"bodhrán"

bodhrán /baura:n/ (bowraun [boron in Ulster]) 1. winnowing drum. 2. tambourine; hand-held, shallow, one-sided, circular drum made from the hide of a goat or greyhound, played in an upright position with a two-headed stick (cipín). Often accompanies fiddles, flutes and uilleann pipes. The piper Séamus Ennis said that it was best played with a pen-knife! Originally a war-drum, it took its place in Irish traditional music when Seán Ó Riada adopted it to replace the old dance-band drum kit for his 1960s Ceoltóirí Chualann radio ensemble. It had previously fallen into disuse except on Wren Day. [1866<bodhrán 'little deafener'] See bother, Chieftains, Lambeg drum.