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Patsy Brown
Patrick A. 'Patsy' Brown (1872 in Ireland – 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States) was an Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes. Originally from Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland, he emigrated to the United States in 1892, making his home first in Chicago and then the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He may have made a living as a bricklayer and/or electrician. He made uilleann pipes on a part-time basis, out of his cellar, so his output was not huge, but his style is very distinctive. He may have made sets from about 1910 until his death in 1958. It is believed that, like many Irish musicians of his time, he played for dancers in the clubs around Dudley Square, Dorchester. His earlier work was styled after that of the Taylor brothers, with broad rectangular keys along the back of the chanter, operated by small touches that wrapped around to the front of the chanter. The regulator keys at first resembled the Taylors' design, though Brown mounted them in wooden blocks, rather than between metal plates, as the Taylors did. His keywork is generally nickel-plated brass, though some are chromed (some chanters have both nickel- and chrome-plating ). There is a story that he obtained the ivory used in the mounts from the elephant keepers at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo.…
Article summary
Patrick A. 'Patsy' Brown (1872 in Ireland – 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States) was an Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes. Originally from Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland, he emigrated to the United States in 1892, making his home first in Chicago and then the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He may have made a living as a bricklayer and/or electrician. He made uilleann pipes on a part-time basis, out of his cellar, so his output was not huge, but his style is very distinctive. He may have made sets from about 1910 until his death in 1958. It is believed that, like many Irish musicians of his time, he played for dancers in the clubs around Dudley Square, Dorchester. His earlier work was styled after that of the Taylor brothers, with broad rectangular keys along the back of the chanter, operated by small touches that wrapped around to the front of the chanter. The regulator keys at first resembled the Taylors' design, though Brown mounted them in wooden blocks, rather than between metal plates, as the Taylors did. His keywork is generally nickel-plated brass, though some are chromed (some chanters have both nickel- and chrome-plating ). There is a story that he obtained the ivory used in the mounts from the elephant keepers at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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