Quote Originally Posted by Laighneach View Post
You don't mean this, do you? -
http://source.pipers.ie/Media.aspx?mediaId=3238
I don't see how one could draw any conclusions about the nature of Irish bagpipes from this very basic image.
Yes, I do, but the image was much enlarged and enhanced. The conclusion, that I, and many others, have drawn from the enhancement is that, like the rest of Europe, there were several types of bagpipe in Ireland. That's all, and it shouldn't surprise anyone. It's also interesting in that we have not only have Holinshed's account, but much more hard evidence. These men were Irish pipers who served with the English army at the Siege of Boulogne, France in 1544. Much more was written about them in articles such as Viscount Dillon's Irish Troops at Boulogne, etc, but the original muster roll for Henry VIII's invasion army still exists. 1000 troops left Ireland to serve under Henry VIII and landed at Chester, England in May 1544. The muster includes marshalls, surgeons and bagpipers among others. 400 of these Irish troops were sent north to fight the Scots, 600 went to London then on to France.

The Irish troops outraged the English by their manner of dress, which consisted of only a shirt and short jacket. Dean Gunter White called them, "naked men but only their shirts and smallcoats, and many times when it comes to the bicker but barenaked, saving their shirts to hide their privities". They also outraged both allies and enemies by their habit of collecting heads.

However, back to the piping: The muster roll from the Dublin authorites lists 11 pipers/pypers, and all of these are allocated to a nobleman, much in the same way that we would expect Highland pipers to be allocated to a clan chief. The names are translated into rough English from the Irish language.
To the Earl of Ormonde we have Gilpatric piper Giolla-Phadraig
To the Baron of Delvin we have Brene McGuntyre, (Brian MacIntyre by today's spelling). The list goes on and gets better but I get fed up seeing other people's work nicked and passed off as someone else's research, so I'm going to stop there. You get the point, these were not wandering pipers or minstrels, these were Irish pipers allocated rank and in some case "boys" or servants. This establishes without doubt that there was a firmly established Irish bagpiping tradition by the mid 1500's. The illustration clearly shows it was not a 20th century style "warpipe", or even close to Starck's Dungannon pipe, although indeed it is a bagpipe being used in war. I believe it is the only eyewitness illustration of a pre 20th century Irish bagpipe being used in a warzone.
I think that the true history of Irish piping has been obscured, suffered even, under this 20th century, non-Irish, non-Gaelic, non-Celtic, "Irish Warpipe" name and the attempt to establish it as a national instrument. I believe that there were several different types of bagpipe in Ireland, (as per Scotland, France, Spain, etc) and receipts from 1551 and 1553 for Irish themed events in London such as Masque of Irishmen, Masque of Irishwomen, Irish Play of the State of Ireland, and The Masque of Almains, Pilgrims and Irishmen seem to bear this out, as pipemakers based in London with Irish names like "Bridget the bagpiper's wife" and "Bennet bagpiper" supplied instruments for these masques such as "One pair of loud pipes for 20 shillings" and "One pair of Soft Pipes" for 6 shillings and and Eightpence and even cloth for "A garment of russet damask" for the "Lord of Misrule's minstrel - the Irish bagpiper". This is a clear reference to an Irish bagpiper, although it is important to note that in these lists, fife and flute players are referred to on occasion as "pipers", but bagpipers are always just that, "bagpipers". There is no doubt these are Irish bagpipers playing different types of bagpipe. As with all pre revival Irish texts, the term "warpipes" simply does not occur.