Kilworth
(Gaelic: Cill Úird)
is a small village in
North Cork . The name Kilworth comes from Irish
(Gaelic) 'Cill Úird',
literally meaning
'Church of the order'.
Kilworth was the scene
of some battles in the
war of 1641 and during
the usurpation of
Cromwell, by whom the
manor was given to
Fleetwood, whose name it
still bears. In July,
1642, the castle of
Cloghlea, on the banks
of the river Funcheon,
near the town, said to
have been built by the
family of the Condons,
and at that time the
property of Sir Richard
Fleetwood, was taken by
Lord Barrymore and the
custody of it entrusted
to Sir Arthur Hyde, from
whom it was afterwards
taken by a descendant of
the original founder,
who surprised the
garrison and either put
them to death or
detained them prisoners.
Gather together all
those pipers said to
be “the best piper
of his day,” and G.
S. McLennan would
probably be the
best.
Those who heard him
say his fingers were
miraculous. His
astonishing
technical prowess
contributed to an
important evolution
in Highland pipe
technique in the
early part of the
twentieth century.
As a composer, the
quality and lasting
appeal of his tunes
are unequalled. As a
person he was
modest, generous and
well-liked by his
peers. But on the
strength of his
light music playing
alone his name would
almost certainly be
included in lists of
the top three pipers
ever.
He was born in Edinburgh in 1883 to a leading and long-standing piping family and would die in his prime at age 46 in 1929 with his only book of music just off the presses. While most in the family spelled the name “MacLennan,” it appeared that G. S.’s immediate family, starting with his father, spelled it “McLennan.” The birth and death certificates both use the spelling ‘McLennan.’ In fact, the name on G. S.’s birth certificate is “George Charles Stewart McLennan,” the result of his parents naming an earlier child who was born and died in 1881 “George Stuart McLennan.” This renaming practice was common among Victorians, who frequently suffered child loss. The name “Charles” does not appear on G. S. McLennan’s death certificate.
His father, Lieutenant John McLennan, was a recognized and outspoken authority on bagpipe music with views on piobaireachd which some contemporaries considered radical. A stern critic of the early Piobaireachd Society, his later reputation suffered accordingly. He would produce two books of music later in his life: Piobaireachd as MacCrimmon Played It (1907) and The Piobaireachd As Performed in the Highlands for Ages till about the Year 1808, which would be published in 1924, after his death.
The Lieutenant remarried when G. S. was 8, and the young boy acquired some step-siblings, of which the youngest and most well known to piping would be Donald Ross McLennan, or “D. R.” as he would become known. D.R. won both Gold Medals in 1956, became one of the most notable reedmakers of his time, and died in 1984, outliving his revered half-brother by more than two generations.
G. S. was not a healthy young boy and suffered with polio as a child. He learned pipes at age 4, first from his father and later from his uncle, Pipe Major John Stewart, whom he later commemorated with a march. But he continued to be taught throughout his development by his father and his cousin William, himself a pupil of G. S.’s father and considered one of the finest light music players of the time. He would also learn Highland dancing from William, whose accomplishments as a competitive dancer were legendary. By the age of 10, G. S. was winning prizes in amateur competitions and had caught the attention of Queen Victoria, who had him play for her at Balmoral.
G. S. loved the sea. His father feared he would jeopardize his promising piping career by joining the merchant navy, so on October 3, 1899, Lieutenant John sent the 16-year-old boy to a Gordons recruiting station with a confidential note that read, “Please enlist my boy the bearer George Stewart McLennan in the 1st Gordon Highlanders and send him up to the Castle as soon as possible.” The surprised young man duly found himself in the Gordons.
His father’s judgement was sound: G. S. rose quickly through the ranks, becoming Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion in 1905 at age 21 – one of the youngest pipe majors ever in the British Army.
He won the Gold Medal at Oban in 1904, the Gold Medal at Inverness in 1905, and the Clasp at Inverness for former winners of the Gold Medal in 1909, 1920 and 1921. He would have two sons, George (1914) and John (1916). Both became pipers with the Gordons, John dying at St. Valery in 1940 and George living to age 81.
G. S. served in the trenches late in the First World War. On May 14, 1918 he became ill. Two days later he played ‘A' Company over the top and the next day collapsed with sickness. It was an illness that would never leave him. But he returned to duty and began making reeds in the trenches for fellow pipers. He was discharged from the Gordons in 1922.
