Eddie Burke

bricklayer, performer

b. Park, Co. Roscommon, Ireland Sep. 10, 1877
d. New York, NY Jan. 1967

"Eddie Burke 30/05/1914 Flatbush Photo Studio."
Photo in the Tom Busby collection of photographs at Na Píobairí Uilleann.
"Description on reverse of photograph: To M. Carney, Truly Yours, Eddie Burke, 30/5/14." Ceol na hÉireann Irish Music No. 1 1993 p. 9

NY Advocate Nov. 22, 1941 p. 6 column 1 This photo appeared in The Advocate several times, first known appearance Feb. 11, 1922.

Eddie Burke was active in New York City in the 1920s and 30s. Many appearances on radio in the 1920s probably enhanced his reputation throughout the northeast United States.

Burke was born in the village of Park, near the town of Cloonfad, Co. Roscommon. He claimed that there were pipers in his family going back at least three generations. He "lived in Ireland until he was ten years old, when he removed to Manchester, England." His sisters emigrated over time to the United States, and Eddie followed suit in 1910, about 33 years old. "For years he lived in the Bronx, where he worked as a bricklayer," but by 1927 he was living in the Astoria neighborhood of the NYC Borough of Queens and there remained at least until the 1950s. By 1930 he was owner of his home. Burke never married, lived with one or two sisters for many years.

The earliest musical evidence for Burke in the US is the studio photograph from 1914. He is dressed up, and holding the pipes as if playing.

In December 1916 he helped organize and played for dancers at a Cloonfad Ladies club event, the first newspaper mention of him as a player. He was a joiner and an organizer as well as player, and by 1921 was sometimes placed "in charge of the entertainment end" of events. He did what seems to be untiring work for functions in some way related to Cloonfad or Roscommon: the annual Cloonfad Ladies' Ball; fundraisers for a new church in Cloonfad; benefits for the injured or hospitalized. Sometimes he is listed as musical director.

By 1921 he was very much accepted in the Irish music community in NYC, and featured in a well-known poem by piper John Ennis, which describes a meeting or entertainment of the "Craft," the top Irish musicians of the city. The musicians played in turn, and Burke was second.

Eddie Burke, with his pipes, was next called to play.
Amiable Eddie, always cheerful and gay;
Equally at ease with the pipes or the flute;
And his audience is always attentive and mute.
Near the rich Plains of Boyle Eddie first saw the light
(As did Kerwin and Vizzard and Gorman, so bright),
A section that never was conquered or bullied;
And which kept the traditional music unsullied.
He played "Trim the Velvet" and the "Mullinvat Reel"
And some lively old tunes that made his audience feel
Like dancing; and he might have been playing away yet,
But there were others to hear from, so he made his exit.

In 1921 Burke hired piper Michael Carney to play at that year's Cloonfad Ladies Ball. This is the first mention of a personal and professional relationship which lasted until Carney's death in 1938. Carney, from Irishtown, Co. Mayo, was about the same age as Burke. Probably a student of Pat Touhey, Carney was one of the finest pipers, if not the finest, of his day. Around 1910 Carney was stricken with paralysis and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Benefits for Carney had been held since at least 1916, but in the 1920s and 30s Eddie Burke was first among the organizers and supporters of these events. Carney and Burke also performed together and with others at other engagements; one gets the sense that, in light of his committee work and publicity efforts, Burke was often the driving force behind the gigs.

Some examples: In the mid-1920s there were several dances with "Irish Music by Burke and Carney's Irish Pipers and Violinists." For the Clare and Roscommon Dance, March 8, 1930, "Eddie Burke, the famous Cloonfad piper, is musical director. Prof. Burke has arranged a great exhibition of Irish music in which Prof. Michael Carney, from Irishtown, Co. Mayo, will be the star attraction." At the Roscommon-Tuxedo Ballrooms Nov. 11, 1934, four bands, two of them the "Co. Roscommon Boys, With Eddie Burke, Cloonfad Piper" and "Co. Mayo Pipers, With Michael Carney (Irishtown)."

Burke performed on the radio in the 1920s. Newspaper radio schedules show him playing on New York stations WEBJ in 1925 and WGL and WIBI in 1927. The performances are usually in 10 or 15 minute spots, occasionally with a fiddler or pianist. Listings turn up in newspapers as far away as Buffalo, NY, which indicate potential listeners all over the northeast US. It is not unlikely that Burke made many radio appearances unnoticed by the newspapers.

