Irish-American Firefighters and Bagpipes

A Part of Fire Service History

In this series, A Part of Fire Service History, we have examined the true historical foundations that have developed the culture and traditions that are ingrained in today’s United States Fire Service. Early equipment and practices have been reviewed and related to their impact on terminology and procedures in the fire departments. However, there are some prominent cultural Fire Service traditions that still need to be addressed. Why do Celtic (Irish and Scotch) customs form such a significant part of the American Fire Service culture and tradition? Along with this, why are Scottish bagpipes such a prominent part of fire service celebrations and bereavement services? This chapter will endeavor to unearth the historical roots of the Irish and other Celtic ancestry that has contributed so much to the culture and traditions of the American Fire Service. However, to achieve a full understanding of the “Why”, we need to spend some time looking at the overall history of the early settlement of what would become the United States. 

As part of this cultural review of the early days of the Fire Service, this chapter will also examine the tradition of bagpipes in the Fire Service. It is common for firefighters today to have a stirring sense of pride when they hear the unique skirling sound of Pipes and Drums Corps at parades or other Fire Service celebrations. Or, an inexplicable sadness at hearing the song Amazing Grace or other laments played by Bagpipers at a Fire Service Funeral. These cultural aspects of the historic foundations of the Fire Service relate back to a Celtic Culture contributed by the Irish and Scottish people to the American Fire Service. In this chapter of A Part of Fire Service History, we will examine how these traditions came to be a part of the American Fire Service.

American Settlement History 
The American continent was visited by various European peoples probably beginning with the Viking’s exploration voyages to Vinland (Canada) around 1000 AD.¹ The first permanent English settlement came in 1607 in Jamestown (VA), challenging the Spanish foot-hold in the New World.² (Disregarding the “Lost Colony of Roanoke,” VA.) The English colonists that settled in Jamestown would be the first immigrants to the New World in what would become a part of the original thirteen American Colonies. This began a major period of immigration that would populate an area and eventually become the United States. Early immigrants left Europe for a new life in America seeking political and religious freedoms and economic opportunities that were not afforded them in their original countries.³

Though North America was settled by a variety of ethnic peoples, the primary immigrants were of English ancestry. According to 1790 census data compiled from the American colonies, the original nationality by percentage of the population consisted of: English – 82%, Scottish – 7%, German – 5.6%, Dutch – 2.5%, and Irish – 1.9% (All others 3.5%).⁴ The 1800s, would see a major change in nationality composition with the immigration influx that was to come. Even so, it can be seen that the Scotch and Irish were at least a small part of the first early settlers in America.

As new generations were born from these original settlers, the current population over time began to consider themselves “nativist” in comparison to the new waves of immigrants (not to be confused with the original Native American indigenous population).⁵ This would produce conflict during various periods of U.S. history, and even unfortunately continues today. The various ethnic groups that would meld together to become the American people, brought their ethnic heritage, customs, and religious beliefs to the mix that would create the American experience, and in this particular study contribute to the culture of the American Fire Service.

The Revolutionary War (American War of Independence 1775 – 1783) further solidified this feeling of original citizens who fought and endured the war as “nativists” versus the new immigrants who came after.

It Started with a Potato. 
Most people today do not realize that ethnic immigration to America was greatly impacted by the simple potato in the mid-1800s. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a vegetable that is a member of the nightshade family and is “widely cultivated for its edible starchy tuber” (potato).⁶ Historically it was a native plant from the Andes of South America, and it is thought to have been first cultivated by the early Incas around 200 AD. In the 1500s the Spanish Conquistadors who invaded the Incas brought the plants back to Europe, where during the next century they developed into a major European cultivated food source. The potato tuber is easily digested and provides a source of “vitamin C, protein, thiamin, and niacin.”⁷

During the 1800s the potato became a major food source in Ireland and their economy was based on this agricultural food crop.⁸ Irish farmers and laborers depended on the potato to supply “80 percent or more of all the calories they consumed.” ⁹ To get maximum crop yield from their small farms or tenant holdings, they planted only one or two varieties of high yield potatoes which left the plants more susceptible to potential diseases.

A mold (Phytophthora infestans) or “late blight” originally coming from America infected Ireland’s potato crops in 1845. The disease caused the potato vines and tubers to rot and created a partial famine that year, with further devastating crop failures in the years that followed.¹⁰ In addition to facing starvation, tenant farmers and laborers could no longer pay taxes or rent and were evicted. Though Great Britain provided some famine relief to Ireland, it was not substantial enough to stave off the effects. This further intensified political strife between Britain and Ireland, and the Irish desire for independence from British rule. Due to famine, starvation, and other related diseases, an estimated one million people died during this period. Seeking relief from starvation and a way of making a living, many Irish citizens immigrated to other countries. During this period it is estimated that of the total emigrants coming to America, 49 percent were Irish.¹¹

For centuries beginning in the 1100s Ireland fought politically and sometimes militarily for the right to home rule from the oppressive British government. This chapter will not cover this complex cultural and social struggle, except to relate some background information to help explain the happenstance that led to the eventual mass immigration of the Irish to the North American Continent. 

Though the Irish were among the various ethnic groups that migrated to settle the American Colonies, they were a minority in the 1790s. English immigrants made up the majority at 82%, while Irish immigrants were 1.9% of the total. During these early days, Scotch immigrants made up 7%.¹² The major second wave of Irish immigrants came to America as the result of the Great Potato Famine beginning in 1845. The first year of the famine saw 44,821 Irish immigrants with the number swelling each year to over 112,000 immigrants in 1848.¹³

With crop failures, the already subsistence farmers and laborers of Ireland were poor with no way to pay for their passage to the new world. However, established Irish family members already in America helped pay for some immigrants along with Aid Societies in America. Even England helped by deporting some of their unwanted troublesome Irish population. Later in some cases railroads and canal companies imported Irish workers for cheap labor.¹⁴ However, most of these new arrivals from Ireland were broke and lived in extreme poverty.

With these later waves of Irish immigrants, most were unskilled along with being uprooted to a new world. Because of this, they preferred to remain in the disembarkation port cities or other large communities with an existing Irish population they could reach out to for help. By 1850 the City of New York “sheltered 133,000 Irish.”¹⁵ Western frontier cities also soon followed with Irish immigrant populations such as St. Louis. These cities soon saw the development of “Irish towns” or “Shanty towns” within the city housing these ethnic groups. 

Ethnicity and Immigrants 
The term ‘ethnicity’ from an anthropological perspective refers to a group of people that share identifying cultural characteristics.¹⁶ A unique ethnic population may be identified through language, music, values, religion, clothing styles, and foods. Calling someone Irish would be “considered an ethnic label.”¹⁷ In the 18th and 19th Centuries in America the people from Ireland would be proud of their Irish ethnic heritage and their name. Similar to the Scotch people from Scotland. However, historically (1700s to 1800”) the term Irish might be used by English colonists/nativists as a derogatory term for the newly arriving groups of Celtic immigrants.

The traditional Irish language was Gaeilge (or Gaelic) and is one of a group of Celtic languages. It has a grammatical similarity to Latin and German.¹⁸ Many Irish Immigrants to America were already bilingual, speaking some English in addition to native Gaelic. Others fairly quickly learned English, and some English words we have today came from Irish roots. 

Celts
Celts were originally an “Indo-European people” that spread across Europe to Britain in 3 BC. After, conquests by the Roman Empire in Europe, their culture declined on the continent.¹⁹ Leaving a more isolated group in the British Isles. The term Celtic (kel.tɪk} is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as: “of an ancient European people who are related to the Irish, Scots, Welsh, and Bretons, or of their language or culture.”²⁰ Though the Scotch and Irish people each have their own unique culture, they share a common ancestry and historically they did intermingle in some instances creating a borrowed culture. In recent times the term “Celtic” is used to refer to a related Scotch and Irish ethnic culture.

With both immigration occurrences in Britain and America, we will find the Scotch and Irish people already with somewhat similar heritage would assimilate some of each group’s cultural traits. This would also occur between immigrants and the communities where they settled. A term for this is acculturation, which means “cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture.”²¹ As will be seen acculturation occurred between the Scotch and Irish, as well as between them and the early American settlers, but not always was it an easy process. 

