I met a great flute player recently at a session in Ballyvaughan and she told me about having her flute stolen - THE Nightmare.
Here is Eileen's story if anyone can help.
My name is Eileen Donnellan and I am from County Clare in the west of Ireland. I have lived in Australia for the last eight years and recently returned home for good. I am submitting this story to the web site in the hope that someone somewhere, can help me.
In Febraury 1996 I had my flute stolen from a van in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia, after being asked to perform in the first Katoomba music festival. It was stolen in broad day light from a busy car park but no-one saw anything.
My father Sean had bought me the flute when I was fifteen and we had traveled to many music festivals for years together, singing songs and playing tunes. He died in 1994 and my flute was the most precious thing I had from him.
After the flute was taken I sent out letters and posters to music shops and visited every pawn broker between Sydney and Katoomba in the hope of getting it back. Two days after it was taken I received a call from a young Australian man claiming he had the flute, said he had found it in a litter bin. He described the flute to me in detail, including the Guinness mat on the inside of the case and the stickers on its lid, none of which had been described on the posters. Asking me what the reward was I said $100, and he told me he would bring it to me. He mentioned that my address was on the bag, which it was as I had landed in Oz only two weeks earlier. He never arrived and I never heard from him again.
I have tormented myself over not offering him more money, I have replayed the “what if” scenario in my head a million times.
Since then I have put numerous adverts in the papers from time to time in Australia, but without success. Somebody somewhere must have knowledge of the flute. My father’s ten year anniversary is this year, and so I am pleading with anyone who knows anything about this to PLEASE contact me.
The flute was a very long wooden flute with silver keys. It had an unusually long Bflat key on the lower section and breaks into three sections. The inscription C GOLDE was inscribed on it. It came in a flat rectangular wooden box with wooden dividers on the inside that dad had made for me. There was a Guinness mat tacked to the inside of the case with a koala sticker I had bought in Katoomba. There were also old faded stickers on the outside of the case.
I don’t know what else to do, if anyone out there has any suggestions on other ways I might be able to retrieve the flute they would be most welcome. I can be contacted on
(+353) 061-927237 or email eilssing@hotmail.com
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please, if you have any information you think might help please contact me.
Eileen,
I don't know anything about how to get your flute back and I sincerely hope someone can help you to do that.
In the meantime, remember that your dad, Seàn, gave you the music or supported you in playing. NO thief can ever take that away from you. Good luck in finding the instument through which he gave you that gift. All is not lost.
Stolen Flute
Stolen Flute
Dear Colleagues,
I met a great flute player recently at a session in Ballyvaughan and she told me about having her flute stolen - THE Nightmare.
Here is Eileen's story if anyone can help.
My name is Eileen Donnellan and I am from County Clare in the west of Ireland. I have lived in Australia for the last eight years and recently returned home for good. I am submitting this story to the web site in the hope that someone somewhere, can help me.
In Febraury 1996 I had my flute stolen from a van in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia, after being asked to perform in the first Katoomba music festival. It was stolen in broad day light from a busy car park but no-one saw anything.
My father Sean had bought me the flute when I was fifteen and we had traveled to many music festivals for years together, singing songs and playing tunes. He died in 1994 and my flute was the most precious thing I had from him.
After the flute was taken I sent out letters and posters to music shops and visited every pawn broker between Sydney and Katoomba in the hope of getting it back. Two days after it was taken I received a call from a young Australian man claiming he had the flute, said he had found it in a litter bin. He described the flute to me in detail, including the Guinness mat on the inside of the case and the stickers on its lid, none of which had been described on the posters. Asking me what the reward was I said $100, and he told me he would bring it to me. He mentioned that my address was on the bag, which it was as I had landed in Oz only two weeks earlier. He never arrived and I never heard from him again.
I have tormented myself over not offering him more money, I have replayed the “what if” scenario in my head a million times.
Since then I have put numerous adverts in the papers from time to time in Australia, but without success. Somebody somewhere must have knowledge of the flute. My father’s ten year anniversary is this year, and so I am pleading with anyone who knows anything about this to PLEASE contact me.
The flute was a very long wooden flute with silver keys. It had an unusually long Bflat key on the lower section and breaks into three sections. The inscription C GOLDE was inscribed on it. It came in a flat rectangular wooden box with wooden dividers on the inside that dad had made for me. There was a Guinness mat tacked to the inside of the case with a koala sticker I had bought in Katoomba. There were also old faded stickers on the outside of the case.
I don’t know what else to do, if anyone out there has any suggestions on other ways I might be able to retrieve the flute they would be most welcome. I can be contacted on
(+353) 061-927237 or email eilssing@hotmail.com
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please, if you have any information you think might help please contact me.
Many thanks again,
Eileen Donnellan
# Posted on February 29th 2004 by breandan
Re: Stolen Flute
Eileen,
I don't know anything about how to get your flute back and I sincerely hope someone can help you to do that.
In the meantime, remember that your dad, Seàn, gave you the music or supported you in playing. NO thief can ever take that away from you. Good luck in finding the instument through which he gave you that gift. All is not lost.
Joe
# Posted on February 29th 2004 by Joe Quinn
Re: Stolen Flute
Breandon, didja post this at Chiff & Fipple?
# Posted on February 29th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Stolen Flute
Good Luck
# Posted on March 2nd 2004 by fiddlebug