WHISTLES

"Whistle" simply means "Pipe". Whistles are fipple flutes with six playing holes and a lacking thumb hole. They are mainly used in traditional irish folk music. Irish whistles, so called "Tin Whistles" or "Low Whistles", have a distinct sound that refers to the material of which they are made ("tin" or "metal").
About the origin of the tin whistle it is narrated, that once a famous whistle player, who was devoted to Guinness during his playing, periodically cracked his wooden flutes when he sat down at the table to continue with playing his music. To put an end to this a flute maker crafted him a tin flute - the first and original Tin-Whistle. Because whistles have been very popular among the beggars and vagabonds in Ireland the have been called "Penny Whistles".