Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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6 5 25 20101217 25 Major Terry Tully which included an encore tune made famous by the band ‘Fainne Geal an Lae’ or ‘The Dawning of the Day’. This great tune begins quietly with one piper on stage followed by a second until the entire stage is once again filed with pipers and drummers. The late night concert in the Studio Theatre was entitled An Evening of Pipes and Song and featured the singing talents of husband and wife Kevin and Ellen Mitchell from Glasgow. This couple presented a beautiful- ly crafted programme of some of the great ballads from both the Irish and the Scottish rich heritage of ballads. Another husband and wife duo featured Tommy Keane on uil- leann pipes and Jacqueline McCarthy on concertina. The final duo featured two great Cork musicians Eoin Ó Riabhaigh on uil- leann pipes and Conal Ó Gráda on flute. This was a lovely concert and was played out to yet another packed house at the Studio Theatre. THE UILLEANN PIPE CONCERT Then it was time for the final concert of the festival which traditionally has always been the Uilleann Pipes Concert. This concert was moved from Sunday night this year to Sunday afternoon to facilitate people heading home on Sunday night and was a great success. One of the highlights of the concert was the performance given by Mikie Smyth who included the long descriptive piece ‘Gol na mBan san Ár’ in his selection. This is an elu- sive piece and survives largely through a phonograph recording made about 1900 of the piper Micky Cumbá Ó Súilleabháin, the famous blind piper from Kerry. The piece is known in English as the ‘Lament of the Women’ and was composed after the 17th century battle of Kanturk when Alasdair Mac Donald was murdered after his surrender. Alasdair is as well known in Scotland as in Ireland and played a leading role in many bat- tles there including the famous Battle of Inverlochy where he overcame impossible odds to emerge victorious and was celebrated in a famous poem by the bard Iain Lom MacDonald, a song that is still sung in Scotland to this day. THE NEXT FESTIVAL The 18th WILLIAM KENNEDY PIPING FESTIVAL has been fixed for 17th to 20th November 2011 so now is the time to book your holidays and prepare not to miss things next year. Venues have already been booked and excit- ing new artists are being talked to. 2011 is a big year for the Armagh Pipers as we will be celebrating our 45th Anniversary 1966 – 2011. So get ready for 2011! The above is an edited version of the report received from Brian Vallely Tommy Keane Paul Eliasberg

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