John Finbar McLaughlin
Derry Piper and Pipemaker
Essay by Martin Preshaw
I have met many folk since taking up the pipes over 20 years ago. Some have been inspirational, others less so, but all have given me a laugh or two in their own way. The biggest character and true essence of what folk music is all about and the greatest privilege to get to know has been the irrepressible John Finbar McLaughlin, better known within the uilleann piping community simply as, Finbar..
I first met Finbar in 1988 when I was reading a degree in Irish in Coleraine University. I had a sickly reed but could not face the torturous timetabled 2 hour train journey, that always was more like 3 hours, south east from Portstewart to my first piping mentor and reed maker, the late Sen McAloon, in Belfast. I had heard McLaughlins name mentioned manys a time in piping circles and Derry City was a much more appealing option from my college digs as it was a snip at 40 minutes on the train through some of the most beautiful countryside in the north of Ireland. After 3 or 4 minutes searching in the telephone directory I had his home number and quickly made arrangements to meet up with him.
Finbar picked me up at the train station in the Waterside of Derry and we made our way across the Craigavon bridge to his home, chatting all the time about pipers we knew in common. Upon arrival at his house, a simple adjustment to the reed was all that was necessary to get it back in playing fashion which left plenty of opportunity to talk the rest of the afternoon. He asked me if I attended the Willie Clancy week and upon learning that I had yet to go strongly advised me to go that summer to improve my rudimentary piping skills. He told me that he had not missed it in over 20 years and shared digs every year in Co. Clare with his long-time piping comrade Eddie Charles, from the North of England. I was to soon learn that Finbars sense of humour was as sharp as a tack. He is a man full of fun and devilment and I would grow to love being in the company of this particular piper:
Three or four days of pipering had quite literally left its mark on Finbars face that required a good scrape with a razor. Living out of the car is not unusual at the Willie Clancy Summer School and McLaughlin went to the boot to retrieve his new electric razor, a Phillips, and began to shave. The razor was the type that had a flex with two prongs that could work off mains electricity or with 2 AA batteries if no electricity was available. Eddie came round the back of the car while McLaughlin was shaving. McLaughlin quickly put the twin prongs up his nostrils and continued to shave while talking to Eddie. He would periodically stop shaving at highpoints of the conversation removing the prongs from his nostrils while turning the shaver off by the button simultaneously only to insert them again and continue shaving. The conversation between the two men carried on for a few minutes until Eddie asked:
How on earth are you doing that?
McLaughlin replied, Ah, this is a new electric razor , a Phillips, and it works of the electrolytic action of your body, and then continued to shave. Eddie marveled at how the world was progressing at a phenomenal rate and referred to the shaver no more.
Since that first meeting I have spent many hours in Finbars company learning how to make reeds, pipes, play tunes, drink pints and simply enjoying his company. We have traveled all of Ireland together and I never tire of his stories and always relish making our own. One memorable story happened in Olly Connollys bar in Mullach, Co. Clare, during Willie Week. A few days at this summer school can take its toll and rather jaded and both drunk and tuned-out we found ourselves in the comfortable lounge of the above establishment. A pretty ordinary uneventful night, we decided to head back to our digs after a couple of hours. The physical set-up of the bar divided the drinking rooms, namely the public bar and the lounge in two. A canny enough move as it enables one barman to attend the requirements of the clientele on either side. The gents bathroom was on the public bar side, as was the exit. Finbar decided to make use of the facilities before our journey home. I told him I would meet him in the bar directly.
Upon McLaughlins exit a group of 7 or 8 young musicians set up in the lounge beside our seats where we had been and began to play music that was as close to the Bothy Bands seminal album Out of the Wind as I have ever heard. The piper, no more than 22 or 23 bore a remarkable physical resemblance to Paddy Keenan and was as able in his piping abilities. I decided that this was not to be missed and approached the bar to beckon my friend, who by this time was relieved, and awaiting my arrival in the public bar:
That man is as blind as a bat I exclaimed while frantically waving to McLaughlin in the public bar.
As I was miserably failing to attract his attention I called the barman over:
Do you see your man over there? Will you tell him to comeback into the lounge?
Either my thick Belfast accent or the busying bar was too much for the barman:
Your da? was the bar mans reply in a soft county Clare lilt.
No, no. said I. your man with the white hair over there. Tell him to come back in here
Again, Your da?
No, no. Your man over there I implored
Your da? again came the reply
Fearing that Finbar might exit thinking I was waiting outside and that we would lose the front row seats to this magnificent musical performance I capitulated.
Yes, my da. Tell my da to comeback in here.
Okay so. says the barman and walks over to the public side of the bar and beckons Finbar to him. I watched as a confused Finbar talked with the barman at which point he noticed me waving to him and came back into the lounge to take up his seat beside me. People always seem to have the uncanny knack of imparting some comedic gem while I am in the middle of drinking my beverage which always results in a projectile type spray of liquid:
Here Martin, you should have heard that barman to me. He said that my son wanted me to come back into the lounge. I told him our Neil was in Manchester.
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