Due to his Gordons connection, G. S. made Aberdeen his home. After his discharge he set up a pipe-making business there, a trade he plied until his untimely passing in 1929. Some of his chanters and pipes still survive. He continued to compete up until 1926 when he won his final event: the Former Winners’ M/S/R at Inverness, for the third time.
He died of lung cancer – a common ailment among veterans in the years following the Great War. His son George reported the great man lapsed into unconsciousness in bed while giving his two boys a lesson on the practice chanter. An estimated 20,000 mourners lined the parade route to watch his cortege pass on June 4, 1929. It was led by 40 pipers. Pipe-Major Robert Reid played the lament.
He was born in Edinburgh in 1883 to a leading and long-standing piping family and would die in his prime at age 46 in 1929 with his only book of music just off the presses. While most in the family spelled the name “MacLennan,” it appeared that G. S.’s immediate family, starting with his father, spelled it “McLennan.” The birth and death certificates both use the spelling ‘McLennan.’ In fact, the name on G. S.’s birth certificate is “George Charles Stewart McLennan,” the result of his parents naming an earlier child who was born and died in 1881 “George Stuart McLennan.” This renaming practice was common among Victorians, who frequently suffered child loss. The name “Charles” does not appear on G. S. McLennan’s death certificate.
His father, Lieutenant John McLennan, was a recognized and outspoken authority on bagpipe music with views on piobaireachd which some contemporaries considered radical. A stern critic of the early Piobaireachd Society, his later reputation suffered accordingly. He would produce two books of music later in his life: Piobaireachd as MacCrimmon Played It (1907) and The Piobaireachd As Performed in the Highlands for Ages till about the Year 1808, which would be published in 1924, after his death.
The Lieutenant remarried when G. S. was 8, and the young boy acquired some step-siblings, of which the youngest and most well known to piping would be Donald Ross McLennan, or “D. R.” as he would become known. D.R. won both Gold Medals in 1956, became one of the most notable reedmakers of his time, and died in 1984, outliving his revered half-brother by more than two generations.
G. S. was not a healthy young boy and suffered with polio as a child. He learned pipes at age 4, first from his father and later from his uncle, Pipe Major John Stewart, whom he later commemorated with a march. But he continued to be taught throughout his development by his father and his cousin William, himself a pupil of G. S.’s father and considered one of the finest light music players of the time. He would also learn Highland dancing from William, whose accomplishments as a competitive dancer were legendary. By the age of 10, G. S. was winning prizes in amateur competitions and had caught the attention of Queen Victoria, who had him play for her at Balmoral.
G. S. loved the sea. His father feared he would jeopardize his promising piping career by joining the merchant navy, so on October 3, 1899, Lieutenant John sent the 16-year-old boy to a Gordons recruiting station with a confidential note that read, “Please enlist my boy the bearer George Stewart McLennan in the 1st Gordon Highlanders and send him up to the Castle as soon as possible.” The surprised young man duly found himself in the Gordons.
His father’s judgement was sound: G. S. rose quickly through the ranks, becoming Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion in 1905 at age 21 – one of the youngest pipe majors ever in the British Army.
He won the Gold Medal at Oban in 1904, the Gold Medal at Inverness in 1905, and the Clasp at Inverness for former winners of the Gold Medal in 1909, 1920 and 1921. He would have two sons, George (1914) and John (1916). Both became pipers with the Gordons, John dying at St. Valery in 1940 and George living to age 81.
G. S. served in the trenches late in the First World War. On May 14, 1918 he became ill. Two days later he played ‘A' Company over the top and the next day collapsed with sickness. It was an illness that would never leave him. But he returned to duty and began making reeds in the trenches for fellow pipers. He was discharged from the Gordons in 1922.
Due to his Gordons connection, G. S. made Aberdeen his home. After his discharge he set up a pipe-making business there, a trade he plied until his untimely passing in 1929. Some of his chanters and pipes still survive. He continued to compete up until 1926 when he won his final event: the Former Winners’ M/S/R at Inverness, for the third time.
He died of lung cancer – a common ailment among veterans in the years following the Great War. His son George reported the great man lapsed into unconsciousness in bed while giving his two boys a lesson on the practice chanter. An estimated 20,000 mourners lined the parade route to watch his cortege pass on June 4, 1929. It was led by 40 pipers. Pipe-Major Robert Reid played the lament.