Múinteoirí

Dedicated to the memory of the many kind folk who helped me along the road.

Though I could never completely list or adequately thank the many people who taught me , I would like to mention some of those who kindly gave much their time and expertise to help a young fellow who was doubtless more than a little trying at times, and who sadly never reached their level of expertise or ability. (Though not from want of effort on their part!) Whatever little I have learned aright was due to these and others like them. Whatever is lacking is entirely due to my own shortcomings. (Note: like this entire site, this page is a work in progress. I will be adding to it in future.)

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Thomas Lawrence Standeven, Jr. - Musician, Gentleman, Mentor

1931 - 2002

" Ar Dheis De go rabh a anam mor. "

Tom was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1931. He began music studies while in school, and enjoyed church choir, especially Gregorian chant and the pipe organ. He also became interested in Greek and Turkish folk music. At 17, he became acquainted with Irish traditional music.

Station WTEL in Philadelphia began broadcasting live musical programs featuring Austin Kelly and his All-Ireland Irish Orchestra, and Tom began what became a life-long journey of Irish musical and linguistic learning. In 1949, he began learning the Irish language, later getting instruction from Mickey Carr (Donegal) and Frank O' Hagan (Derry) beginning about 1951. He earned the "Fainne Oir" (Gold Ring) from Connradh na Gaeilge, signifying fluency in Irish in 1961.

He began lessons on the button accordion from the late Dan Smith of Galway in 1954, and in 1957, he began learning fiddle in Philadelphia, from John Vesey, the great Sligo fiddler, and that Fall, began learning uilleann pipes from Thomas Busby of Fermanagh. His "piping lineage " extends back through Mr. Busby's teacher, Michael Carney, to the great "Patsy" Touhey, and on back to Touhey's father and grand-father and back, over 200 years. (See O'Neill's Irish Minstrels and Musicians for the great Touhey's biograhy.) In 1958, he began learning the tin whistle, and later the flute, with help and encouragement from the late Ed Cahill, also of Sligo.

In 1963, he began teaching Gaelic and uilleann pipes, first at home, and later at the Commodore John Barry Club (Irish Center) in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA. In 1969, he competed at the Oireachtas (Irish cultural competitions). He won the "Craobh-chorn Eamoinn Ui Cinneide ar son Piobaireachta Uillinne Sinsearachta", (Eamonn Kennedy Award for Senior Uilleann Piping). Tom was the first American to win this award. Martin O Tailtigh, adjudicator, later told Tom that the tune that "clinched" the award was "An Raibh Tu Ag an gCarraig?" (Were You at the Rock?), a haunting air from Penal Times, learned from the playing of Seamus Ennis.

I'd like to add a personal note. As a youth, I had the pleasure and privilege to learn from Tom and John, the late great fluter Eddie Cahill, Brother Canice Fahey (flute and whistle), and others in the old oral tradition. They were great men, always helping a learner along, and always encouraging, patient, and kind. I knew Tom over 39 years, as my first formal mentor in Irish language and music, and eventually, as a good friend. I thank him on my own behalf, and on behalf of the many students who benefitted from his knowledge, his willingness to freely share it, and his infinite patience and kindness. Many times he obtained loan instruments, books, music, tapes, etc. for students, never charging for his services, and often spending money out of pocket to "further the cause!" I recall writing from Vietnam or other foreign posts, asking for some Gaelic song or tune, or a pennywhistle, and getting it forthwith. From all of us who learned from you; Go raibh mile mait agat, a charadh choir!

Tom passed away on the first day of the new year in 2002. As he wrote for his friends at their demise, so I write for him as he would have wished; Ar Dheis De go rabh a anam mor, At the Right of God be his great soul.

John Francis Vesey - "The Sligo Fiddler"

1924 - 1995

"Ar Dheis De go rabh a anam uasail."

(The following biography was written by Tom Standeven for the notes of his double CD, "John Vesey - Sligo Fiddler" - see above.)

John was born on April 21, 1924 in Ballincurry, near Tubbercurry, County Sligo, Eire. This rural area in South Sligo was well known for its grand Irish music on fiddle and flute. He grew up among some of the finest traditional musicians in Ireland, at a time when the music was still part of the way of life. As a child, he heard many of the best-loved tunes being lilted or hummed by his mother, Anna, as she worked about the family farm. His first fiddle lesson was given him by his father, John, Sr. An old friend of the family, Michael Gorman, offered to teach him some time after. Gorman was a master fiddler and possessed a powerful bowing style which best brought out the drive in the old Sligo dance music. A demanding teacher, he gave young John the basic bowing and fingering method required to play the many difficult tunes he was to later master.