His name appeared often in a New York City Irish-American weekly newspaper, The Advocate. Burke's relationship with the paper was good. He was mentioned in event advertising; in columns describing upcoming events; at social activities. Almost from the beginning he referred to himself - and was referred to - as the "Cloonfad Piper." A photo of him, usually the same one, which first appeared in the paper in 1922, was printed several times over the years, last in 1941. Two or three poems by his hand were published, one fondly remembering Cloonfad. In contrast, piper Francis X. Hennessy, who advertised in every issue of The Advocate for years, was given comparatively scant attention by the paper.

The Innisfail Ballrooms, 56th Street and 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, opened February 1929. Burke played there many times until the late 1930s. He was the organizer, or at least the figurehead, of an Eddie Burke Association dance on October 12, 1929:

A great rally of the friends of Eddie Burke, the popular Cloonfad piper, will gather at Innisfail Ballrooms this Saturday evening to dance and make merry at the first annual ball of the Eddie Burke Association. Eddie himself will play for the Irish dances and will have 12 pieces of music at his command. Old Cloonfad in the borders of Roscommon and Galway will send all its exiled sons and daughters to this big affair, for Eddie Burke is the most popular Cloonfad man in America; he will also have the support of comrades and representatives in the building trades, for he is a popular member of the Bricklayers' Union. Among Irish musicians, he is a king. Wherever he plays, crowds of the boys and girls and the musical talent go. It is a treat to hear him play the pipes. As standard-bearer of the association which bears his name, he is the head of a large and influential following among a wide circle of friends.

Newspaper puffery notwithstanding, there seems to have been real respect for Burke's playing and genuine affection for him in the Irish-American community. The Advocate published two poems by Elizabeth Garvey which mention him admiringly. Columnist Helen Savage, visiting his house in 1941, wrote, "He lives in Astoria with his two lovely sisters, Mrs. Schaeffer and Miss Delia Burke. One whole room of their beautiful house is filled with clippings, pictures, and medals - mute testimony of Eddie's musical prowess." Further, he organized or was present at dances or entertainments with truly epic combinations of the finest Irish musicians. For example, from an account of a benefit for Carney, May 1934, "...A record crowd attended the benefit dance tendered to Michael Carney, the invalid piper, at the Roscommon Ballroom street...Never saw a greater array of Irish music, which included Eddie Burke, Jim Morrison, James Malone, Patsy and Tommy Conley, Michael Carney, and an old friend, Michael McDonough...That was just part of the music outfit, as the two Roscommon Ballroom orchestras also played."

By 1938 his activities in performing and organizing had apparently dropped off. He played for a charity show in 1940 and a newspaper columnist wrote "the famous Cloonfad piper played a selection-the old touch is still there!"

But the touch was fading. I have found no newspaper mentions of Burke after 1944, except in the obituaries of his sisters, Delia in 1952 and Mary Schaefer in 1954. Piper Andy Conroy, when living in NYC in the 1950s, met Eddie Burke. Conroy said by that time Burke was no longer able to play the pipes.

US Government Social Security records indicate that Burke died January 1967. It says his last residence was New York Zip Code 10023, which is on Manhattan's west side. Exact date and burial place, if such exists, are unknown.

Much of the information in this entry comes from Michael Kelly's excellent article in An Píobaire, about Burke and other Roscommon pipers.

Selected References

"Cloonfad Ladies Have Big Night." [earliest mention as a piper] NY Advocate Dec. 16, 1916 p. 7 column 1
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1916-1918 - 0461

"Eddie Burke Assn. Dance This Saturday." NY Advocate Oct. 12, 1929 p. 2 column 1
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1928-1929 - 0852.pdf

Ennis, John "Irish Music in New York 'A Typical Meeting of the "Craft" reported in rhyme by John Ennis' "An Píobaire vol. 4 no. 21 Aug. 2003 pp. 26-8
https://pipers.ie/source/media/?galleryId=1013&mediaId=26007

Hayden, James A. "In Irish Circles" NY Advocate May 19, 1934 p. 7 column 1
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1932-1934 - 1108.pdf

"Irish Bagpipes That Are 200 Years Old" NY Advocate Feb. 28, 1925 p. 7 column 2
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1925-1927 - 0110.pdf

Kelly, Michael "The Cloonfad Piper" An Píobaire part 1 vol. 13 no. 1 Jan. 2017 pp. 20-4; part 2 vol. 13 no. 2 April 2017 pp. 18-23
https://pipers.ie/source/media/?galleryId=1138&mediaId=27287
https://pipers.ie/source/media/?galleryId=1138&mediaId=27290

Savage, Helen "Along the Shamrock Stem" NY Advocate Nov. 22, 1941 p. 6 column 1
New York NY Irish American Advocate 1940-1942 - 0853.pdf

Nick Whitmer
July 2018