Martin Doyle and his small but dedicated team have created numerous flutes throughout 2025. As this memorable year draws to a close, the flute that we selected to feature is a six key boxwood flute that was completed in August for a client in America.
More photos, including the one above, can be viewed on Martin Doyle’s photostream at Flickr.
Related Post
Several days ago, our webmaster discovered three video clips in an archive from Martin Doyle’s trip to New Zealand in December of 2014. But first, a couple of anecdotes…
Poor Martin! He stayed in Christchurch for three weeks, and for the first week he was stuck in bed with a nasty bug that had latched on to him during the long flights from Ireland to New Zealand. Exhausted from his pre-Christmas rush to get his flute orders out to customers before his holiday, Martin had become vulnerable to airplane bugs. As if that wasn’t enough, during the period of his illness, an earthquake gave the area a good shake in the wee hours of one morning and the old bed that Martin was sleeping on partially collapsed. It was a real welcome to “The Shaky Isles“, as New Zealand is sometimes called. Remarkably Martin seemed to almost enjoy his first time experience of that aspect of nature’s power!
Having recovered from the dreaded lurgy and the quake, Martin did get a chance to have a look around Christchurch and the Canterbury region. During that time he was a guest at The Lotus-Heart vegetarian restaurant where he offered a couple of informal music sessions with some local musicians and small but appreciative audiences. Here are three video clips from those sessions that we posted on Martin’s YouTube channel recently. The local musicians are Shardul (Irish flute), John Wood (guitar and vocals), Jade Bell (bodhrán and vocals), Rowan Oliver (Irish harp) and her father Peter Oliver (guitar).
On a sunny Saturday morning in March (southern hemisphere Autumn) 2025, Ronan Browne visited and enchanted a gathering of around fifty souls with a message of peace in the Irish language – and a lovely traditional Irish air. Despite the fact that he did not visit physically, but in digital form, Ronan touched the heart’s of all who had gathered at Zuvuyaland, a peaceful nature reserve that is a short distance from the great lake Taupō in the central North Island of New Zealand.
The purpose of this gathering revolved around the Peace Poles at Zuvuyaland. A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in the language of the country where it has been placed, and usually some additional translations. The message is often called a peace prayer. On this particular day eight new translations in Irish, Bengali, Danish, French, Czech, Greek, Russian and Ukranian were added to the poles. At the gathering were members of the Zuvuyaland society, the local community and twenty members of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run who were visiting Taupō for the weekend.
Ronan had been invited to offer a translation in Irish of “May Peace Prevail on Earth” by the organisers and he kindly recorded a message and a tune for the ceremony. When it was played, it was as though Ronan was standing there among us – it was quite special. And how lovely it was to hear him playing the traditional Irish air Bonny Portmore on his Martin Doyle flute.
So we are very grateful to Ronan for his efforts and to his friends who helped with the translation. It is sometimes difficult to exactly translate an English phrase into some languages. The Irish words for May Peace Prevail on Earth, Síocháin do Chách, Anois is go Brách, translates back to English as “Peace to All, Now and Forever” – an equally fitting phrase to the original.
We invite you to enjoy this precious moment that was captured on video.
Zuvuyaland is also a member of the Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms programme that was founded by the spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy.
Since 1986, many significant landmarks around the globe – from natural wonders to entire nations – have been dedicated to peace as part of the Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms programme. The Peace-Blossoms family offers an opportunity for different communities to share in mankind’s common quest for peace.
“What does peace do? Peace blossoms. What else? Peace spreads. What else? Peace illumines. What else? Peace fulfils.” – Sri Chinmoy.
Article offered by Shardul.
We just came across a video clip of our dear friend Ronan Browne playing his Martin Doyle flute. The tune, which Ronan describes as “beautiful, sad, haunting song [that] was sung by my grandmother Delia Murphy“, is Cold Blows the Wind O’er My True Love and the video was recorded in the covered dry dock in Shannon Harbour by Justin Conneely.
Martin Doyle recently visited Gandharva Loka in Dublin to drop off a pair of flutes made from native New Zealand timbers – the last of the ‘KiwiCelt’ flute line that Martin has produced throughout the years. Here is a video clip of Martin playing the flute made of black maire wood in the Gandharva Loka store.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6OCijzH4cn/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Asides from making great flutes and music, one of Martin Doyle‘s favourite pastimes is photography. Currently a little house-bound and in the arduous process of recovering from open-heart surgery, Martin has had regular visits from well-wishers and friends who come to offer their goodwill and encouragement. So what better way to celebrate a visit from great friends than to photograph them. Here is the result of one such a moment …
Christy Barry and Ronan Browne – photo taken by Martin Doyle.
A lovely moment between two good soul’s frozen in time by the click of the photographer’s shutter. Here are Martin’s comments regarding this portrait …
I am very proud to have got this picture, its probably one of the best I have ever taken. I would like to say this was a very special day in my recovery, to be in the company of two old friends who are great and authentic Gentlemen.
Martin Doyle has just received some happy news from a young flute player who has been competing at this years Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All Ireland Festival of Music) in Drogheda, County Louth. Conan Whitley sent Martin a message to say that he had just won the Under 18 Slow Air Flute Competition at the fleadh and he sent a photo of himself with the first place trophy in one hand and his Martin Doyle flute in the other.
Conan Whitley holding the Under 18 Slow Air Flute Competition first place trophy and his Martin Doyle flute.
The All Ireland competitions are loaded with talented young musicians, the best of the best one could say, and to win first place in any category requires great effort, focus and dedication. Our heartiest congratulations go to Conan and his family!