After World War II, John emigrated, first to England, and later to America, settling in Philadelphia, PA, near relatives. In America he fully developed his fiddling style. He followed the two Sligo masters, Michael Coleman and Paddy Killoran. However, John retained the basics he'd received from Michael Gorman, and eventually developed his own style, while remaining true to tradition. John's music reflects the strong influence of the uilleann pipes. Many of the nuances and tones he brought out of his instrument were originally piping movements.

He soon became well-known in New York, Boston and Chicago, as well as Philadelphia, performing at Irish dances, house parties, radio broadcasts and on television. Often, he played in his own home with friends. In 1957, John decided to teach fiddle, offering his skill to anyone who wished to learn. I was one of his students. Today, there are very few who practice the intricate bowing and fingering which was his hallmark. John continued to teach the fiddle up to the final years of his life. As a teacher, he was the best, and his standards were of the highest.

John was also a strong advocate of proper comportment for musicians, expecting them to always be a credit to the people we represent as traditional players. Such was expected of anyone who would learn from him. John passed away on Feb. 22, 1995. Ar Dheis De go rabh a anam uasail. (At the Right of God be his noble soul.)

Donald Rory Leslie

1 Jan. 1898 - 9 May 1974

The pipe major of the MacGregor band I played in when I was a boy was Donald Rory Leslie. Donald was from the Kyle of Lochalsh, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

According to his family, his father was a doctor, and he came from a privileged home, but ran away to join the Army. However, he was turned back as too young, so he then ran away again, this time to sea. I believe he said he had started the pipes under tutelage from an uncle, and later studied under the great Pipe-Major Willie Ross.

When the Great War (WW I) broke out, he enlisted again (probably in 1916, as according to the Highlander's Regimental Museum [the successor regiment to the Camerons], a 'D. Leslie' was enlisted into the Camerons from the 4th TF Battalion) and served with the 3rd Battalion of the 79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, then part of the 51st Highland Division, in France.

Enlisted as a piper, he acted as a stretcher bearer after the War Department relegated pipers to other duties because of the great number of casualties they suffered going "over the top" in that bloody war. He was wounded twice by gunfire, and his brother Alasdair was killed in action.

His family still has a furlough pass to Skye granted to Donald in September 1918 from St. Gabriel Hospital where he was recuperating from one of his wounds.

79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Pipe Band, ca. WW I

After the war, Donald went back to sea, sailing between Britain, Australia, and America, where he eventually immigrated. Among other vessels, he served on the SS Mosella in 1926 and 1927. His family has some photos of him at this period, as well as his seaman's papers, which show him serving variously as able-bodied seaman, boatswain, and carpenter. His character of service, integrity, and ability are all listed as "very good" -- which really doesn't surprise anyone who knew him, as that was the nature of his life.

Donald (on left w/ cigarette) with shipmates on the SS Mosella, c. 1926

Donald was a tall man even in his old age, and a real Highlander. He was gaunt, rugged, and craggy, with the look of a Highland eagle, a shock of white hair, and eyes as chill as his native lochs.

He was a stern Presbyterian, and past Grand Master of both his Orange and Masonic lodges. Despite his affiliations and apparent dislike of Catholic and Nationalist Irish, he never seemed to let his personal antipathy interfere with his dealings with them, as we had several Irish Catholics in the band (a heritage I shared on my maternal side). He always treated us fairly in my experience.

However, he wasn't shy about expressing his feelings about things Irish. After I'd been playing with the band for several years, and had marched in the Orangemen's parades on the 12th of July each year, I decided to tease him a bit, and asked him when we would be playing in the St. Patrick's Day parade? He replied gruffly, “When they pay me enough money!” I asked “How much is enough?" He replied as gruffly as before, “They don't HAVE enough money!” And from what I knew of Donald, that was true indeed! Case closed!

