PIPING AGAINST DRUGS
Devotees of the Highland pipes well know the tradition of naming
tunes for distinguished individuals and historic places and
events. That tradition remains alive and well. Many contemporary
composers retain that sense of history and moment. One such is
Terry O'Neill, a piper who hails from Albany, New York.
O'Neill took up the pipes in 1984 while earning a degree in law
at Albany Law School. He played for many years with the champion
Schenectady Pipe Band. During his fifth year with the band, he
spontaneously made up his first tune - a jig he named for a
friend -- Col. Edmond S. Culhane, Jr., commander of the Rhode
Island State Police. (The Colonel's Irish roots are in County
Cork.)
O'Neill went on to compose many tunes inspired by a large circle
of friends in the law enforcement profession. He himself in the
descendant of three generations of police officers, going back to
his maternal great grandfather, a native of Dungarvan, County
Waterford.
By 1990, O'Neill was an advisor to the Governor of New York on
criminal justice matters. His duties included representing the
state in relations with its Native American communities. There
had been considerable friction between the Mohawk Tribe and the
state government over illegal gambling and smuggling over the
border from Canada. Relations between the Mohawks and the New
York State Police were particularly strained as the police
occupied the Mohawk Reservation after a period of violent unrest.
During this time, O'Neill was invited to visit reservation
schoolchildren with his pipes. He entertained the children and
told them humourous stories about the police officers his tunes
were named after. The performance was a big hit with children,
parents, teachers and tribal elders and did much to smooth
relations between the police and the Indians.
O'Neill is particularly proud of his friendship with one of
America's most illustrious law enforcement officers. That man is
Thomas A. Constantine who heads the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA). DEA has a worldwide mission to combat
international narcotics trafficking. Constantine, a Buffalo, New
York native with over forty years police experience, is a second
generation descendant of the famed Considines of County Clare. He
was serving as New York's state police superintendent when
President Bill Clinton asked him to take over DEA in 1994.
Constantine's extraordinary contribution to the struggle against
illegal drugs is widely celebrated among his peers in the world's
police community. In October 1997, his peers worldwide elected
him Honorary President of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police. Last Fall, the government of Colombia awarded him its
highest law enforcement decoration for his efforts to dismantle
the vicious Cali Cartel based in that country.
Mr. Constantine also inspired O'Neill to write a book of
children's poetry called Constantine's Circus and to found a
not-for-profit corporation of the same name to reach young people
with an anti-drug abuse message. In addition, O'Neill composed a
stirring 6/8 march called "Thomas A. Constantine." The
tune is being promoted among police and youth pipe bands
worldwide as a way of saluting Mr. Constantine and the hundreds
of thousands of law enforcement officers around the world who are
involved in our common struggle to eliminate illegal drugs.
To contact Terry O'Neill and Constantine's Circus, Inc., you can
write to Constantine's Circus, Inc., P.O. Box 7223, Capitol
Station, Albany, NY 12224, USA. Telephone: 518-465-4413. Fax:
518-465-3200. World Wide Web Site: http://www.reu.com/tomtyger.
(Site includes a profile of Mr. Constantine) E-mail:
Tygertom@aol.com. To contact Mr. Constantine, write: Hon. Thomas
A. Constantine, Office of the Administrator, Drug Enforcement
Administration, 700 Army-Navy Road, Arlington, Virginia 22202
USA. Telephone: 202-307-8000. FAX: 202-307-7335.
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