Coyne (family)

From Uilleann Wiki

Maurice Coyne (fl 1840-1861)

Very little is known about Maurice Coyne, despite the number of sets attributed to him. In his 1903 book Irish Minstrels and Musicians Francis O’Neill noted that Maurice Coyne was one four brothers from Carbury Co Kildare who made some fine instruments, which although lacking in volume, are pure and sweet in tone. Some commentators have suggested that Maurice Coyne inherited Timothy Kenna’s business and indeed may have been an apprentice to Kenna. Research done by Sean Donnelly tends to dispute this proposal as it shows three different Coynes making pipes in Dublin in the mid-19th century. Business directories of Dublin in 1840 show Maurice Coyne trading as a “maker of union and scotch bagpipes” at 41 James Street Dublin. Kenna was still in business at this time. In 1845 Coyne moved to 149 Thomas Street. By 1854 he was at 6 Thomas Street until about 1861. In 1862 the Thomas Street address was vacant.

It is not clear whether Maurice was related to John William Coyne who, it seems, was the Coyne who joined the Kenna business and eventually appears to have inherited or bought it from Kenna's widow Anne. Timothy Kenna had moved to Essex Quay Dublin from Mullingar in about 1812. John William Coyne and Anne Kenna shared the same address at 2 Essex Quay from 1843 to 1846, listed as musical instrument makers.

The third Coyne was John Coyne who is reported to have been a son of Maurice and he was making pipes from about 1855 to 1862 at 123 Thomas Street. According to Seamus O’Casaide, John was the best piper in the family. There are no Coynes listed in directories after 1862. The effects of the famine are thought to have depressed demand for musical instruments in Ireland. While makers such as Egan and Harrington emigrated, the Coynes seem to have gone out of business.

Given the number of Coynes listed at various addresses in Dublin form around 1840 to 1860 it is difficult to confirm that two of the most famous names in 19th century pipemaking were indeed master and apprentice. Kenna was notoriously secretive and O’Neill remarks that he would not let any customer into his shop when he was working. Whether he would take on an apprentice or partner is therefore open to debate.

In the later twentieth century, the name Coyne has been primarily associated with Seamus Ennis and Willie Clancy as both played Coyne sets found in junk shops in London.

Seamus Ennis tells how his father James won a flute competition in London around 1912 and with his prize money went round pawn brokers on London and found a set of pipes made by Coyne in need of repair. He took them home to John Brogan who restored them to playing condition. The set originally had an extended bass regulator, as seen in the photo of James and his wife on the back of Seamus’s LP “The Wondering Minstrel”. James passed the set on to Seamus who played it most of his life, and declared no other instrument its equal, taking great delight in demonstrating its range a full tone and a half above top D. On Seamus’s death the set passed to Liam O’Flynn.

In the 1950s Willie Clancy worked briefly in London and during his time there would scour junk shops and pawn brokers looking for carpenters tools. In one shop he saw parts of a set of pipes and bought them for about £5. They turned out to be a set by Coyne pitched about B. Willie made replacement pieces for the top two drones which were missing, although the tuning pieces survive. Several fine recordings exist of Willie playing this set. Held for a number of years after Willie’s death by Sean Reid, this set was renovated in the early 1980s and is now owned by Muiris O’Rochain.

A set held in the national museum of Dublin shows the layout of the extended bass regulator, and the wonderful ivory mounts which in their simplicity are characteristic of Coyne’s work. A Coyne set of pipes donated by Tom Busby to NPU adorns their newly designed website. A small number, estimated by pipemaker Geoff Wooffe at around a dozen, of other sets attributed to Coyne are still played.

Much of the information here is based on the work done by Sean Donnelly and Ken McLeod published in An Piobaire and the Sean Reid Society.