Denis Delaney

Who is Denis Delaney?

Denis Delaney, Irish piper.

Delaney was a native of Ballinasloe, described by O'Neill as "One of the few surviving, good, old-time players of the rollicking style ... Robust in build and ruddy of complexion, he is one of the central figures in its life, and in its celebrated fair." O'Neill went on to say

"Though totally blind, he is, strange to say, unsurpassed as a judge of cattle and other kinds of farm stock, and so well recognized is his skill in this respect that at fair and market his opinion is eagerly sought when trading is in progress. Stranger still is the fact that furniture moving is his principal occupation. With a table on his head, or a cupboard on his back, he can make his way safely all over town. To see him thus engaged and without a trace of timidity in his footsteps, a stranger would never suspect that he was blind."

"Gifted with great conversational powers, an endless fund of humor, and a tenacious memory, he is naturally the life of every gathering which he attends. With such attractions, not to mention his qualifications as a prize-winning piper, we can understand how he won the heart and hand of a buxom young colleen half his age, it being his second matrimonial venture."