Lt. Robert Walsh, a bagpipe player and FDNY EMT, typically performs at funerals and memorial services, but those who like the sound of woodwind instruments may want to listen to his performances in a more convivial setting. You can also listen to
He regularly practices in Central Park on the west side of 102 Street Transverse, where he draws large crowds of fans.
“[I] Get people to take pictures and videos,” Walsh, a key member of the FDNY EMS Pipes and Drums Band, told the Post.
“Or people clap or come up to me when I’m playing a song,” he said. “They always say they have some kind of connection to their family or that the sound reminds them of something.”
This weekend, he and his band are looking forward to another uplifting venue: the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City on Saturday.
“We get to play more fun songs,” he says, while wearing a dress jacket, Glengarry hat and kilt, as well as a military medley and traditional songs like “Robin Adair” and “The Rowan Tree.” said the 55-year-old, who plays Irish melodies.
“It’s like prom,” Walsh told the Post. “We all dress up and take pictures together. It’s so much fun.”
Walsh, who joined the FDNY in 2000 and worked nightmarish 16-hour shifts at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11, didn’t always have the musical talent to attract large crowds.
Although he never picked up an instrument as a child, he was drawn to playing and joined the FDNY band when it launched in 2006.
“I had no musical talent,” he admitted.
Although Walsh has always enjoyed the unmistakable sound of the bagpipes, and found them comforting during the many memorial services he attended after 9/11, the bagpipes are not an instrument for beginners. So he started with drums.
“I was a snare drummer for 16 years,” he said proudly.
During the pandemic, I finally found time to devote myself to the bagpipes.
“Those are very difficult instruments to learn. I picked them up and put them down more times than I could have imagined,” he said. “Corona has really helped me focus.”
He bought his own pipe set in April 2022 at a specialty store in New Jersey for $2,000. It was well worth the investment.
“I can’t watch the news anymore,” said the married father of one who lives in Inwood. “I needed something positive and something to fill the blues.”
Currently, Walsh is one of ten bagpipers in the FDNY band. He performs with the group about twice a month wearing a traditional Irish kilt, often dedicating plaques to fallen members at FDNY station buildings. The band also performs at graduation ceremonies, family functions for new EMTs, banquets, and awards ceremonies.
But Walsh, whose ancestry is from Ireland and Poland, acknowledges that the bagpipes’ unique sound is best used in small doses. He practices in Central Park and Inwood Hill Park with his neighbors in mind.
“Personally, I just can’t stand playing the bagpipes for that long,” he said. “I love making music, but I don’t sit around and listen to the bagpipes in my free time. For me, and I think I can speak for other players as well, we love the tradition that it brings. I just love it.”