He was a skilled custom builder, and worked hard every day at an age when many men would have retired. He was a very hard-bitten, dour old man, doubtless partly because of his war experiences and rough life at sea. Sometimes if we would ask him where one of the bandsmen was, he'd snap back; "Hanging on the barbed wire at Mons!" or some such gruff retort.

Despite his sometimes ascerbic humor, he made many friends at the Caledonian Hall in Philadelphia, including a Scotsman named Alec Whyte. He married Alec's daughter Margaret in January, 1929. However, she unfortunately died at the age of 42 in 1950. He next married Kathleen S. Kyle three years later in 1953.

Though a tough old bird, Donald was kindly enough in his own way, and his wife Kathleen was the soul of hospitality. No one ever left their house without copious quantities of tea and her lovely scones!

Though a stern believer in a strict upbringing, he loved his family and his grand-daughter Margaret recently sent me a letter with some reminiscences of him.

"i found him such a fascinating character, not just as his granddaughter, but as a very unique person in his own right. I had been very close to him as a little girl and at night he would play the pipes for me when I was unable to see him. He would tell me what time, and where to sit on the curb to hear him. He knew the valley between Hulmeville, where we lived, and Bensalem, where his home was, would carry the sound across the waters of the Neshaminy, and it seemed that in those precious moments the whole world would disappear as if he were playing only for us. My mother made sure that I was given the opportunity to learn the Highland dances. To this day if you catch her in a moment of spirit, she will do a few steps of the Fling herself."

He was also generous. The small amount of money he took for tuition was put towards the purchase of a set of pipes - if the pupil stuck out the rigorous training and "graduated" into the band.

A brother of one of his students and band members wrote recently; "My brother has often opined that he owes so much to Donald for imparting a musical sense that went far beyond just getting the notes right. I remember at least one time, the two of them sitting across the dining table from each other with practice chanters, when he would stop and wave his hand back and forth— 'You've got to sway like this, lad'. "

That certainly describes Donald's impeccable sense of timing and his very personal manner of imparting the music and how it was to be played.

Donald played with the old PRT (Philadelphia Rapid Transit) Pipe Band, which produced many fine pipers who went on to become PMs in the Philadelphia area.

He was also a long- time member of the Philadelphia Ulster Pipe Band, prior to joining the MacGregors c. 1950. He became Pipe Major of the MacGregors in 1957 and served for 17 years until his death. The band performed at Highland Games, parades, and events around Philadelphia and vicinity, and played at the NY World's fair in 1964. They also competed and won at several Highland Games, including Ligonier, PA.

The band was originally started by the Clan MacGregor Society, but though we wore MacGregor sett kilts and plaids, our cap badges, doublets, and some of our gear was Cameron.

The MacGregor Pipe Band of Bucks County, PA, ca. 1960s

There were many talented players in the MacGregors, both pipers and drummers, such as Eddie Gentles, who taught me the essentials of pipe band drumming, especially the tenor and bass drum (which I played while working on upgrading my piping to meet Donald's exacting standards).

Our pipe chanters were mainly Hendersons, because Donald said only Henderson still made them "right", i.e., with the Gaelic sound that he considered important to piping. They were flat of contemporary chanters, and would be far flat of the shrill modern chanters.

Our tunes were also the great old tunes of the old Cameron Regiment, which included the favorites of the Gaelic Cameron clansmen who had first embodied the Regiment in 1793. Many were old Jacobite tunes, such as"Gaibhaidh Sinn an Rathad Mor" (We'll take the High Road"), played and sung by the Cameron clan as they marched behind Lochiel to join their Prince at Glenfinnan. Other standards were "The White Cockade", "Hey, Johnnie Cope" and "Over the Water to Charlie" as well as the tunes of regimental history, such as The 79th's Farewell to Gibralter and other tunes telling of places they had been, and battles lost and won.

I remember Donald telling us of Piper Kenneth MacKay of the 79th at Waterloo. When the French were trying their best to break the Camerons' hard-pressed and beleaguered square, and the casualties stood at nearly 50%, MacKay strode forth and marched around the square, playing the old Cameron battle piobaireachd, "Cogadh no Sith" (War or Peace). His inspiration helped the Camerons hold firm. Donald told us the story, then played "Cogadh no Sith" for us. What a great way to learn the history and traditions!

