Henry Starck Sr. was involved with William O’Duane of Dungannon, Ireland, in the development and manufacture of a new type of bagpipe, which was advertised as the Dungannon, the forerunner to the ‘Brian Boru’ pipe. This could be played on the march, had two complete chromatic scales and was described as having been ‘revived from the ancient Irish bagpipe’ and being ‘the most perfect bagpipe made’.
The Brian Boru bagpipe has a bass, baritone, and tenor drones. They were attached to a bag by means of either a common stock or separate stocks. Starck made this bagpipe for private branding as well. (See Hawkes and Son) It also appears that he designed and made different chanters to be played with these drones.
I have not played the keyed chanter however I have played the drones and the sound is very nice. These bagpipes are getting harder and harder to find. With the complications of a keyed chanter, they are not inexpensive to restore.
The Starck Brian Boru bagpipe below is exceptional. It is the only full-silver set that I have encountered. Worth noting is that the drones fit into individual stocks that fit into the common stock. I have seen where drones fit directly into the common stock and where they fit into individual stocks and then into the common stock. I have also seen these individual stocks of varying length. The pictures at the very bottom came to me from Ireland. The full-silver instrument is part of an extensive collection in California.
