway (1829–1904) and several other blind pipers who were brought to Dublin annually around 1900 to play in competition at the
Feis Ceoil, an annual music festival.
In the 1930s he played with the Piper's Quartet along with fellow pipers,
Leo Rowsome,
Willie Clancy and Seán Seery. Reck was a member of the pre-war
Pipers Club Pipers may refer to:
*People who play the bagpipes
Places
* Pipers, California, a former settlement in the United States
* Pipers River, a river in Tasmania, Australia
*Pipers River, Tasmania, a township in Tasmania, Australia
*Pipers Island, isl ...
in Dublin and was its secretary from 1944 to 1947.
Discography
*''The Scholar, The Salamanca, Tom Steele'', Copley (1955) - a bootleg 78rpm record
*Two 78rpm records from 1957 for Claddagh
*''
It's The Dubliners
''It's The Dubliners'' is a compilation album released by Hallmark, containing tracks from The Dubliners' early albums and EPs released on the Transatlantic label.
Track listing Side One
# "Master McGrath
Master McGrath (1866–1873) was a f ...
'' by
The Dubliners, Transatlantic Records (1969) - on the track ''Cook in the Kitchen''
*''The Drones and The Chanters (Irish Pipering)'', Claddagh (1971) - three tracks
*''The Stone in the Field'', Inisfree (1977, USA)
*''Humours of Holland'' CD (1989) - a fifteen-minute live recording of his concert at the NVUP TIONOL in the Netherlands in 1989.
*''Taisce Luachmhar (Valuable Treasure) - The Piping Album'', Irish Recording Company Limited (2021) - three tracks from recordings made in the late 1940s and the 1950s
References
{{Authority control
1921 births
1991 deaths
People from The Liberties, Dublin
Musicians from Dublin (city)
Irish uilleann pipers
20th-century Irish male musicians