Scotch-Irish
Some historic references will refer to a mixture of the Celtic population as “Scotch-Irish.” So how did the term Scotch-Irish come about and what does it mean? Historically thousands of Scottish people from the lowlands immigrated “to Ireland in the seventeenth century.”²² This migration to Ireland was primarily in the Ulster area. Thus before the great famine and immigration to America, there was various intermixing of the Scotch and the Irish peoples and their customs. After several generations in Ireland, these groups of Scotch had socialized with their neighbors and “inevitably took on certain aspects of Irish culture.”²³ The main difference between the Ulster Irish and the Scottish immigrant was religion. The Scotch were Presbyterian while the native Irish were Catholic.²⁴ This would play a future role in the ethnic makeup and standing of the Irish who immigrated to America. 

The first Irish immigrants coming to America from Ulster in the 1700s were considered Irish despite their retention of Scottish Presbyterianism. If a distinction was made, the American colonists might refer to them as “Ulster Irish,” Northern Irish,” or “Irish Presbyterians.” Though the term Scotch-Irish was used in England, it pretty much disappeared in America between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. With the later waves of immigration to America of Irish Catholics, the nativist Irish Presbyterians began using the term “Scotch-Irish” as a means “to dissociate themselves from the newcomers [Irish-Catholics].”²⁵ The claim to a Scottish ancestry was also a way to gain a better social standing presenting images of the Scotch Highlander heroes, tartans, and bagpipes. 

The term Scotch-Irish has a much more complex history than presented here and remains somewhat controversial. However, it does illustrate that there was a blending of Celtic cultures between the Irish and Scotch in some groups of immigrants coming to America. This occurred both before and after immigration. So this perhaps accounts for some of the blending of customs and culture within the Irish-related traditions in the Fire Service.

American Experience
In the heyday of the Volunteer Firemen, most of the Firemen²⁶ in major cities were of British ancestry. As an example, in New York the aggregate fire companies were almost 60 percent English with Irish representing “about 7 percent.”²⁷ The Firemen were civic-minded volunteers who were mostly working-class business owners or skilled tradesmen. They represented the make-up of the cities at the time. Many of the early Irish immigrants, before the potato famine, arrived with some small savings and were skilled tradesmen and generally integrated into communities by providing needed trade services such as “blacksmiths, stonecutters, and tailors.”²⁸ Thus they were better able to assimilate into the local communities. Also, many were Ulster Protestant Irish, not facing the anti-Catholic prejudice of the nativist protestant colonist.²⁹

The demographics of the American cities continued to change over time due to a growth in immigrants and indentured servants. These later waves of immigrants had fewer skills and economic resources coming to the cities and were made up of lower-class laborers and the poor. In the case of the Irish immigrants, the males struggled to find work and took low-wage physical positions such as digging the Erie Canal or building new railroad lines.³⁰ Female Irish immigrants found work as domestic household servants, chambermaids, and nurses.³¹

With the coming of the American Civil War, many Irish found a way to show their courage and worthiness as new citizens by volunteering for the military, with “144,000 Irish immigrants” in the Union Army, many serving in the Irish Brigade.³² Females served as nurses adjacent to the battlefield. However, Irish immigrants also served on both sides of the conflict, with many in the South serving in the Confederate Army.³³

This was certainly the case in the wave of Irish immigrants migrating to America after the great potato famine in Ireland. The demographics of the fire companies also reflected the population change. The number of Irish joining fire companies or forming their own, especially Irish Catholic, became a trend. New York City saw an increase of “nearly 40 percent” in Irish Firemen.³⁴

The huge wave of Irish immigrants coming to America after the potato famine created overcrowding problems in cities and pushback from the nativist colonists. Competition for jobs by the primarily unskilled Irish immigrants and being mostly of the Catholic faith created major conflict between the Nativists and immigrants. It was common to see signs in businesses or advertisements in papers seeking workers that had the additional notation, “No Irish Need Apply” or the abbreviation “NINA.”³⁵ Though the presence of this sign or acronym has been disputed in recent years, there is historic evidence and references that this hiring prejudice against the Irish did occur.

Transition from Volunteer to Career Fireman
The adventurous spirit and drive to forge a new life in the untamed American Colonies were some of the factors that led to the success of the settlement of America. Joint community projects, such as martial defense (militia) and fire protection, were seen as essential and worthy undertakings by the citizens. This would lead to the heyday of the Volunteer Firemen. The attributes of someone who volunteered for the local fire company were seen as the makings of a good citizen for the community. These early volunteer Firemen came from all trades and ethnic groups within the community. Historian A.B. Lampe in his article on historic Volunteer Fire Companies related that:

It did not matter whether they were rich or poor, schooled or unschooled, German, Irish or French, or for that matter what religion they professed. All that mattered was that they were willing to organize spontaneously, give help without recompense, and rally to the aid of a neighbor in distress.³⁶ 

The prestige of community service, protecting the citizens from fire, would be one of the values that would transition with the job of Firemen from volunteer to paid/civil service positions. The newly established career Firemen realized the need to demonstrate that their courage and proficiency were as good as their predecessors, the volunteer Firemen had been.

Though the era of the steam fire engine would only last about 65 years, its contribution and impact on the Fire Service was far-reaching. By reducing the number of personnel needed to effectively fight a fire, the steamer was a main impetus in the creation of the career fire service. With the steam engine to power the fire/water pump, less manpower was required to manually pump the “brake levers” to produce water flow/pressure from the old hand pumpers. Coming about at the same time was the acceptance of using horses to pull the heavy fire apparatus instead of large numbers of firemen pulling the apparatus to the scene.³⁷

Fire Companies no longer needed 60 to 100 men for pumping and hauling of the apparatus. A small crew of six to eight firemen could produce the same water flow and fire attack with a horse-drawn fire steamer versus the original hand pump fire company. Two other factors were the development of riveted leather fire hoses and water distribution systems (fire mains and hydrants) in cities that enabled the tremendous improvement in fire fighting capabilities of this period. 

This quadruple convergence of the four closely aligned developments in firefighting would establish a new paradigm in the Fire Service.³⁸ This convergence began with the development of workable riveted leather fire hose by Sellars and Pennock in 1807, the implementation of fire water mains and fire plugs (hydrants) gaining wide acceptance around the 1850s, the invention and sale of the Latta Brothers first practical fire steamer in 1852, and fire horses added for quick response in the1860s. The convergence came at a critical time allowing the historic culture change in the Fire Service, and created the impetus for large cities to change from volunteers to the first career Firemen. 

These changes would also lay the groundwork for a change in staffing, specialization, operations, and modern tactics. In so doing it forever changed the history of the Fire Service and established new traditions that would eventually be incorporated in both the volunteer and career Fire Service. 

With the issues of political infighting of large independent volunteer fire companies and the general growing mistrust of the city populations, in many large cities, the city fathers and the Insurance Industry argued for a social change by advocating for a “paid” full-time Fire Department that they could more easily manage or control. Also, still suffering from a diminished pool of young, fit manpower in the cities due to the American Civil War, the time had come to consider the radical concept of a paid municipal fire force to serve the cities. This would lead to the first paid firemen and change over to career fire departments from the volunteer fire companies. A part of this would be the implementation of Civil Service positions for the fire department similar to what had transpired earlier with the police departments. 

During the transition from Volunteer to paid Fire Departments, many of the existing Fire Companies had prominent businessmen or tradespeople who served as volunteers. Though they were certainly as dedicated to the firefighting avocation as the Irish volunteers who applied for career positions, they found it difficult to give up their businesses and /or trades that they had built up in order to take a full-time position with the new paid Fire Department. So came the opportunity for the less established immigrants.

