James H. Daly uilleann

Lives of the Pipers Home

James H. Daly

singer, actor, bagpiper

b. Lowell, Massachusetts Aug. 15, 1875
d. Lowell, Massachusetts Feb. 26, 1932


The cast of "The Gossoon's Reception," a skit by James H. Daley, performed at the Elks' Christmas Charity Fund Entertainment, Lowell, MA, Dec. 5, 1916. Caption:
"From Left to Right--Standing--John McCann, John H. Cotter and Patrick Callahan.
"Sitting--James O'Gara, Nora Regan Longton and James H. Daly."
Lowell [MA] Sun Dec. 6, 1916 p. 9 column 3
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Professional piper or amateur piper? For the subjects of these short biographies I tend to think of a professional piper as one who has earned a living, or tried to earn a living, as piper for at least a year or two. However one defines the difference, there are people who seem to straddle the line.

Such was the case with James Daly. For many years his working life seemed to teeter between a succession of undistinguished jobs and of striving to be a theatrical man, including playing the pipes. A self-imposed handicap for work in show business was his apparent reluctance to travel; only towards the end of his life did he seem willing to spend extended periods of time away from his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. In this way he might be said to be a regional piper, active and well-known in Lowell and nearby communities but not further afield.

Lowell is a small city about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Boston. It was one of America's first industrial centers, dominated by enormous textile mills. Irish emigrants settled there in the nineteenth century, but in Daly's lifetime the city saw waves of immigrants of various nationalities including Portuguese, Swedish, French Canadian, Greek. Industrial activity peaked about 1920. By the time of Daly's death the city was described as a "depressed industrial desert" because of industrial relocation and the effects of the Great Depression.

He was early on, probably in his teens, known as a fine singer, "Jimmy Daly, the boy soprano." A newspaper article from 1919 says he made his public debut about 1889. He is described as well-known to Lowell audiences as a singer of popular songs, an actor, 'And the way he tickles the Irish pipes is a caution. ... He has had many offers to go on the road but prefers to remain at or near home, for unlike the average showman whose home is wherever he hangs his hat, "Jim" Daly is a home lover, and Lowell is his home.'

Newspaper references to his musical and theatrical activities do not start until the nineteen-teens, when he was in his late 30s. Daly played pipes for dancers, at parties, in plays, at concerts. About fifty percent of the references describe him as playing Highland pipes.

Daly was an active member of the Lowell Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a social club. The photograph, above, is from one of the Elks' fundraising efforts, 1916. An article from 1920 describes how Daly taught Sam Scott, a fellow Brother Elk, to play Highland pipes. The two would practice together "almost nightly" at the Elks' clubhouse, much to the annoyance of other members. From the article:

In his earlier years Daly did tour occasionally. The 1919 article mentions appearances with a minstrel show and a circus but no telling exactly when. In the mid-1920s he became more willing to leave town, and in subsequent years toured in summers with at least four different circuses. He engaged as a Highland piper in the side show part of the circus. With him were usually another piper and one or two drummers, some of whom could double as dancers. In 1926 the group included a "Scotch comedienne." Daly also presented "comedy song numbers." The side show world was a remarkable one. In 1925 Daly was playing with Doc. Oyler's Side Show, part of the Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show. Fellow performers included a mind reader, a sword swallower, Hawaiian dancers and musicians, and a "Tattoo Man."

In his last years, beginning in 1930, Daly became involved in motion picture exhibition, and in stage programs starring Emmett Moore. Moore was a singer, actor, stage show producer, motion picture director. He had an important if obscure part in the early history of cinema in Ireland. By 1930 Moore's stage show featured singing, dancing, skits, musical intervals, and motion picture segments. At least some of the film footage was created in Ireland by Moore, or at his behest, and featured "scenes that are truly typical of the Green Isle." Daly was involved with Moore's motion picture/play production "Happy Days in Erin." In a 1931 program list he is described as "the Kerry piper."

A newspaper squib from June 1930 says that Daly "obtained the projection and territory rights of Emmett Moore's picture, Happy Days in Erin." It tells of an engagement in Wilkes-Barre, PA, "when he played his Irish pipes for the several dancers pictured on the screen." This cannot be easy to do well, if properly synchronized. It is also the only reference I can recall of a piper providing live musical accompaniment to a film.

A trade paper article from January 1932 reported that Daly planned to tour with "Emmet Moore's Moving Pictures of Ireland," presumably later that year. Daly died at home in Lowell February 26, 1932, 56 years old. Immediate cause of death was probably pneumonia.

James Henry Daly was born in Lowell in 1875, child of James and Joanna Shanahan Daly, themselves born in Ireland. His father was a physician. He had three siblings who survived to adulthood. City directories and US Census records indicate that over the years he was variously employed as seller of coal and wood, an actor, day laborer, boilermaker and painter. In the last of his city directory entries, 1932, his occupation is "musn." A death certificate says Daly was married at time of death, but there is no other evidence of this.

James Daly was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery, Lowell, Feb. 27, 1932.


Selected References

"Emmett Moore in "Hills of Erin" Will Appear in The Bronx, Sunday Night, Feb. 8" [the Kerry piper] NY Advocate Feb. 7, 1931 p. 8 column 5
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1930-1931 - 0682.pdf

"Emmett Moore is Back With Another "Slice" of Ireland" [film scenes typical of the Green Isle] NY Advocate Nov. 2, 1929 p. 2 column 3
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1928-1929 - 0896.pdf

'In "Come, Back To Erin" ' [the boy soprano; tickles the Irish pipes; with photo of Daly] Lowell [MA] Sun Jan. 30, 1919 p. 3 column 1
NewspaperArchive.com

"Lowell History Chronology" Lowell Historical Society
https://www.lowellhistoricalsociety.org/timeline/

"Lowell, Massachusetts" Wikipedia entry accessed July 17, 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell,_Massachusetts

"Man About Town" [practicing at the Elks' club] Lowell [MA] Sun March 12, 1920 p. 14 column 4
Access Newspaper Archive

"Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Real Wild West and Great Far East Shows ..." [advertisement; list of side show performers] Billboard Aug. 22, 1925 p. 61
New York NY Billboard 1925 02 07 1925 12 26 1806-_2.pdf

Rhodes, Gary D. "The Film Company of Ireland and the Irish-American Press" [Emmett Moore] Screening the Past Issue 33 2012 Website accessed July 17, 2019
http://www.screeningthepast.com/2012/02/the-film-company-of-ireland-and-the-irish-american-press

"Under the Marquee" [sideshow work; comedy song numbers] Billboard Feb. 11, 1928 p. 64 column 3
New York NY Billboard 1927 04 02 1928 11 24 2473-_1.pdf

"Under the Marquee By Circus Cy" [sideshow work with Scotch comedienne] Billboard April 17, 1926 p. 66 column 3
New York NY Billboard 1926 01 02 1927 03 26 0875-_1.pdf

"Under the Marquee By Circus Solly" [played his pipes for dancers pictured on the screen] Billboard June 28, 1930 p. 70 column 1
New York NY Billboard 1930 03 01 1930 12 27 1005-_1.pdf

"Under the Marquee By Circus Solly" [plans to tour with Emmett Moore, 1932] Billboard Jan. 9, 1932 p. 34 column 2
New York NY Billboard 1931 01 03 1932 01 30 2229-_1.pdf

Nick Whitmer
July 2019