The tunes were all played in the very old Gaelic style that characterized the Camerons in the old days, and that is now (thankfully!) coming back into fashion after far too many years of "musical technician" tunes and the ubiquitous rock / jazz / whatever "fusion" style tunes that have nothing to do with true piping tradition, and increasingly "brightened" tuning bordering on the shrill. ( I know that in music, as in much else, "de gustabus non disputandum est," but I fervently wish all those people who wish to play that sort of thing would just stick to those genre, and to clarinets or saxes instead of mucking about with "The Noble Instrument"! )

The Camerons (and to some extent their successor regiment, the Queen's Own Highlanders, and later The Highlanders) were the last of the truly Highland regiments, in that they had a preponderance of Gaelic speakers until modern times

Donald told us that in WW I, they had ordered the Camerons to stop speaking Gaelic in the trenches, as it had led to some men being injured or killed when green English troops in the next trench thought the Germans had gotten into the trenches and opened fire on them!

The last time I saw the pipe band of their descendant regiment in the early 1990s (the "Queen's Own Highlanders" an amalgamated regiment of the Camerons and Seaforths), some were still native Gaelic speakers. There were still a few in the later Highlanders regiment following their amalgamation with the Gordons. Now, sadly, all these great regiments are gone, amalgamated for cost-sutting measures into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, a few of them still represented, though only by their battalion names.

Once in a pub after a parade, Donald was sipping a scotch, and an ornery drunk started on him - the usual - "Hey! Guys in skirts! What are you? Sissies?" Donald ignored the lout - until the fool reached for his Cameron dirk. (A dirk is a long, wide-bladed and ornate Scottish side-arm, now mainly ornamental and traditional in nature rather than for combat.)

Faster than you would believe, it was out of its sheath and quivering in the top of the bar! Donald growled, without even looking at the idiot; "Touch it again and you'll be wearing it!" The drunk stumbled back, and his friends hustled him out - luckily for him!

(Speaking of dirks, Carl Laughlin, one of our senior pipers, who took over as Pipe Sergeant after Dougal's untimely death, and later as PM after Donald's death, was also very talented wood-worker, a custom framer by trade, who made elaborate frames for pictures. He kindly made the scabbard and hilt for my first dirk, fitting them to a cut-down reproduction Roman sword blade I provided him with. I had left the blade rather longer than usual for a dirk, thinking [as the young so often do] "Bigger is better!"

I proudly displayed it to Donald after receiving it from Carl, expecting him to be impressed. He looked it over and said, "That's no dirk. That's a young claymore!" Typical Donald! (A "claymore" is a traditional Scottish broadsword. The originals were two-handed, but the term has long been applied to the later basket-hilt" form.)

He was a tremendous piper of many years experience, and could play and teach "ceol mor" ("big music" aka "piobaireachd" ["piping"] - the classical form of Highland pipe music), with the familiarity of a Gael who also knew the stories and the words behind the tunes from his youth.

Donald had a bout with laryngeal cancer before I first met him, and beat it. He had part of his larynx removed, though, and spoke in a crusty, hoarse voice, like a loud whisper. Despite this, he still very impressive, and always got his point across!

He had been told to quit smoking and piping, but though he quit smoking, he told me (about 1963) that he would never stop piping, and that he would "die piping."

That prediction proved true. Some years after I left the area, he passed away. I was told that he had a piping student over one evening, and that he had then gone into his study after the student left. His wife later found him there, slumped over the table, his practice chanter still in his hands.

His son, Dougal, was also a fine piper, and a real gentleman. He was our pipe sergeant for about 10 years. Dougal also worked with his father as a custom builder, and they built many ine homes together in Southeastern PA.

Also like his father, Dougal was a Mason (1955 - 1969, Bristol, Pa. Lodge), and likewise followed in the military tradition, serving in US Army during the Korean War from 1950-1953 as a member of the 69th Field Artillery Battalion.

We all expected Dougal to become PM upon Donald's death or stepping down, not because of nepotism, but because he was both a fine piper and well-liked and charismatic person, but he unfortunately passed away early. Dougal had a son, also named Donald, who likewise had great capability, although I have heard that he later gave up piping, and another son, Robert, who I have since re-connected with. Robert also carried on his grandfather's piping tradition, and currently plays with the Cairngorm Pipe Band of Horsham, PA)

Donald was an energetic man, a true son of the Gael, a stern taskmaster, and a great teacher. I will always remember him.

