Three-day beginner reedmaking course with Leixlip-based piper, pipemaker, and reedmaker Donncha Keegan.

Beginner and intermediate reed makers welcome on this course. All tools and materials will be provided. Participants must be 16 and over.

Date: Friday 16th June – Sunday 18th June 2023 (3 day course).

Location: PipeCraft, Unit 44, Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17.

Cost: €80 per person (members)
€110 per person (non-members)

If you are interested in participating in the course or have any queries in relation to courses at PipeCraft please email info@pipers.ie or call +353-1-8730093.

One-week course on making a concert pitch chanter to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Monday 10th April through Friday 14th April 2023, five days inclusive, 9:30am – 4:30pm each day.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a concert pitch chanter (D), by pipe maker Éamonn Curran. Students will learn the skills involved in producing such a chanter, and will get to take home the chanter they have made by the end of the week.

Cost for the course is €380 for members / €500 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

This course is now fully subscribed. Please contact Na Píobairí Uilleann by email to info@pipers.ie or by calling +353-1-8730093 to be added to the waiting list, or to be added to an interest list for other similar courses in the future.

All participants will be required to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place at PipeCraft.

Course on making uilleann pipes bags to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Saturday-Sunday 26-27th November 2022, 10am-4pm.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a hand-stitched bag for uilleann pipes by Daniela Ferretti. Daniela has a wealth of experience making hand-sewn and riveted bags for the last 12 years . She will share her knowledge on how to choose the right leather, how to produce an air tight bag from beginning to end, and how to solve the most common problems occurring when working with a natural material like leather. Participants will leave the course with their own finished bag (or given clear instructions on how to complete it, if under time constraints).

All tools and materials will be provided.

Cost for the course is €100 for members / €140 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Places are limited. Please contact Na Píobairí Uilleann by email to info@pipers.ie or by calling +353-1-8730093 for more information and to sign-up.

All participants will be required to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place at PipeCraft.

Supported by the Heritage Council under the Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2022

Two day course on making bellows to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Saturday 27th August and Sunday 28th August 2022, two days inclusive, 10am – 6pm each day.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a tacked bellows by pipe maker Jim Wenham. Students will learn the skills involved in producing this style of bellows, understand the importance of certain design features, and will get to take home the bellows they have made at the end of the two day course.

Cost for the course is €160 for members / €210 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Places are limited. Please contact Na Píobairí Uilleann by email to info@pipers.ie or by calling +353-1-8730093 for more information and to sign-up.

All participants will be required to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place at PipeCraft.

Reedmaking upskilling with Co. Monaghan piper, pipemaker, and reedmaker Éamonn Curran. Éamonn has a wealth of experience maintaining and reeding sets at the Armagh Pipers’ Club. He also has a professional background in education, and has taught a number of reedmaking workshops for Na Píobairí Uilleann.

All tools and materials will be provided at PipeCraft, but participants are encouraged to bring their own tools along with them. Participants must be 16 and over.

Date: Monday 15th August – Wednesday 17th August 2022 (3 day course).

Location: PipeCraft, Unit 44, Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17.

Cost: €75 per person (members)
€105 per person (non-members)

If you are interested in participating in the course or have any queries in relation to courses at PipeCraft please email info@pipers.ie or call +353-1-8730093.

FULLY SUBSCRIBED

To be added to the waiting list in the event of a cancellation, please contact info@pipers.ie.

One-week course on making a flat chanter to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Monday 1st August through Friday 5th August 2022, five days inclusive, 9.30am – 4.30pm each day.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a flat chanter in C, by pipe maker John Butler. Students will learn the skills involved in producing such a chanter, and will get to take home the chanter they have made by the end of the week.

Cost for the course is €360 for members / €480 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Fully subscribed. Please contact Na Píobairí Uilleann by email to info@pipers.ie or by calling +353-1-8730093 to be added to a waiting list in the event of a cancellation, or to be added to an interest list for other similar courses.

All participants will be required to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place at PipeCraft.

Three-day reedmaking course with Leixlip-based piper, pipemaker, and reedmaker Donncha Keegan.

All tools and materials will be provided at PipeCraft, but students are encouraged to bring their own tools which they may be more familiar with. Participants must be 16 and over.

