Annotation:Young Tom Ennis

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YOUNG TOM ENNIS (Tomás Og Magennis/Mac Aengusa). AKA and see "Banshee that Wailed over the Mangle Pit (The)," "Banshee's Wail Over the Mangle Pit (The)." Irish, Double Jig. A Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB.

The Chicago Irish Music Club, around 1903. Tom Ennis is the boy seated in the center of the picture.

Tom Ennis was indeed the youngest member of Chicago’s Irish Fiddle Club in the early years of the 20thcentury. A budding piper and fiddler, he was the American-born son of piper and flute player John Ennis of Kildare, from whom O’Neill obtained this tune. When Tom reached maturity he moved to New York where he made a living as a professional piper and founded one of the first Irish-American recording companies, for whom he commercially recorded in the 1910’s and 20’s (Carolan, 1997). Ennis died of a heart attack in Jonesville, Michigan, while on tour. See “Banshee's Wail Over the Mangle Pit (The)” for a transposed version of this tune, and see also the related “Kilkenny Jig (The).”

Tom Ennis

Source for notated version: Chicago police patrolman, piper and flute player John Ennis, originally from County Kildare [O’Neill].

Printed sources: O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 41. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 908, p. 169. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 153, p. 40. ).

Recorded sources: Gael linn CEFCD 114, Tony MacMahon & Noel Hill - “ "I gCnoc na Graí.” Green Linnet GLCD 1211, Kevin Crawford – “In Good Company” (2001). Shanachie 79093, Paddy Glackin and Robbie Hannon – “Whirlwind” (1995).

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]

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