Why did civil service jobs in America attract so many immigrants, especially the Irish? The newly created civil services jobs such as Policeman and Fireman provided the Irishman three things they had not had in Ireland, “respect, [job] security, and a living wage.”³⁹ However, the benefits of the occupation of Fireman demanded an especially heavy price. Not only the requirement to risk one’s life on an almost daily basis, but to also live an austere and regimented lifestyle. In the early days of the paid fire department in many cities like New York, Firemen were required to always be on the job with the exception of one meal a day at home and one day off each week.⁴⁰ Despite the dangerous and austere life of the career Fireman, these new civil service positions quickly became a respected career for the Irish male immigrant. Irish descendants growing up in Fire Service families came to see this as the family business or occupation. Soon there would be multi-generations of family Firefighters serving in the same Fire Department. Today, in many locations around the country this custom of family service passing from one generation to the next remains a tradition. 

Examples of Celtic Immigrants and the Fire Service 
As can be seen from the previous historical review, Celtic immigrants had a major impact on settlement patterns and local ethnic culture in most major cities in the mid to late 1800s. To better understand these impacts and the effects on the Fire Service, we will examine two examples of leading port cities of the period, one on the east coast and one a river port at the entrance to the west. 

New York City
The City of New York has been discussed in previous chapters of this series, A Part of Fire Service History, because of its founding impact on many of the customs and traditions of the Fire Service. The town of New Amsterdam which would become the City of New York was well situated geographically being a major seaport and as such an early leader in American politics. Also, the city was known for its proactive approach to fire protection, instituting some of the first fire codes, and adopting new technology (hand pumpers) to improve fire protection and firefighting capability. New York’s innovative approach led to them becoming a recognized guide for American Firefighters.⁴¹ Some of the early developments coming from New York that would become tradition included: the iconic styled leather fire helmet, Maltese-cross badges and emblems, and the red shirt of early fire service uniforms.

As a major disembarkation port of the time period for newly arriving immigrants to America, New York would early on experience the mass influx of Irish immigrants resulting from the potato famine in Ireland. Though the city did not always deal with the resulting immigration problems successfully, they would be the early test of the great “American melting pot” for ethnic cultures.⁴²

The town of New Amsterdam (New York) would be the first Dutch settlement in North America being established as a trading outpost by the Dutch West India Company in 1626.⁴³ Peter Stuyvesant (noted as a leader in early fire protection in previous chapters) established the City of New Amsterdam in 1653 “modeled after the cities of Holland.”⁴⁴ Due to internal and external issues Stuyvesant was forced to surrender the city to the British in September 1664.⁴⁵ The city and territory quickly became the British Colony of New York with a resulting ingress of British citizens.

Fire Department New York
The development of a Fire Service in New York City progressed like most communities in America, starting with no fire protection and moving to communal efforts such as fire bucket brigades or fire societies. The purchase of the first two hand-pumped fire engines or “Handtubs” in 1731, would lead to the establishment of the first fire companies and the “age of Volunteer firemen.”⁴⁶ New York received its first steamer (steam fire engine) in 1841, but it was not readily accepted and later removed from service.⁴⁷ With the institution of the Metropolitan Fire Department (MFD), to later become the FDNY, steamers were added.

In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, the New York state government enacted a law to create “a Metropolitan Fire District (MFD) and Establish a Fire Department Therein.”⁴⁸ This included Brooklyn’s east and west divisions and replaced the problem-plagued volunteer fire departments establishing the M.F.D. Because of the war, the volunteer departments in New York were short on manpower, having trouble turning out on calls, and politically mismanaged. The replacement of volunteers actually took until 1869, and in 1870 the city regained control of the fire department from the state and changed the name to “Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY).”⁴⁹

Not all things went smoothly in the early days of New York City and the Fire Department or for the Irish immigrants. New York experienced a number of challenges and issues during its formative years. However, that is another part of Fire Service History.

Early Irish Firemen – FDNY
To illustrate the link between the Irish immigrants and the FDNY, we will take a brief look at two example Firemen who were of Irish heritage.

In 1889 Hugh Bonner was appointed Chief of the Fire Department. He was the first Irish immigrant to be appointed as Fire Chief. As an Irish immigrant, he had survived the “Great Potato Famine” and truly reflected the typical Irishmen of New York at the time. In New York, he grew up in the city’s Sixth Ward, a poverty-stricken area of tenements housing Irish immigrants. As a teenager, Bonner was a runner with “Lady Washington’s Engine Co. 40” and by the end of the volunteer era he was “the company’s foreman.”⁵⁰ Chief Bonner was noted for a heroic career as a Fireman, but his most prominently remembered for his work in fire prevention, and the establishment of the “school of Instruction” for rookies, as well as veteran Firemen.

John Bresnan was another Irish-American Fireman whose family immigrated in 1844 when he was a boy. They like the Bonners’ settled in New York’s Sixth Ward. As a youth, he attached himself to the local Engine Company in Five Points. In 1861 he “joined Engine Co. 21 as a volunteer,” and in 1865 “he was appointed to the new Metropolitan Fire Department” that would become the FDNY.⁵¹ Bresnan climbed the ranks to Battalion Chief and worked closely with Chief Bonner on fire prevention initiatives and committees. In late December of 1894, Batt. Chief Bresnan was killed in a factory fire, which was “at least his third fire in less than six hours.”⁵² His son John Bresnan, Jr. later joined the fire department and served as Chief Dispatcher.⁵³

Irish Historian Terry Golway, in his book, So Others Might Live, A History of New York’s Bravest, relates that “by 1889 the story of the FDNY and the story of the Irish in New York were interwoven.”⁵⁴ Research conducted by Golway indicated that of the one thousand Firemen listed on the FDNY roster in 1888, 75% of them were either born in Ireland or of Irish descent.⁵⁵

St. Louis
St. Louis began as a fur trading outpost on the Mississippi River in 1764 by Pierre Laclède Liguest, a Frenchman from New Orleans. It was named after the canonized French King Louis IX. Even though a French outpost the territory at the time was owned by Spain. Later the territory was ceded back to France and then became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.⁵⁶ The outpost and later town were originally settled by French and German settlers. Unlike the situation related to immigrants in New York, the original French settlers of St. Louis being mostly Catholic with a dislike for the English, the Irish Catholic immigrants were readily accepted into the community. Steamboats began to provide ready transport and commerce, and the city developed rapidly to become a major riverport city on the Mississippi. Mimicking to some extent the growth of New York City as it became a major sea port on the Atlantic coast. St. Louis like New York also experienced a series of major fires and epidemics that devastated the city during its early years. 

Irish immigration to St. Louis began before the Irish potato famine, and by 1820 the city’s population was around 15% of Irish descent.⁵⁷ Thirty years later by 1850, 43% of the ethnic composition of St. Lois’ population was from “either Ireland or Germany.”⁵⁸ 

Just as in New York, as the Irish population grew with increasing new arrivals, they tended to settle into Irish communities within the city of St. Louis, the “Kerry Patch” to the north, and Chelteham neighborhood, sometimes called “Dogtown.”⁵⁹ Being mostly Catholic they established parishes with their own Catholic churches, schools, and representation of Irish-Catholic culture.

St. Louis Fire Department
The development of the Fire Service in St. Louis progressed like most communities in America, starting with no fire protection and moving to communal efforts such as fire bucket brigades. They formed the first two Fire Companies around 1821, the North Fire Company and the South Fire Company.⁶⁰ St. Louis purchased their first steamers (three) from the Latta brothers in 1857, resulting from the City Council ordinance establishing the Fire department.⁶¹

Early career Firefighters served in difficult conditions, having to pay for their own uniforms. They served in hazardous situations with only a volunteer charity fund to provide relief in case of injury or death. Finally in 1893 Missouri legislation provided for municipalities to establish Pension Funds.⁶²

Just like in New York, not all things went smoothly in the past for St. Louis and the Fire Department, or for the Irish immigrants. St Louis experienced a number of challenges and issues during its formative years. However, that is another part of Fire Service History.

