Episode 23: My Early Irish-American Find - MING Studios Public Archive Series

This episode features three recordings made in 1917 by Irish-American piper, Tom Ennis. Ennis was born in 1888 in the US and was taught to play the Uilleann pipes by his father, John Ennis, who emigrated from Kildare, Ireland.

Young Ennis grew up steeped in the Irish-American Gaelic community and became a well-known piper. In early adolescence he became the youngest member ever admitted into the Irish Music Club of Chicago, playing amongst the most elite musicians of the day. He went on to perform in Vaudeville and was very active in the New York and Chicago music scenes.