Martin Leo Rowsome (5 April 1903 – 20 September 1970) was the third generation of an unbroken line of uilleann pipers. He was a performer, manufacturer and teacher of the uilleann pipes throughout his life. Samuel Rowsome, Leo’s grandfather sent his sons, John, Thomas and William, to a German teacher who lived in

Ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

, near their home in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

to learn the theory of music and how to play various instruments. This knowledge was passed on through William to his son, Leo, who made good use of it in his teaching, writing music for his many pupils. Leo, the third son among seven sons and one daughter of William Rowsome, a carpenter (died 1925), and (Bridget) Ann Rowsome (née Murphy), was born in

Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the postal district List of Dublin postal districts, D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underg ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1903. His father, William, a Protestant who converted to his wife's Catholic religion, realised that his son had the ability to become a talented musician and craftsman. Constantly watching his father making and repairing instruments, Leo learned the art of pipe making and instrument repair. So rapid was his progress at piping that in 1919 at the age of sixteen he was appointed teacher of the uilleann pipes at Dublin’s Municipal School of Music (now

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

Conservatory of Music and Drama) for 50 years. In 1925, Leo’s father died at the age of fifty-five. Leo successfully carried on the family business, after completing his own set of pipes in 1926. He also taught at Dublin’s Pipers Club of which he was president, having revived it as Cumann na Píobairí in 1936 after an 11-year hiatus. Leo was the first uilleann piper to perform on Irish National Radio in the early 1920s when he played solo and later in duets with Frank O'Higgins (fiddle), Micheal O Duinn (fiddle) and Leo’s brother John (fiddle). Leo’s "All Ireland Trio" comprised Neilus Cronin, (flute), Seamus O'Mahony (fiddle) and Leo on pipes. He formed his Pipes Quartet in the mid-1930s and broadcast regularly throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Leo was the first Irish artist to perform on

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

(1933). He made many recordings for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

, Columbia and

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

. His last commercial recording, CC1 “Ri na bPiobairi” (King of the Pipers) was made for Claddagh Records in 1959. In 1934 Leo married Helena Williams, from Taghmon, County Wexford. They had two sons, Leon Rowsome (1936–1994) and Liam Rowsome (1939–1997), and twin daughters, Helena and Olivia. All four showed musical talent on a variety of instruments. Leo's eldest son Leon carried on the tradition of uilleann pipe making in the Rowsome family, toured internationally as a solo piper, and recorded two solo albums on the uilleann pipes. Leon and his wife. Noreen (O'Flaherty) Rowsome, from Corca Dhuibhne, had five children (Kevin, Mary, Anne, Nuala, and Caitríona) and ten grandchildren (Leo's great-grandchildren), five of whom (Tierna, Naoise, Mark Óg, Luke, and Alastair) are sixth-generation uilleann pipers. Leon's son, Kevin, is an accomplished and world-renowned fifth-generation uilleann piper.

Death and legacy

Leo Rowsome died suddenly whilst adjudicating The Fiddler of Dooney Competition in

Riverstown Riverstown, historically called ''Ballyederdaowen'' (), is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Known for its musical tradition it is located at a bridging point of the River Unshin (Arrow), 17.2 km (10 miles) south of Sligo town and 4 ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

on 20 September 1970.Biography
fleadhfest.ie. Accessed 28 August 2023. To commemorate the

centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

of Leo Rowsome's birth in 2003, his daughter, Helena had some of Leo’s original

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s published by Waltons; "The Leo Rowsome Collection of Irish Music" consists of 428 reels, jigs, airs, and

hornpipes The hornpipe is any of several dance forms and their associated tunes, played and danced in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England, with Hugh As ...

Discography

* ''Rí na bPíobairí'' (King of the Pipers) (1959) * ''The Drones and the Chanters'' (1971) * ''Classics of Irish Piping'' (1975)

References

External links

Kevin Rowsome profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowsome, Leo 1903 births 1970 deaths Irish male uilleann pipers Musicians from County Dublin People from Harold's Cross Claddagh Records artists Topic Records artists 20th-century Irish uilleann pipers 20th-century Irish male musicians 1910s in Irish music 1920s in Irish music 1930s in Irish music 1940s in Irish music 1950s in Irish music 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music