Early Irish Firemen – STLFD 
St. Louis Firemen Phelim O’Toole was one of the Department’s many heroic Firefighters. He was born in Ireland near Dublin in 1848. Going to sea at a young age he eventually landed in St. Louis in 1866 and joined the Fire Department in 1872. He came to prominence at the Southern Hotel Fire in 1877 while assigned to Hook and Ladder #3. Using a combination of rope and an aerial ladder he rescued 12 people.⁶³ He again demonstrated his heroics and ingenuity at the St. Louis Courthouse dome fire where he climbed to the top and cut a hole to be able to extinguish the fire. He achieved the final rank of Captain and died in 1880 at the age of 32 while fighting a basement fire.⁶⁴

Another St Louis Fireman who typified the Irish tradition of public service was Robert Finnegan. He was a second-generation Irish–American who was appointed to the St. Louis Fire Department in 1911. In his 45-year career, he climbed through the ranks to Deputy Chief.⁶⁵ Robert’s older brother, Michael Finnegan, was a career police officer in St. Louis.⁶⁶

Kansas City, MO
Though in this chapter we have focused on New York and St. Louis as example cities with Irish-American populations and Firefighters, It needs to be mentioned that Kansas City, Missouri, like St. Louis, also had an Irish and Catholic heritage in the City and Fire Department. Like other Midwest cities of the time period such as St. Louis, MO, Chicago, IL, and Milwaukee, WI, Kansas City had a growing Irish population and a substantial number serving in the public sector (Police and Fire). Starting out with bucket brigades and adding the first steam fire engine after the Civil War, the fire department grew rapidly to meet the needs of the citizens. During the 1880’s approximately 60% of the City’s Firefighters had been born in Ireland.⁶⁷ As in other cities of the period, the job of firemen was a hazardous occupation. They lived in austere conditions at the firehouse and originally earned only a “buck a day.”⁶⁸ Still like the Irish members of other fire departments, they came to view the job as a family occupation with son following father into the fire service.

Kansas City Fire Department Retired Deputy Chief Pat Gilchrist shared with the author numerous stories related to his Irish family history and KCFD. He said that there used to be an old saying that “you had to be a fair-haired Irish kid to be in the fire department.”⁶⁹ 

Today the City has a Kansas City Irish Center and various festivals that promote and celebrate the rich Irish heritage of the area. The City has a number of non-profit and church-sponsored Pipes and Drums bands.

Celtic Traditions and Bagpipes
One of the most recognized Celtic traditions adopted by the Fire Service is the playing of Bagpipes in parades, or for bereavement services at the death of a Firefighter or other official. The Bagpipe Corps or Bands are sometimes linked to Irish Emerald Societies that promote the Celtic culture in the Fire Service. There are also Emerald Societies in many Police Departments. Though these societies are Irish organizations and the sponsored pipers and bands may be of Irish lineage, it is found that most play Scotch Great Highland Bagpipes instead of Irish Uilleann pipes. This leads one to ask the question, what led Irish Firemen to adopt Scottish bagpipes thus creating a unique aspect of Fire Service culture and tradition?

The Origin and Development of Bagpipes
When Bagpipes are mentioned in America today, the picture that usually comes to mind is that of a Scottish Highlander dressed in a tartan kilt playing a culturally unique-sounding musical instrument. Though Bagpipes are certainly a part of Scottish history and culture, the bagpipe did not originate there. 

Somewhere in the past man’s ancient ancestors discovered they could make a musical sound by blowing through a hollowed-out reed. Additional experimentation by adding holes allowed differing sounds or notes to be made. These early pipes were probably made by shepherds minding their flocks were called “shepherds pipes”.⁷⁰ This would begin the history of the forerunner to bagpipes in Biblical times. The first actual bagpipes are estimated to be from around 100 AD where a reed pipe was combined with a bag made of “a bladder or a whole sheepskin or goatskin.”⁷¹ Bagpipes show up early in the ninth century in Europe and over time spread through various countries. Starting as a folk instrument, bagpipes changed and developed over time, and by the 15th century, they gained prominence as court musical instruments in France to military musical instruments on the battlefield.⁷²

To shorten the history lesson, some reference suggest that the Romans first brought the bagpipe to Britain around 80 AD or later from Europe by the Anglo-Saxons conquests around 450 AD. However, some historians relate that “the Celts in Britain had the bagpipe a full century before the time of Caesar.”⁷³ According to William Flood, in his book The Story of the Bagpipe, the Irish brought bagpipes to Scotland during colonizations in 120 and 506 AD. Irish language scholar John O’Donovan, related that because of this colonization relationship between the Irish and the Scottish Highlands “the literature and music of the one having been ever since those of the other.”⁷⁴ As part of the Irish and Scottish culture, bagpipes begin to be played in church services and for funerals. Especially for the funerals of prominent leaders. Throughout the intermingled battles for dominion between the English and the Scotch and Irish in the late 1200s and early 1300s, bagpipes or the “píob cogaidh” (war bagpipes) were prominent on all sides.

There is a fascinating history related to the bagpipes and the wars for independence between the Irish/Scotts and the English. For a time bagpipes and other Celtic cultural traditions were banned and pipers were incarcerated in English-controlled territories.⁷⁵ But this did not stop the traditions and customs of the Celtic people from being maintained. Soon these traditions and unique musical instruments would travel with their descendants in their immigration to America.

As mentioned there have been numerous ethnic groups making and using various types of bagpipes throughout history. This chapter will focus on the Irish and Scotch pipes and the modern-day Great Highland Bagpipes most commonly used by Military and Fire Service bands. 

Irish Bagpipes 
Irish bagpipes are called uilleann (or union) pipes, the term coming from the Irish word “uillinn” or elbow, being related to how it is played.⁷⁶ Also called Union pipes, these pipes are generally played with the piper seated with the bag lying on the lap and pressing the bellows (bag) with the elbow.⁷⁷ Pressing the bellows “feeds the air to the reeds of the melody chanter, as many as three drones, and three regulator stocks.⁷⁸ The union pipes compared to Scottish ones, have “a wider range” and can play “half-notes or chromatic notes.”⁷⁹ Irish pipes were generally quieter and therefore historically played indoors for celebrations and church services.

Scottish Bagpipes
Scottish bagpipes have two basic types, the Great Highland or Small Border pipes. The Highland Bagpipes are louder and used most commonly outdoors, while the Border pipes are quieter and used indoors. Highland pipes are played with the piper standing and the bag on the left side under the arm. To play, the piper inflates the bag “through a blow-pipe and the pressure from the left arm on the bag sends and controls the flow of air to the melody chanter and three drones.”⁸⁰ Highland Bagpipes were used by the Scots as a “tool of intimidation and inspiration in war.”⁸¹ The British military came to incorporate these pipes in their marching bands and they spread throughout the English colonies by their troops. In the early 1900s, Irish Regiments began to switch to the Great Highland Bagpipes as the preferred instrument because of its loud sound and to match the other pipe bands.⁸² Thus forming the tradition seen today of using Highland pipes in military pipes and drums units, and public service bands.

Modern Highland Bagpipes
The modern Great Highland Bagpipe (Piob Mor) is considered a woodwind musical instrument and consists of the basic components of a blowpipe, chanter, bag, and drones – two tenor drones and one bass drone. The blowpipe or blowstick attaches to the bag and is a mouthpiece that is used by the piper to blow air into the bag. It has a one-way valve to keep air in the bag. The bag is a bladder that is filled with air and used by compressing the bag to push air through the drones and chanter reeds to produce sound. The air-tight bladder is traditionally covered with a cloth bag. The Pipe Chanter contains a double reed and produces melody notes by the piper fingering the eight holes of the chanter. The drones contain single reeds and there are two tenor drones and one long bass drone. The drones produce the humming sound of the pipes. The bass drone is tuned one octave below the tenor drones. Drones are tuned by shortening or elongating their length using tuning sliders.⁸³ As mentioned previously, the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipes are generally chosen as the preferred pipes for Military, Police, and Fire Department bands because of their loud volume of sound, and this tradition began in the early 1900s.