(I am greatly indebted to Donald's grandson, Robert, who carries on the family tradition of piping, and other family members and band members for some of the information and photos above.)

Other Mentors

I would also like to thank for their kindness the many Irish and Scottish Gaels in Scotland, Ireland, the US and Canada who over the years have opened their homes and hearts to me and shared their beloved Gaelic language, songs and stories.

Thanks to the late pipers and pipe-makers, Dan Dowd and Mattie Kiernan (both of Dublin), the late Willy Clancy of Co. Clare, the late maker Alain Froment, piper Finbar Furey, maker and player Eugene Lambe, and the many other Irish musicians, seannachies and tradition bearers who so kindly shared their knowledge with me and many others over the years, including the late Séosamh O hEigceartaigh of Gaoith Dobhair, and Sean O Duinnin of Cul Aodh, among many others.

In Scotland, these include the Rev. MacKenzie and his congregation (Uibhist a’ Tuath), Mrs. MacLeod (Beinn na Faoghla), and many more.

In Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; the late Angus Ranald Gillis and his entire family (especially the late John Neil Gillis), and their sister, the late Mae MacGillivray, the late Christine, and Jimmy Gillis, piper, fiddler, and singer J. Francis MacDonald and his equally talented wife and accompanist, Corinne, the late Duncan Ranald Gillis and his wife Lizzy, and their families, and many others, (most, unfortunately, no longer with us) all of Gillisdale (SW Margaree); the late Sandy Cameron and his wonderful wife and family, and the late Willy Kennedy, all of Mabou, and many more.

From the Antigonish and Merigomish area of Nova Scotia; the late Anne MacDonald, Catherine MacKenzie, the late Mary C. MacLellan and the late Hugh A. MacDonald, the late Joseph "Johnny Joe" MacDonald, the late Angus MacQuarrie, the late Father Rod Chisholm, the late Father Jack MacGillivray, the late Ross MacEachern, James Hendra formerly of Beauly, Maureen and Scott Williams, their families, and others too numerous to mention.

The late Marguerite Reid of Philadelphia for her Highland dancing tutelage. Marguerite was born in Philadelphia, PA on March 19, 1933. Her parents, Sam and Isabel Watson, had emigrated from Scotland. As a young child she went to Scotland , where she acquired a love of Highland dancing, and began dancing at age five in Trenton, NJ, with Wilma Buick. Marguerite began teaching at an early age. Marguerite was a pioneer in the field, and was one of the first Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) judges in the US, and 4th president of the Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators (FUSTA) of Highland dancing. Mrs. Reid passed away in 2004, but there are a number of memorial awards given in her honor.

The late Eugene O’Donnell of Derry for his tutelage in Irish step and ceilidh dancing. Eugene began dancing at age 3, and was the first Irish dancer to be televised in London when he was 12. While still a teenager, he won the first of his five consecutive All-Ireland dancing championships. In 1957, he moved to Philadelphia, and became a regular at The Commodore John Barry Club (aka The Irish Center) in Philadelphia, where he taught Irish dancing, and helped organize a ceili band that later won the New York fleadh in the mid-60s. His playing was a very smooth and polished style similar in style to Donegal fiddling, both of which are closely related to Scottish style. In those days, Eugene was very meticulous in his dress and demeanor. I recall he once corrected me when I called him "Gene" and spoke of his music as "fiddling." He replied somewhat tartly, "Seamus, I'll thank you to remember that my name is EU-gene, and I am a violinist, not a fiddler!" (I understand that he later became more casual in both aspects.) Eugene was later recorded by Dr. Mick Moloney and others, and examples of his playing are to be heard on YouTube and other sites.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the late Pat Cotter, uilleann piper, and his fine musical family, Dr. Séamas Ó Direáin (now resident in Galicia), Sean and Sharon Folsom (formerly of the Irish group, Sheila na Gig) and the many terrific musicians there.

Also, Gerard and Sarah Jones (now of Fresno); story-teller and weaver Norman Kennedy; Donnie MacDonald and Jimmy Keigher (of "Men of Worth");

This list could go on for many pages, but I have neither time (nor would memory serve) to name all those who should be listed. For those many others: mentors, neighbors, and friends living and dead, not mentioned by name - pardon the omission. You are all highly regarded, and you know who you are!