James O'Brien (1823–1885), Irish piper. O'Brien was born in

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) 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 Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

. He was friendly with Piper Cribben, and became his pupil, and was acquainted with

Patrick Walsh (piper) Patrick Walsh (fl. 1850s/1860s) was an Irish piper. Little is known of Walsh, beyond that he was a native of County Mayo, large in stature, and lived about the middle of the nineteenth century. He believed he inherited his gifts from the fairie ...

. He was neither blind nor lame, but took up music for the sheer love of it. However, after emigrating to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he suffered a spinal injury while working in a stone quarry which disabled him from hard manual labour, so he was forced to rely upon music as his sole source of income. O'Brien played all over the north of England, in taverns, picnics, and fairs. He was especially fond of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, but was known to wander as far south as

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. Captain

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 ...

tells of him: "While sauntering along a highway one day he came to a fine-looking mansion, and, being thirsty, he went up to the hall door and rang the bell. An old lady, whose head was crowned with a wealth of snow-white hair, responded. When O’Brien announced the object of his call she asked him where he came from."

"On learning that he was an Irishman she further inquired if he knew a place called
Ballinamuck Ballinamuck () is a village in the north of County Longford in the Midlands of Ireland. It is around 15 km north of Longford Town. It was the scene of the Battle of Ballinamuck, where a combined Franco-Irish army aiding the United Irishmen rebe ...
. Of course he did, for it was close to his birthplace. Then the mystery of her interest in Irish topography was revealed."

"Her son, an officer in the English army, was killed in that vicinity a little while before the battle of Ballinamuck, in September, 1798. When the Irish and French troops were marching towards the town, followed closely by the English."

"A French soldier dropped out of the ranks, too ill to proceed farther, and crawled behind a stone wall to die. Seeing the English force marching by a short time later, he took deliberate aim at an officer and shot him dead. The victim was the whitewhaired lady's son."

"Notwithstanding a bereaved mother's cherished grief, O’Brien's thirst was assuaged with a beverage stronger than water."

He relocated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the early 1860s, disembarking at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and proceeding from there to all Irish communities in the state before going on to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. In 1875, he settled in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, staying at the home of Roger Walsh (formerly of Portland). Here he made the acquaintance of Captain

, who in 1913 wrote "Many a pleasant hour the present writer spent listening to “Jimmy's” delightful music and memorizing his tunes, many of which were not in circulation until given publicity through our efforts." After his death in 1885, his pipes were held by John Doyle, and after his passing, to Sergeant James Early.

External links

* http://billhaneman.ie/IMM/IMM-XXI.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, James 1823 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Irish male musicians Irish male uilleann pipers Musicians from County Mayo Musicians from Chicago 19th-century American musicians People from Swinford, County Mayo 19th-century Irish uilleann pipers