Learning the Pipes
The Bagpipe is a challenging instrument to learn, but with practice and proper instruction, it can be a pleasurable instrument to play. Having a good instructor is essential to the learning process. There are a number of types of piping traditions found today including the Great Highland pipes, the Uilleann Pipes (Irish), Northumbiam Small Pipes, and Scottish Small Pipes. The Great Highland Pipes are the choice of most pipes and drum bands because they are very loud and command respect when played. No matter what type of pipes a piper plays, it is essential to choose a set of high-quality bagpipes. The McCallum Bagpipes, Ltd. from Scotland are makers of quality pipes that are used by many pipe and drum bands. Other quality manufacturers include Peter Henderson Bagpipes, R.G. Hardie Bagpipes, and MacLellan Bagpipes. 

To begin learning to play the bagpipes, one first uses a “practice chanter” (a blowpipe and chanter combined without the bag and drones) to learn the basics of playing. The practice chanter and the chanter of the bagpipes have eight finger holes to play various notes. The chanters are, played with the right hand on top using the right thumb and first three fingers, with the left hand below using the four fingers. After the practice chanter is mastered, the student moves on to learning to play the bagpipes. With consistent practice and ability, some people can learn to play the bagpipes within a year. It is not an easy instrument to play but a culturally rewarding one to master.

Funeral Traditions
With the incorporation of bagpipes in military tradition, the pipes began to be used in funerals to honor heroic soldiers killed in battle or at the death of prominent leaders. Special funeral marches were composed. This would lead to the bagpipes being played at funerals for honored family members and become a part of Celtic funeral tradition. This tradition would ultimately come to America with Irish immigrants and British military units. 

In the early days of the American Volunteer Firemen, various fire companies in New York had amateur musicians who formed bands to play for parades, firemen musters, and on occasion funerals. However, they originally played more traditional musical instruments not bagpipes. With the influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants and subsequently some of them joining the local fire company, Irish instruments and traditions came to be used, especially for funerals. 

With the change over from volunteers to a career department in New York, first as the Metropolitan Fire Department (MFD) and then to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), the Irish became the major ethnicity in the department. In the first thirty years of the career department, of the hundred firefighters that made the ultimate sacrifice, “sixty-six of them were Irish.”⁸⁴ These heroic sacrifices by the high number of Irish-American Firemen would bring Irish funeral traditions to the forefront in the fire service.

With the implementation of civil service positions in Police and Fire Departments of the period, and the Irish occupying a significant number of these positions, the practice of playing bagpipes at Line of Duty Funerals ultimately became a tradition in America. Unfortunately, the tradition waned for a while in the 1900’s,

Today, some of the more prevalent songs that are played for firefighter funerals in the U.S. Fire Service include: Amazing Grace, Going Home, and Highland Cathedral. The haunting and somber notes of the pipes are like no other musical instrument. The sound and the ethnic dress of the pipers and drummers provide distinctive honor and traditional farewell to a fallen compatriot, along with a lasting memory to the families of the firefighter.

Revival of the Bagpipe
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) first instituted a band in 1900. Their purpose was to provide music for celebration parades and to honor members at funerals. However, it did not last but a few years. The FDNY formed a marching band in 1913, with the addition of a Bugle and Drum Corp in 1920.⁸⁵

A Bagpipe band in New York was first formed in 1960 by the Police Department’s Emerald Society. The Fire Department’s Emerald Society pushed to have their own band, and a group of Irish-American Firefighters came together in 1962 to learn to play the bagpipes.⁸⁶ The first public appearance of the band was at an Emerald Society dance in 1962, followed by performing in St. Patrick’s Day parades in 1963.⁸⁷ With these performances, the Irish tradition of Bagpipes had returned to the Fire Department.

Just as New York had been a significant leader in establishing traditions in the Fire Service, their implementation of Emerald Societies and Bagpipe Units or Bands would soon encourage other fire departments across the country to revive the tradition of bagpipers.

Pipers and Pipe & Drum Bands – MO
Today there are numerous Pipers and Pipes & Drums Bands that participate in Fire Service functions and memorials. They carry on the historic tradition by playing to honor the service of those who serve. Some pipers or bands have members from a Fire Service background, while others are musicians who play the pipes and drums as part of their Celtic heritage and in support of the Fire Department traditions. The Annual Fire Fighter Memorial Service conducted by the Fire Fighters Memorial Foundation of Missouri in Kingdom City, MO, is but one of the moving tributes to firefighters who have lost their lives in the Line of Duty or past after years of dedicated service. Honor Guard Commander Tracy Gray said that the volunteer Pipers, Pipes & Drums Corps, and Honor Guards that participate each year provide a sense of dignity and solemnness to the memorial service, as well as preserve and maintain the historic traditions.⁸⁸

There are a number of Pipes and Drums Bands that are affiliated with Fire Departments or Fire Service Organizations in Missouri. The author had an opportunity to interview some of them and appreciates their sharing of their knowledge and experience. 

Brian Zinanni Fire Service Piper
Perhaps one of the more well-known Pipers in Missouri is Brian Zinanni. Besides helping create one of the Pipes and Drums bands in Missouri, Brian is the founder and state coordinator of the Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team. During his fire service career, Brian felt the need for a way to better honor the service of firefighters and other public safety officers who had fallen in the Line of Duty. The tradition of Bagpipes in the Fire Service resonated with him, and he began learning the bagpipes around 2000. Moving to Missouri, Brian served with the Clayton (MO) Fire Department, eventually serving as a Lieutenant and Medical Officer. Brian related that it takes about a year to learn the practice chanter before moving to the bagpipes. Though some can play the pipes after about six months to a year, Brian said that one never stops learning to play the pipes. Like most Fire Service Pipers, Brian played the Great Highland Pipes as part of the modern tradition. Though Brian does not have a Celtic family heritage, he was drawn to the Irish traditions in the Fire Service.⁸⁹

Though Brain does not play the pipes anymore, he continues a prominent presence through the many organizations he leads or represents that serve the families of Firefighters who have passed in the Line of Duty or after years of dedicated service. He truly reflects the historic Fire Service tradition of service to others before himself.

Greater St. Louis Area Firefighters Highland Guard
The Greater St. Louis Area Firefighters Highland Guard was formed in 2002 by Brian Zinanni and was composed of local area firefighters interested in following the tradition. The Guard currently has seven members composed of pipers and drummers. Two of the members are non-fire with the rest active duty or retired Firefighters. They currently have two new Pipers in training. The Pipers in the band play the Great Highland Pipes from various manufacturers. Originally the Greater St Louis Firefighters Highland Guard played wearing modern traditional Black Watch tartan kilts. Later they had a specially designed tartan woven in honor of and worn in memory of Ryan Hummert, FF/Paramedic, Maplewood, MO, killed in the Line of Duty in 2008. The tartan weave is an officially registered tartan with the Scottish Register of Tartans.⁹⁰

The Guard Chairman and Drum Sergeant Richard Aholt is a retired Firefighter/Paramedic with 30 years of service. Aholt related that the Guard played at 27 events in 2024. Aholt said that though they play at public events including the St. Patrick’s Day parade, their primary mission is to provide traditional music for Fire Memorials of Funeral services.⁹¹ The Guard has played at the Missouri Fire Fighters Memorial Services each year and also played at the International Association of Fire Fighters Memorial Service held in Colorado Springs, CO, in September. Drum Sgt. Aholt said that serving and honoring Firefighter’s families is what it is all about.

Boone County FPD Pipes and Drums
The Boone County Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Pipes and Drums were founded in 1997 by a group of the department’s volunteer Firefighters interested in the tradition. With a core group of six pipers and a few drummers, they made their first public performance in 1999. Today the band has nine pipers and six drummers and are all volunteer musicians, with one also being a volunteer Firefighter. A few members were experienced as pipers, but most were interested novices who learned to play through the instruction of mentors within the band. The piping members of the band play the great highland bagpipes made by various quality musical instrument manufacturers. Drum Major John Cunning leads the band and he related that they average performing at 10 to 12 community events a year along with Veterans’ Honor Flights out of Columbia, MO. They also are prepared to play for Firefighter Funeral ceremonies as needed. Drum Major Cunning said that the members of the band were passionate about preserving their Celtic heritage and continuing to honor the Fire Service traditions.⁹² They regularly participate in the Missouri Firefighters Memorial Services in October each year in Kingdom City, MO.

