Although mention of the bodhran as a Celtic instrument appears as far back, I believe, as the time of Julius Caesar, it seems to have vanished ages ago. Its resurrection would appear to be a fairly recent phenomenon (last thirty years). Conversing with an aged Irishman at the Gaelic League one evening a couple of years ago...we were talking about Irish music and he mentioned he didn't really care for the Chieftains. When I asked him why he replied, "they're all fine musicians and make some good music, but they're always using that damn drum!" Growing up in Ireland any time during the first half of this century, the bodhran was not a familiar thing. I would guess one would be hard-pressed to find reference to the bodhran anywhere from around 1000 AD up until, as I said, the past thirty years. It could well be that the drum was suppressed, as were the pipes and harp. When the Irish and Scots migrated to this side of the pond (17th & 18th centuries), I doubt that many brought instruments. Once here, the fiddle seems to have been the instrument of choice, with other stringed instruments to follow. Anyway, WW, you've got us off to an interesting start.

J.