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St. Patrick's charm
Bagpipes provide Irish ambiance
BagpipesWEB
Northern Ireland native Tom Fittis plays the bagpipes on Main Street on Thursday in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Fittis has lived in Middle Tennessee for 11 years.
You didn't need a lucky shamrock to find an authentic piece of St. Patrick's Day yesterday.Ireland native Tom Fittis was dressed in a kilt and playing his bagpipes Thursday on Main Street in front of Topz."When I first got here they had me playing inside on the stage," said Fittis. "It only took a second for them to figure out this is way too loud for that."Fittis started playing bagpipes when he was 12 and he was named all-Ireland bagpipe champion when he was 16. Now 55, he has been playing for 43 years."I guess I've gotten the hang of it by now," said Fittis, who lives in Smithville.