CLAY PIPES AND DÚIDÍNS

by Tom Kenny

In the days before cigarettes were invented, clay pipes were very popular and could be found in most houses in the country. They were mainly used by working class people, easy to purchase, mass produced, cheap and light and smoked by men and women. The short stemmed version was known as a dúidín or dudeen in Ireland, as a cutty in Scotland and a ‘nose warmer’ in England. The longer version was known as the Beannacht Dé pipes or ‘The Lord ha’ mercy’ pipe, as that was how people invariably responded when you gave them one, “Beannacht Dé Leat”.

They were sometimes decorated with a shamrock, a round tower, a harp, the head of Daniel O’Connell, a wolfhound or maybe words like ‘Home Rule for Ireland’. They usually had a mark which identified the maker. No wake was complete without a supply of these dúidíns, a gross of them would be ordered, filled with cheap tobacco and handed out to whoever attended the ritual to go with the whiskey and porter.  Afterwards, these pipes would be discarded and dumped.

It took a little trouble to look after one’s pipe, for example, tapping it against a hard surface to dump the tobacco or the ashes was not a good idea. Pipes were brittle and easily broken, they had a short working life. The most efficient way to clean it was to place it on the coals of a fire where all the residue would burn to ashes. This process helped to make the pipe more durable. Many people would dip the shank of the pipe in whiskey or in Guinness, a process which sealed the mouthpiece and imparted a good flavour to the smoker. One could not clench the pipe between the teeth and for some who did not like the idea of a clay stem in the mouth, they would dip the stem into a cup of tea. In the manufacturing process, the mouthpiece was treated with a waxy layer after firing to prevent the smoker’s lips sticking to the absorbent clay. As tobacco got cheaper, the bowl of the pipe was made larger.

Pipe-making was a very skilled job, one had to be expert to fire the kiln, to get the clay to the right consistency, to insert a needle through the stem to create the hole for smoke. The final part of the process involved scraping the excess clay from the mould. This was unskilled and in Knockcroghery (which was the biggest centre for pipe-making in the country) to be called a ‘pipe-scraper’ was to be grossly insulted.

In Galway, the earliest clay pipes found by archaeologists date to around 1630. They were mostly English and Dutch in origin. Locally produced Galway pipes began to appear around 1700. Some could be purchased from under the counter in grocery shops but most were sold in taverns and ale-houses. Indeed, some publicans would hand out a free pipe to the customer with the drink order. The pipe-makers in Galway we know about were; Samuel Gorman, William Street West; Mary J. Hynes, no.6, Prospect Hill, 1881  - 1908; Michael Hynes, no. 6, Prospect Hill 1908 – 1911; Laurence O’Gorman, Presentation Road 1881 – 1890, whose factory was in Mill Street. So it would appear that pipe making ceased in Galway in 1911. Our photograph (for which we thank Peter Cooke) of the Hynes factory on Prospect Hill was taken c1900. As you can see, it was a busy place, at least ten people worked there and they were paid according to the amount of product they produced.