Date: Wednesday 20th July – Friday 22nd July 2022 (3 day course).

Location: PipeCraft, Unit 44, Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17.

Cost: €75 per person (members)
€105 per person (non-members)

If you are interested in participating in the course or have any queries in relation to courses at PipeCraft please email info@pipers.ie or call +353-1-8730093.

Introduction to reedmaking with Co. Kildare piper and reedmaker Joe Byrne.

Beginner and intermediate reed makers welcome on this course. All tools and materials will be provided. Participants must be 16 and over.

Date: Monday 27th June – Wednesday 29th June 2022 (3 day course).

Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm.

Location: PipeCraft, Unit 44 Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17.

Cost: €75 per person (members)
€105 per person (non-members)

If you are interested in participating in the course or have any queries in relation to courses at PipeCraft please email info@pipers.ie or call +353-1-8730093.

Three-day course at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre on making hand forged keys with pipemaker Bill Haneman. Monday 11th April through Wednesday 13th April 2022 (the week before Easter), three days inclusive, 9.30am – 4.30pm each day.

“This three day course will cover hand forging of keys from cold-workable brass or nickel silver rod.  Students will learn basic hammer forging, filing, and finishing techniques to produce strong, work-hardened keys as used by classic pipe makers from Kenna and Coyne to Leo Rowsome.  The forging of long regulator keys will also be covered.  The course will also cover the production and fitting of traditional leaf springs for these keys.” 

Cost for the course is €105 for members / €130 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Please contact Na Píobairí Uilleann by email to info@pipers.ie or by calling +353-1-8730093 for more information and to sign-up.

All participants will be required to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place at PipeCraft.

Press release on behalf of Na Píobairí Uilleann

Saturday February 26th, 2022

Joe Byrne, Uilleann Piping from Co Kildare (The Ace and Deuce of Piping #5)

Na Píobairí Uilleann is delighted to announce the publication of Joe Byrne, Uilleann Piping from Co Kildare, the fifth release in NPU’s Ace and Deuce of Piping recording series.

Joe, from Athy in Co Kildare, has produced a recording of outstanding quality, featuring many classic tunes performed in a manner redolent of the great piping masters yet very much with his own individual, accomplished stamp.

As one of the first students to follow a learning pathway introduced by NPU and Music Generation some years back when he enrolled in the Laois piping classes under Gay McKeon’s guidance, Joe Byrne took his initial steps on a practice set acquired through NPU’s Pipes on Loan programme funded by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme.

And not only has Joe become a leading practitioner, he is also a consummate reed-maker and has completed a course in uilleann pipe-making at NPU’s PipeCraft training centre in partnership with the ‘Ceoltóir’ course at Ballyfermot College of Further Education.

He now teaches regularly for Music Generation and Na Píobairí Uilleann and is a regular performer and teacher at traditional music events nationwide.

Joe Byrne, Uilleann Piping from Co Kildare is available to purchase on www.pipers.ie. This album will be launched as a part of the Leo Rowsome Commemorative Event on Saturday 26^th February at 9pm.

Further Information contact Maeve Gillen maeve@pipers.ie  tel: +353-1-8730093

About Na Píobairí Uilleann

Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU), the Society of Uilleann Pipers was founded in 1968 when there were less than 100 uilleann pipers remaining. Today NPU is a thriving arts organisation dedicated to Sharing the Sound of Ireland through Access, Education, Performance and Preservation.

Since unveiling its restored Georgian premises at 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin, in January 2007, NPU has been busy catering for the expanding demand for regular tuition, as well as releasing a number of significant publications and recordings. With demand for pipes considerably exceeding supply, a dedicated Training Centre – PipeCraft – was established in 2011 to deliver training in the very highly skilled craft of uilleann pipemaking.

NPU is accredited to UNESCO as a competent NGO in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

NPU lobbied the Irish Government to ratify the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage which resulted in the inclusion of Uilleann Piping on the UNESCO representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2017.

Na Píobairí Uilleann’s primary funding agencies include the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Dublin City Council.

Na Píobairí Uilleann, 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, Ireland

W: www.pipers.ie E:info@pipers.ie P: +353-1-8730093

Facebook: www.facebook.com/napiobairiuilleann

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Napiobairi