IAFF #152 Black Sheep Pipes & Drums
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local # 152 Black Sheep Pipes and Drums was formed in 2012. The band members are current firefighters from the IAFF local that represents nine different fire departments. The band has two pipers playing Highland Pipes and five drummers. The band wears traditional Celtic uniforms with a Wilson tartan in honor of the founder of Springfield. The band plays approximately 15 times a year including Fire Fighter Funerals, Fire Fighters Day at the Capital, Firefighter Memorials, and other solo piper performances. FF/Piper Daniel Zacher related that the Black Sheep Pipes and Drums are proud to give back to the Fire Service and honor the Firefighter families that have lost loved ones, providing support through their musical tribute.⁹³

Jefferson City Firefighters Pipes and Drums
The Jefferson City Firefighters Pipes and Drums originally had its origin when Firefighter Mike Schultz began learning the bagpipes as a way to honor the traditions of the fire service and the memory of those who died in the Line of Duty. Mike first played with other pipers at a memorial in observance of 9-11. He had the opportunity to play with other FF Pipes and Drums Corps in Missouri. In 2014 two other Firefighters became drummers and formed the official Pipes and Drums. The band wears traditional kilts of the Black Watch tartan and a unique doublet jacket of green in honor of the Irish history of the Fire Service. The Jeff City Pipes and Drums have played for various memorials, as well as celebrations such as weddings. Currently, they mainly make themselves available for Firefighter Funerals when needed. Piper Mike Schultz says it doesn’t make any difference whether a Fire Department is large or small, when needed they are there to honor firefighters and their families.⁹⁴ 

Honoring Pipers and Bands
The author as a Fire Service member has personally attended numerous Fire Fighter memorials and Funerals and knows the beautiful musical tribute these and other Pipes and Drums Bands bring to the ceremony along with providing full honors for those fallen in the Line of Duty. These bands continue to honor the heritage and traditions of the Fire Service and perform in tribute to their fellow firefighters. The author apologizes to the Missouri Pipers and Bands that he was unable to cover in this chapter.

Other Irish Culture and Traditions

Celtic Wear
As proud ethnic cultures, the Irish and Scotch people in the historic past had traditional manners of dress specific to their heritage. Some of this traditional dress has been passed down to be worn by the Pipers and Drummers of the military and public service bands today. The uniform worn by many Celtic Pipes and Drum Corps in the Fire Service includes a high-collared uniform-styled short jacket (doublet) and kilt, along with other traditional clothing items and accouterments. The kilt is a historic form of woven plaid wool clothing of the Celtic peoples, and still worn today for formal ceremonies, and in military and fire service pipe and drum bands. The kilt wraps around the body and resembles a skirt or “knee-length garment that is worn by men.”⁹⁵ The kilt is made of woolen fabric woven in a heraldic pattern called a tartan. 

Scottish tartans are based on the traditional woven wool of a “cross-checkered pattern of different colored bands, stripes, or lines of definite width and sequence.”⁹⁶ The Scottish tartan identifies the specific family or clan from which the individual wearer comes. The Irish tartan differs in that the pattern and colors represent the ancestral district or county from which the individual comes. 

Individual members of Fire Service Pipes and Drums Corps/Bands may wear their Celtic family heritage tartan, significant related tartan, or a specially designed tartan. The Scottish Parliament created The Scottish Register of Tartans to preserve “information about historic and contemporary tartans from Scotland and throughout the world.”⁹⁷ The registry includes listings of tartans designed and registered specifically for a fire department or fire service organization. Many of these tartans contain a mix of the colors of red, black, and gold as traditional fire service colors.

Other Musical Instruments and Dance
It should be mentioned that in addition to original uilleann pipes, Irish traditional music had other instruments including the Irish harp, the fiddle, the flute, the tabor (small double-sided drum), and the traditional bodhran drum. They were played for various celebratory events and accompanied by ethnic folk dance that included jigs and reels. Traditional celebration dances are performed with fast foot movements and high kicks while the upper body is kept straight. Dances can be performed individually, in groups (Ceili), or in teams. Celtic music and dance have had a resurgence in America in recent times with many popular performers and dance troops performing on tour. Irish dances may be performed by Irish groups at various Emerald Society or Fire Department celebrations in major cities with an Irish heritage.

Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was considered the religious apostle to the Irish and is the patron saint of Ireland. There is some controversy over the date of his birth and death, but he is thought to have lived in the late 5th Century.⁹⁸ He was born in Britain and when a teenager he was kidnapped by Irish pirates. He was later freed and underwent training in the Christian ministry. Returning to Ireland he befriended the Celtic tribes and went about evangelizing and baptizing Irelanders to Christianity. 

St. Patrick was highly successful in his ministry, and legends started to grow about him. Around the seventh century, a number of legends began to be attributed to St. Patrick including driving all the snakes out of Ireland and destroying them in the sea.⁹⁹ It is said that St Patrick used the Irish Shamrock, to explain the Christian religious concept of the “Holy Trinity” as part of his ministry.¹⁰⁰ The Trinity refers to one God in three forms, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.¹⁰¹ The iconic shamrock is a native three-leaf plant on a stalk that is a type of clover growing in Ireland. It is related to white clover and suckling clover found in the British Isles.¹⁰² The Shamrock is considered a national flower in Ireland, and it is traditionally worn on lapels and images used as decorations on St. Patrick’s Day, 

Some Firefighters, historically and today, wear a crucifix, Maltese Cross, or medallion on a chain or lanyard around the neck in recognition of their faith, heritage, or profession. A religious medallion could be a Catholic Saint’s medal, such as Saint Florian (Patron Saint of Firefighters) as a religious symbol of protection. Or, it may simply be worn as a non-denominational symbol related to their profession. In the Fire Service St. Florian and St. George medallions are popular. Firefighters of Irish descent may choose to wear St. Patrick medallions as a symbol of their heritage and/or beliefs or the image of a shamrock. 

Feast Day of St. Patrick
March 17th is the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Ecclesiastical feast days for Christian Saints are days set aside to honor Individual Saints on the date of their martyrdom or as a celebration day in remembrance.¹⁰³ In the United States, the ethnic heritage of Irish immigrants brought the tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with them. However, today it is more of a secular holiday than a religious one with partying and the imbibing of various beverages. Part of the tradition is the wearing of green-colored clothes and/or shamrocks to celebrate the day. Irish immigrants in America first celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with a parade in Boston in 1737. New York followed with its first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1762.¹⁰⁴ The Volunteer Firemen of these cities were undoubtedly part of the parades showing off their elaborately decorated apparatus, as well as celebrating their members of Irish heritage.

It is traditional for people of Irish ancestry (and celebration partakers) to wear the color green in celebration of St Patrick’s Day, along with shamrocks. The color green and shamrocks are representative of St. Patrick and Ireland. However, the wearing of green did not become prominent until the 18th century. Before that the Order of St, Patrick’s official color was blue, but that is another story in and of itself.¹⁰⁵

Corned Beef and Cabbage
So why do Americans eat corned beef and cabbage in observing Saint Patrick’s Day? Most people assume it is an Irish ethnic dish historically from Ireland. However, it is an American dish that is traced back to Jewish immigrants in early American cities. As has been covered earlier in this chapter, the typical tenant farmer in Ireland could not afford beef and subsisted primarily upon potatoes with maybe a little pork. What cattle were raised in Ireland were conserved for dairy cattle or made into corned beef and sold to Britain and other countries. Corned beef was an early means of preserving meat by being brined in salt and spices. Traditionally using course kernels of rock salt called “corn” thus the name corned beef.¹⁰⁶ In the American Colonies, corned beef was imported and became a staple of inner city butcher shops selling to the poor and immigrant populations. The Jewish butchers and local families probably introduced the dish of corned beef and cabbage to the Irish immigrants, becoming a fairly cheap food staple for them in America and traditionally being mixed with, you guessed it, potatoes.¹⁰⁷ In reality, the eating of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day began as an American custom or tradition not originating in Ireland. So if you really want to be traditional in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, cook up some pork and boiled potatoes.

