Séamus Ennis - Wandering Minstrel

James Ennis, Séamus's father was in a pawn-shop in London in 1908 where he bought a bag containing the pieces of a set of old uilleann pipes. They were made in the mid nineteenth century by Coyne Pipemakers of Thomas Street in Dublin. These self same pipes are the ones used to great effect on this superb 1977 album. Take my word, this is an absolutely marvellous album primarily of Ennis' piping (he plays whistle on a couple tracks). Unaccompanied, he frequently makes full use of the regulators in his very rhythmic, utterly unique style. Séamus Ennis is also recognised for having preserved almost 2,000 Irish songs and dance-tunes as part of the work he did with the Irish Folklore Commission.

1. The Wandering Minstrel/Jackson's Morning Brush

2. The Boys Of Bluehill/Dunphy's Hornpipe

3. The Glen-Nephin Cuckoo/The Little Fair Cannavans

4. The Frieze Britches

5. The Flags Of Dublin/The Wind That Shakes The Barley

6. The Little Stack Of Barley/Cronin's Hornpipe

7. The New Demesne

8. The Blackbird

9. Gillan's Apples/The Walls Of Liscarroll/The Stone In The Field

10. Molly O'Malone

11. Kiss The Maid Behind The Barrel

12. Happy To Meet And Sorry To Part

link to the free album

Séamus Ennis - Wandering Minstrel