William Talbot (piper)
William Talbot[1] was a 19th century player, teacher, repairer and builder of the Irish bagpipes, commonly known as the uilleann pipes, the characteristic national bagpipes of Ireland. In 1821 he played for King George IV[2] at the Dublin Theatre Royal when the King visited Dublin in August 1821.[3] An article[2] in the Dublin Morning Post recorded that, "His Majesty seemed much pleased with Talbot, and applauded him frequently."
Early life[edit]
William Talbot was most probably born in Ireland between 1781 and 1792, although no official records of his birth or parentage have been located. The most detailed information about his life comes from a memoir[4] published on 16 December 1820, in the Belfast Commercial Chronicle. In this memoir he stated that he was born in 1781 at Roscrea, Tipperary, losing his sight aged four years old following infection with smallpox. In later records and census returns, his date of birth was more commonly recorded as circa 1792.[5]
Early career[edit]
The first known reference to William Talbot as a piper is in the Freeman’s Journal,[6] an Irish publication, on 3 April 1812 at which time he was known as the "Celebrated Munster Piper" and a "pupil of the late Cramp[1]."
Later career[edit]
William Talbot was recorded in newspaper articles[7] and advertisements[8] as a performer until the 1840s, the time of the Great Famine, when Irish bagpipes were diminishing in popularity[9] amongst Irish audiences. He left[10] Ireland and spent his remaining days as an itinerant piper in England and Scotland, dying[11] on 25 March 1876, at Barnhill Poorhouse in Glasgow, Scotland.
Further reading[edit]
A research paper titled A Genealogically Led History of William Talbot, the Celebrated Irish Piper (2023) by John Binnie-Dawson offers a history of William Talbot and his family. There is a suggestion in this paper that William Talbot was a stage name.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Grattan Flood, William Henry (1911). The Story of the Bagpipe. The Walter Scott Publishing Company Ltd. p. 188.
- ^ a b "King's Visit To The Theatre". Morning Post (Dublin). 27 August 1821. p. 2. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Royal appointment – Denis Fahey on George IV's visit to Ireland". Irish Times. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Mr. Talbot, The Irish Piper". Belfast Commercial Chronicle. 16 December 1820. p. 4. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "1851 Census of Scotland". Ancestry. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "To The Lovers of Harmony". Freeman’s Journal. 3 April 1812.
- ^ "Grand Ball, At Daly's Hotel". Tuam Herald. 27 June 1840.
- ^ "Concert This Evening". Newry Telegraph. 21 November 1843.
- ^ "Labour And The Poor". Morning Chronicle (London). 6 June 1850. p. 5. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Binnie-Dawson, John (2023). A Genealogically Led History of William Talbot, the Celebrated Irish Piper.
- ^ "Statutory Register (Deaths)". Scotland's People. Retrieved 12 November 2023.