The late Sylvester Ryan of Cork was an accomplished and respected maker of Uilleann pipes. He made a set for young Gary Roche of Cork, who has gone on to become one of the most promising pipers Ireland has produced. From a musical family, Gary, who has just completed his
Leaving Certificate, took up the pipes when he was eight. Seven years later, he was All-Ireland champion in the under-15 category. He went on to win the Feis Maitiu in Cork on three successive occasions. It took a considerable investment for his family to start him off, as the outlay for the Ryan pipes was £1,500.
His uncle, Sean Roche, was prominent in the folk revival all those years ago and now lives in Perth, where he leads the Settlers, one of
Australia's most successful folk groups. In April of last year, Gary was invited to join the Settlers for a month. He received rave reviews in the music press.
But things went wrong. Leaving Cork for London on the first leg of the journey to Australia, he was told to keep the pipes, which were in a hard case, in the overhead locker on the Aer Lingus aircraft. At
Heathrow, British Airways issued the same instructions. But on the return leg, British Airways in Perth told him he would have to leave the pipes in the luggage hold. At Heathrow they were transferred to the Aer Lingus flight for Cork, where he reclaimed them.
Back home, he found the tenor regulator on the pipes had been badly damaged. Gary made contact with both British Airways and Aer
Lingus. Aer Lingus effectively disclaimed responsibility, but British
Airways, responding to a contact made through a public relations company in Dublin, led him to believe it was sympathetic and that something would be done. He was told that only formalities stood in the way.
Unfortunately, nothing has happened and a rising star is left with a defective set of pipes.