Séamus Ennis

Séamus Ennis (Irish: Séamas Mac Aonghusa; 5 May 1919 – 5 October 1982) was an Irish musician, singer and Irish music collector. He was most noted for his uilleann pipe playing and was partly responsible for the revival of the instrument during the twentieth century having co-founded Na Píobairí Uilleann, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of the uilleann pipes and its music. He is recognised for having preserved almost 2,000 Irish songs and dance-tunes as part of the work he did with the Irish Folklore Commission.

Ennis is widely regarded as one of the greatest uilleann pipers of all time.

Early years

James Ennis, Séamus's father, worked as a civil servant in Naul, County Dublin. In 1908, James Ennis was in a pawn-shop in London. He bought a bag containing the pieces of a set of old uilleann pipes. They were made in the mid nineteenth century by Coyne Pipemakers of Thomas Street in Dublin. In 1912, he came first in the Oireachtas competition for warpipes and second in the uilleann pipes. He was also a prize-winning dancer. In 1916, he married Mary Josephine McCabe, an accomplished fiddle player from County Monaghan. They had six children, Angela, Séamus, Barbara, and twins, Cormac and Ursula (Pixie) and Desmond. Séamus was born on 5 May 1919 in Jamestown in Finglas, North Dublin City. James Ennis was a member of the Fingal trio, which included Frank O'Higgins on fiddle and John Cawley on flute and performed regularly with them on the radio. At the age of thirteen, Séamus started receiving lessons on the pipes from his father. He attended a Gaelscoil, Cholmcille, and a Gaelcholáiste, Coláiste Mhuire, which gave him a knowledge of the Irish language that would serve him well in later life. He sat an exam to become Employment Exchange clerk but was too far down the list to be offered a job. He was twenty and unemployed.

Ennis

Ennis (/ˈɛ.nɪs/; Irish: Inis, meaning "island") is the county town of Clare in the West of Ireland. On the River Fergus just north of where it enters the Shannon Estuary, it lies north west of Limerick and south of Galway. The town is 19 km (12 mi) from Shannon Airport. The Irish name for the town is short for Inis Cluain Ramh Fhada ("island of the long rowing meadow"). In 2011, Ennis had a population of 25,360, making it the 11th largest town in Ireland.

History

The name Ennis comes from the Irish word "Inis", meaning "island". This name relates to an island formed between two courses of the River Fergus on which the Franciscan abbey was built. The past of Ennis is greatly associated with the O'Brien family, who were descendants of Brian Boru. In the 12th century, the O'Briens, who were Kings of Thomond, left their seat of power in Limerick and built a royal residence at Clonroad on the then island. In 1240, King Donnchadh O'Brien ordered the construction of an extensive church which he later donated to followers of St. Francis. The centuries which followed bore great activity. The Friars keep was expanded and students came in great flocks to study at the theological college. The Friars, who were free to move about, met the spiritual needs of the local population. It was a religious centre until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Ennis, Texas

Ennis is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States, and is located outside of Dallas. The population was 18,513 at the 2010 census.

History

In 1872 the Houston and Central Texas Railroad (H&TC) arrived at the spot that then became Ennis. The city is named for Cornelius Ennis, an official of the railroad. Ennis served as Mayor of Houston (1856–57), and as a director of the Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway and H&TC.

Between 1874 and 1890, the population grew from 300 to 3,000. Many of the settlers came from the war-torn Confederate States of America and others came from the war-ravaged European nations that later became Czechoslovakia.

In 1891, the H&TC chose Ennis as its northern division headquarters in an agreement requiring that Ennis provide water for the railroad. The machine shops and roundhouse employed several hundred men. One condition of the agreement was that as long as Ennis was able to furnish water the shops could not be moved from the community. The city built the first of three lakes for this purpose in 1892, followed by another in 1895, and the last in 1940

Ennis (UK Parliament constituency)

Ennis is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Boundaries

This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Ennis in County Clare.

Members of Parliament

Notes:-

Elections

References