Contact

Brendan White
W. Alexander Str 41
5502 VB Veldhoven
The Netherlands
Tel +31 (0)40 2542119
Fax +31 (0)40 2542119
brendan@bodhran.nl

The Goat the Bodhran and Me

 Hello,

My name is Brendan White and I come from Youghal in Co Cork.I was kind of washed ashore in Holland a few years ago.I have very little so say about bodhrans that has not already been said The bodhran  has become as much a symbol of Ireland as the harp and maybe even more so in recent years.The goat is one of the only domesticated animals that go wild after 3 months of freedom.

I started off as a player over 30 years ago. Then I started making non tunable bodhrans, they were good for there time but they were like all non tunables trouble some, if you did not no how to handle them.Charlie Byrne fair play to him made the best of them.

Donal Lunny encouraged me to try and make one with the tuners on the inside, after tinkering a lot I succeeded. I now have a very strong reliable rim and tuning system .Life span between 10 and 20 years depending on who is sitting behind it.

Johnny Mc Donagh asked me to try multiple heads which I did with success.The skins I use tell there tale in sound.Gino Lupari asked if I could a make a lighter rim which gave me the idea of the hollow rim or sound chamber. All my bodhrans have that unless otherwise requested. I use Finnish birch wood a fast growing wood and renewable.Water based color and waterbased varnish. I have no excuse for the goats or the little bit of brass. 

They have also made it into films.Donal Lunny in The Brylcream Boys, my good friend Mick Flynn in Ballykissangel, Tim Foley in Masters and Commanders, Jackie Moran in The Road To Perdition, and Marc Duff from Capercaille in Rob Roy. 

Thanks to all.

 Especially  Donal Lunny,Tommy Hayes, Donnachadh Gough,Colm Murphy and Ron Kavanugh for the bodhran song he wrote it out  for me on the back of our list of tunes,when we were supporting him at a gig. Gino Lupari did the business on the badrown.

                                              Buying On Line

If your bodhran gets damaged in transit you get a new one. If I may say so myself I have a very quick and good after service, for repairs,reskining or whatever,only my own ones though.

Thats it.

Brendan