The Conversation (0)
Clara Hill
Mar 23, 2021
A journalist from Ireland has started a debate after the president of the United States claimed that bagpipes are from the Emerald Isles.
Donie O’Sullivan, a news correspondent for CNN, shared quote tweeted a post from Joe Biden, who has gone on record numerous time as a proud Irishman with family routes in County Mayo, most famously saying “BBC? I’m Irish?” to a reporter from the channel, getting serenaded by a set of the very distinctive sounding musical instrument, saying, “Bagpipes are Scottish”
Biden’s original tweet read, “They really know how to make an Irishman feel special at the White House,” as in the video, he is visibly touched and expresses how much his late mother would have loved his playing and tells the room “Happy St Patrick’s Day”
Underneath the tweet, Twitter users started discussing the origins of the bagpipe, if they were Irish, Scottish or even Middle Eastern. According to the illuminating discussion, there was an Irish genre of bagpipes, otherwise known as Uileann pipes, however one user pointed out that these are powered by the arm, and not by the mouth. Another one pointed out that they were also “musical” compared to the version made famous by Scots.
The bagpipes featured in the video, are known for being from Scotland, a land that shares a lot in common with the island of Ireland, namely a love of whiskey, stunning rural landscapes and a history of immigration between the two places. They also share a traditional dress of kilts, complete with a sporran.
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