Today is International Bagpipe Day, and it’s a pretty nifty instrument to celebrate, especially during Irish-American Heritage Month. Historians are unsure how bagpipes made their way to the British Isles, but they are known to have been played in Egypt as early as 400BC! Bagpipes are very popular in public safety circles, as many Irish gravitated towards the police and fire service in America’s biggest cities during the 19th and 20th centuries, bringing with them their music and traditions.
We’re happy to have Sergeant James F. Ryan III as the piper for the NCPD Honor Guard. Sgt. Ryan, a student of the Great Highland Bagpipe since 2000, represents the department at a wide variety of public safety and civic events throughout the State of South Carolina and beyond. He learned to play with the then-Charleston Police Pipes & Drums (now the Charleston Pipe Band) after the passing of his father- another lawman- who was a piper in Brooklyn, NY, and carries on the tradition playing his Dad’s pipes.
With St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaching, you’ll hear a lot of bagpipes in the next week or so, including at this Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Block Party & Parade on E. Montague Ave. Happy International Bagpipe Day, and enjoy the music! #PathForward