Thomas "Tommy" Joseph Reck (8 November 1921 – 1991) was an Irish uilleann piper, known for his discography of traditional Irish music. Born in the

Liberties Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

area of

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 ...

, Reck learned to play the uilleann pipes from the age of eleven from teacher "Old John" Potts (1871–1950) who lived just around the corner from his then home in

Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin, Dublin, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills, Dublin, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebel ...

. Potts (father of

Tommy Potts Tommie Potts (1912–1988) was an Irish fiddle player and composer from Dublin who gained iconic status in traditional Irish music circles for his virtuoso musicianship. Potts' given name is also frequently spelled Tommie. His music has influen ...

), in turn, had been a pupil of

Martin O'Reilly Martin O'Reilly (1829–1904) was a blind Irish piper. Although associated with east County Galway in some sources, O'Reilly was born in Galway City, living at the junction of Eyre Street and Suckeen (now St. Brendan's Avenue). At one stage ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

(1829–1904) and several other blind pipers who were brought to Dublin annually around 1900 to play in competition at the

Feis Ceoil Feis Ceoil ( ; "Festival of Music") is an Irish music organisation which holds an annual competitive festival of classical music. It was first organised in Dublin in 1897 by Dr. Annie Patterson and Edward Martyn for the purpose of stimulating mus ...

, an annual music festival. In the 1930s he played with the Piper's Quartet along with fellow pipers,

Leo Rowsome 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 grandfathe ...

, Willie Clancy and Seán Seery. Reck was a member of the pre-war Pipers Club in Dublin and was its secretary from 1944 to 1947.

Discography

*''The Scholar, The Salamanca, Tom Steele'', Copley (1955) – a bootleg 78rpm record *Two 78rpm records from 1957 for Claddagh *'' It's The Dubliners'' by

The Dubliners The Dubliners () were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in pers ...

, Transatlantic Records (1969) – on the track ''Cook in the Kitchen'' *''The Drones and The Chanters (Irish Pipering)'', Claddagh (1971) – three tracks *''The Stone in the Field'', Inisfree (1977, USA) *''Humours of Holland'' CD (1989) – a fifteen-minute live recording of his concert at the NVUP TIONOL in the Netherlands in 1989. *''Seoltaí Séidte: Setting Sail'',

Gael Linn Gael Linn () is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on the promotion of the Irish language and the arts. The organisation's funding includes government and lottery sources. History Gael Linn was founded in May 1953, followin ...

(2004) - two tracks from 78 rpm recordings previously released by Gael Linn between 1957 and 1961 *''Taisce Luachmhar (Valuable Treasure) – The Piping Album'', Irish Recording Company Limited (2021) – three tracks from recordings made in the late 1940s and the 1950s

References

{{Authority control 1921 births 1991 deaths People from The Liberties, Dublin Musicians from Dublin (city) Irish male uilleann pipers 20th-century Irish male musicians 20th-century Irish uilleann pipers 1940s in Irish music 1950s in Irish music 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music