Emerald Societies
Emerald Societies in America are social organizations that promote the fellowship and culture of Irish-American decedents. Local chapters may be tied to individual public service agencies, such as fire or police. The first Emerald Society in the United States began in New York City with the Police department in 1953. In 1956, Firefighters of the FDNY of Irish American descent formed their own chapter.¹⁰⁸ Today many major cities have an Emerald Society. In support of cultural activities, they may sponsor bagpipe bands, and host cultural events and parades. 

Though these organizations did not start in the early days of American civil service Firefighters or Police Officers, they relate back to the tight-knit social groups and communities of Irish immigrants as they embraced their culture along with the professions of service in America. 

The Legacy of Change and Tradition
The American colonies that would become the United States were settled by various ethnic groups that would meld together to become the American people. Though the English were the early dominant colonists, other nationalities were part of the mix. Each group brought their ethnic heritage, customs, and religious beliefs to the mix that would create the American experience. 

The earliest Irish immigrants being tradesmen or skilled laborers would join other colonists in taking responsibility for serving their community through various public services such as joining local militias or volunteer fire companies. With the coming of the first-hand tubs or hand-pumped engines, the grand and glorious days of the Volunteer Firemen would protect American citizens for a period of over 150 years. Though not always mild-mannered or successful, these Volunteer Firemen protected life and property in the American Colonies and early days of the United States.

These Firemen coming from various ethnic groups would lay the foundation of the traditions of the American Fire Service. Each ethnic group shares its customs and traditions through the close-knit camaraderie of the local Fire Company. 

With the invention and implementation of mechanical-driven (steam) fire pumps, horses and quick hitch harnesses to deploy the engine, along with dependable fire hoses and municipal water supplies; the stage was set for social change in the Fire Service and the introduction of the first civil service career firefighters. The prominent migration of Irish Immigrants coming to America because of the great potato famine would be a significant source of manpower for the newly created career fire departments and in so doing contribute their cultural traditions to the American Fire Service.

Because of a prominent number of Irish-American Firemen serving with Fire Companies, they would also be numbered among those who would face death in the Line of Duty. This would bring Irish funeral traditions to the forefront. With the implementation of civil service positions in Police and Fire Departments of the period, and the Irish occupying a significant number of these positions, the practice of playing bagpipes at Line of Duty Funerals ultimately became a tradition in America. Though the tradition lapsed for a while in the early 1900s, it was reinstituted with the forming of the FDNY Pipes and Drum Corp in the 1960s. This reinvigorated tradition would soon proliferate throughout the United States.

Despite the dangerous and austere life of the early career Fireman, these new civil service positions became a respected career for Americans and Irish male immigrants. Irish descendants growing up in Fire Service families came to see this as the family trade or occupation. Soon there would be multi-generations of family members serving in the same Fire Department. Today, in many locations around the country this custom of family service passing from one generation to the next remains a tradition. The personal and team commitment to service above one’s self has made the Fire Service the honored occupation or avocation that it is today. 

Authors Comments
The author along with fellow Firefighters proudly celebrates the traditions of the Fire Service, including the Irish-American customs and heritage. Coming from intermingled Irish and Scotch ancestry, I still remember as a youth the family tradition of wearing green on Saint Patrick’s Day. 

The author wishes to recognize and thank the fire service personnel and organizations for their assistance in the development of this article. In particular, the author expresses his appreciation to: 

Tracy Gray, Honor Guard Commander – Fire Fighters Memorial Foundation of Missouri; John Cunning, Drum Major – Boone County Fire Protection District Pipes and Drums; Brian Zinanni, Piper, Founder and Coordinator – Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team; Richard Aholt, Chairman and Drum Sergeant – Greater St. Louis Area Firefighters Highland Guard; Daniel Zacher, FF/EMT and Piper – IAFF Local 152 Black Sheep Pipe and Drums; Mike Schultz, Fire Captain and Piper– Jefferson City (MO) Fire Department; Pat Gilchrist, Deputy Chief (Ret.) KCFD; Stephen McLane, Captain – BCFPD; Steve Holtmeier, President – Jefferson City Fire Museum; Richard “Smokey” Dyer, Fire Chief (Ret.) KCFD (MO); and Gail Hagans-Reynolds, Educational Program Coordinator – MU FRTI.

Also, the University of Missouri Ellis Library/Lending Library for assisting the author in obtaining the inter-library loan of various research documents and archival materials.

The author also wishes to recognize all the various Historians and Authors for their extensive and invaluable work in Fire Service History through artifact notes, articles, and books that have been used for research purposes by the author and footnoted in this series. May their work continue to endure the ages and preserve the true history and traditions of the American Fire Service.

