Little is known of Walsh, beyond that he was a native of County Mayo, large in stature, and lived about the middle of the nineteenth century.
One night, some new customers rudely ordered him to put away his pipes and let their friend, a fiddler, play instead.
He returned to Ireland, settling in Swinford, County Mayo, where he taught the pipes to many pupils.
When one had mastered a tune Walsh took the pupil’s hat and hung it outdoors as a signal for the owner to follow it.
Without any unnecessary words another aspirant for musical learning was taken in hand and treated similarly".