Endnotes

1. Wallace, Birgitta. “Vinland”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Apr. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Vinland. Accessed 8 December 2024.
2. Price, David A., “Jamestown Colony”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamestown-Colony. Accessed 8 December 2024.
3. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “American colonies (How colonization took place)”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-colonies. Accessed 8 December 2024.
4. Samuel P. Orth, Our Foreigners: A Chronicle of Americans in the Making, Jefferson Publishing, Cleveland, Ohio, Copyright 10/21/2015, Page 15.
5. James G. Leyburn, The Scotch-Irish, A Social History, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1962, p. 327.
6. “Potato.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potato. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Mokyr, Joel. “Great Famine”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Famine-Irish-history. Accessed 25 November 2024.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Samuel P. Orth, Our Foreigners: A Chronicle of Americans in the Making, p 15.
13. Ibid, p. 46.
14. Ibid, p. 47.
15. Ibid, p. 48.
16. Hervé Varenne, “anthropology – The study of ethnicity, minority groups, and identity”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/science/anthropologym. Accessed 29 December 2024.
17. Ibid.
18. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “Irish language”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Irish-language. Accessed 19 January 2025.
19. Cana, Proinsias Mac and Dillon, Myles. “Celtic religion”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-religion. Accessed 8 January 2025.
20. Definition of Celtic from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press) https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/celtic
21. “Acculturation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acculturation. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.
22. James G. Leyburn, The Scotch-Irish, A Social History, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1962, p. v.
23. Ibid, p. 327.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid, p. 332.
26. The original term “Fireman” found in this series, “A Part of Fire Service History,” is used by the author in an historical context instead of the current accepted generic term of “firefighter.” 
27. Terry Golway, So Others Might Live, A History of New York’s Bravest, the FDNY from 1700 to the Present, Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, NY/NY, 2002, p. 69.
28. Michael Coffey, Editor; Terry Golway, Text, The Irish in America, 1st Edition, Hyperion, New York: New York, 1997, p. 137.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid, p. 140.
31. Ibid, p. 144, 147.
32. Ibid, p. 149.
33. Ibid.
34. Terry Golway, So Others Might Live, A History of New York’s Bravest, the FDNY from 1700 to the Present, p.76.
35. Michael Coffey, Editor; Terry Golway, Text, The Irish in America, 1st Edition, p. 136.
36. A. B. Lampe, “St. Louis Volunteer Fire Department, 1820-1850, A Study in the Volunteer Age”, Missouri Historical Review, Volume 62 Issue 3, April 1968, published by The State Historical Society of Missouri, copyright 2008, Digital Collection accessed Dec. 7, 2024, https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/mhr/id/31758/rec/3, p. 258-259.
37. For more information on Steam Fire Engines and Hand Pump Fire Apparatus, refer to the previous Chapters in this series: “The Age of Steam Fire Engines, A Part of Fire Service History”, FFAM Magazine, November /December 2022, Vol. 65, Issue #6, and “Handtubs and Hand Pumped Fire Engines, A Part of Fire Service History”, FFAM Magazine, November /December 2023, Vol. 66, Issue #6.
38. The quadruple convergence in the fire service came together between 1850’s and 1860’s and brought about historic change in the Fire Service and is promulgated by the author, and presented in the history series “A Part of Fire Service History” (2025). 
39. Terry Golway, So Others Might Live, A History of New York’s Bravest, the FDNY from 1700 to the Present, Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, NY/NY, 2002, p. XIII.
40. Ibid, p. 4.
41. John V. Morris, Fires and Firefighters, Bramhall House: New York, 1955, p. 57.
42. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “Americanization”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Oct. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Americanization. Accessed 2 January 2025.
43. Lankevich, George. “New York City” (History). Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City. Accessed 27 December 2024.
44. The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Peter Stuyvesant”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Stuyvesant. Accessed 27 March 2023.
45. Lankevich, George. “New York City” (History). Encyclopedia Britannica.
46. Dennis Smith, Dennis Smith’s History of Firefighting in America, 300 Years of Courage, The Dial Press, New York, 1976, p. 14.
47. William T. King, History of the American Steam Fire Engine, Originally published by The Pinkham Press, Boston, 1896, current edition: Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 2001, p. 5.
48. Gary R. Urbanowicz, Badges of the Bravest, Turner Publishing Co., Paducah, KY/M.T. Publishing Co., Inc., Evansville, IN, 2002/03, p. 16.
49. Ibid. 
50. Terry Golway, So Others Might Live, A History of New York’s Bravest, the FDNY from 1700 to the Present, p. 123.
51. Ibid, p. 124.
52. Ibid, p. 152.
53. Ibid, p. 153.
54. Ibid, p.144.
55. Ibid.
56. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “St. Louis” (History). Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Louis-Missouri. Accessed 28 December 2024.
57. David A. Lossos, Images of America, Irish St. Louis, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, Chicago, IL, Portsmouth, NH, San Francisco, CA, 2004, p. 8. 
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid.
60. A. B. Lampe, “St. Louis Volunteer Fire Department 1820-1850, A Study in the Volunteer Age”, Missouri Historical Review, Volume 62, Issue 3, April 1968, The State Historical Society of Missouri, p. 238. 
61. W. Fred Conway, Those Magnificent Old Steam Fire Engines, Fire Buff Publishers, New Albany, Indiana, 1997, p. 220.
62. John D. Brewer, Executive Director, “How We Got Here – A Brief History of The Firemen’s Retirement System”, St. Louis Firefighters Local 73, January 25, 2024, web article accessed Jan. 2, 2025: https://www.stlouisfirefighters.org/latest-news/how-we-got-here—a-brief-history-of-the-firemens-retirement-system.  
63. Frank C. Schaper and Betty Burnett, Images of America St. Louis Fire Department, Arcadia Publishing, Printed in Great Britain, 2003, p. 82.  
64. Scott K. Williams, “Phelim O’Toole”, Find A Grave – Memorial, web article accessed Jan 3, 2025: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30873863/phelim-o’toole.
65. David A. Lossos, Images of America, Irish St. Louis, p. 106, 109. 
66. Ibid, p. 106
67. Pat O’Neill, From the Bottom Up: The Story of The Irish in Kansas City, Seat O” The Pants Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2000, p. 79.
68. Ibid. p. 79.
69. From telephone interview with Pat Gilchrist, Deputy Chief (Ret.) – Kansas City (MO) Fire Department by author on February 6, 2025.
70. William H. Grattan Flood, The Story of the Bagpipe, originally published by: The Walter Scott Publishing Company, Ltd, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911, reprint edition by Forgotten Books, Monee, IL, 2012, p. 3.
71. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “bagpipe”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/art/bagpipe. Accessed 14 December 2024.
72. Ibid.
73. William H. Grattan Flood, The Story of the Bagpipe, p. 33.
74. Ibid, p. 43.
75. Ibid, p. 119.
76. “Uilleann pipes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uilleann%20pipes. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
77. “Are Bagpipes Irish?”, Celtic Croft, Brooklyn Park, MN, web article accessed Jan. 6, 2025: https://kilts-n-stuff.com/are-bagpipes-irish/. 
78. David Papazian, “Bagpipes”, Silver Apple Newsletter, Cranford Publications, Nova Scotia, Canada, Nov. 5, 2000, web article accessed Jan. 5, 2025: https://www.cranfordpub.com/articles/Bagpipes.htm. 
79. “Are Bagpipes Irish?”, Celtic Croft.
80. David Papazian, “Bagpipes”, Silver Apple Newsletter. 
81. Ibid.
82. William H. Grattan Flood, The Story of the Bagpipe, p. 214.
83. “Parts of the Bagpipe”, U.S. Coast Guard Pipe Band, 2025, web article accessed Jan. 8, 2025: https://www.uscgpipeband.org/bagpipeparts.php. 
84. Dennis Smith, “A Soul for the Civil Service”, copyright 1997 by Dennis Smith, an essay in: Michael Coffey, Editor; Terry Golway, Text, The Irish in America, 1st Edition, Hyperion, New York: New York, 1997, p. 165.
85. “Strike Up the Band”, New York City Fire Museum, Official Museum of the Fire Department of New York, NY:NY, 2023, web article accessed Dec. 11, 2024, https://www.nycfiremuseum.org/stikeuptheband. 
86. Kerry Sheridan, Bagpipe Brothers, The FDNY Band’s True Story of Tragedy, Mourning, and Recovery, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2024, p. 3-4.
87. Ibid, p. 12-13.
88. From telephone interview with Tracy Gray, Honor Guard Commander for Fire Fighters Memorial Foundation of Missouri, MO, by author on January 28, 2025.
89. From personal interview with Brian Zinanni, Piper and Founder/State Coordinator of the Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team, by author on February 7, 2025.
90. “Tartan – Greater St. Louis Area Firefighters Highland Guard”, Reference # 10336, The Scottish Register of Tartans, National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, tartan website database accessed January 31, 2025: https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=10336.  
91. From telephone interview with Richard Aholt, Chairman and Drum Sergeant,  Greater St. Louis Area Firefighters Highland Guard, MO, by author on January 31, 2025.
92. From telephone interview with John Cunning, Drum Major – Boone County Fire Protection District Pipes and Drums, MO, by author on January 17, 2025.
93. From telephone interview with Daniel Zacher, Firefighter/EMT and Piper – IAFF # 152 Black Sheep Pipes and Drums, MO, by author on February 7, 2025.
94. From telephone interview with Mike Schultz, Fire Captain and Piper – Jefferson City Firefighters Pipes and Drums, MO, by author on February 12, 2025.
95. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “kilt”, Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/kilt . Accessed 23 January 2025.
96. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “tartan”, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/art/tartan-textile-design. Accessed 23 January 2025.
97. “About Us”, The Scottish Register of Tartans, National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, accessed January 31, 2025: https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/aboutUs.  
98. Livingstone, E.A., Dr., editor, “Patrick St”, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, NY, NY, 2013, p. 423-424.
99. O’Raifeartaigh, Tarlach and Ostberg, René. “St. Patrick”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Patrick. Accessed 19 January 2025.
100. Ibid.
101. Livingstone, E.A., Dr., editor, “Trinity, the doctrine of”, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, NY, NY, 2013, p. 572.
102. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “shamrock”, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/plant/shamrock. Accessed 19 January 2025.
103. Livingstone, E.A., Dr., editor, “Feasts, Ecclesiastical”, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, NY, NY, 2013, p. 423-424.
104. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “St. Patrick’s Day”, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Patricks-Day. Accessed 19 January 2025.
105. Shaylyn Esposito, “Should We Be Wearing Blue on St. Patrick’s Day?”, Smithsonian Magazine Online, March 17, 2015, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, 2025, web article accessed February 10, 2025: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/#:~:text=Patrick%2C%20blue%20as%20a%20color,and%20rebellion%20for%20the%20Irish.
106. McNamee, Gregory Lewis, “corned beef”, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/corned-beef. Accessed 19 January 2025.
107. Shaylyn Esposito, “Is Corned Beef Really Irish?”, Smithsonian Magazine Online, March 15, 2013, web article accessed January 20, 2025: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/is-corned-beef-really-irish-2839144/. 
108. 108 The Emerald Society of Columbus, “History of the Emerald Society”, Emerald Society of Columbus, 2025, web article accessed January 20. 2025: https://www.emeraldsocietyofcolumbus.org/history-of-the-emerald-society/.