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

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 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.

Three-day course on making a wooden chanter cap to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre with pipemaker Bill Haneman. Tuesday 26th October through Thursday 28th October 2021, three days inclusive, 9.30am – 4.30pm each day.

This course will introduce a number of wood and metal working techniques that are often omitted from a basic chanter making course, and is designed to complement such a course.  These techniques are important to other aspects of pipe making, such as the making of drones and mainstocks.  Activities include:

• Boring/drilling and reaming a cylinder from a wooden billet; 
• Exterior turning and finishing;
• Forming, brazing, spinning and decorating ferrules from sheet metal;
• Bending brass tubing;
• Machining “free machining” brass;
• Brazing multiple components into one piece;
• Forming thread recesses and binding/hemping.

At the end of the workshop, participants will have completed a wooden chanter cap with a “swan neck” type top inlet.  Time and attendance permitting, participants will have the option of making a braced side inlet timber cap instead.

Cost for the course is €120 for members / €150 for non-members. (Membership can be purchased on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Student numbers will be strictly limited in consideration of COVID-19. 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, including those specific to COVID-19.

*This course is now fully subscribed. To add your name to the waiting list, please email info@pipers.ie*

One-week course on making a flat chanter to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Monday 2nd August through Friday 6th August 2021, five days inclusive, 9.30am – 4.30pm each day.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a flat chanter, by pipe maker Bill Haneman. 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).

Student numbers will be strictly limited in consideration of COVID-19. 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, including those specific to COVID-19.

*Subject to government and public health guidelines as regards COVID-19*

Two day course on key making to take place at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre. Saturday 24th until Sunday 25th July 2021, two days inclusive, 9.30am – 4.30pm each day.

Each student will be guided through the process of making a chanter key, by pipe maker and flute maker Aaron O’Hagan. Students will learn the skills involved in producing various shapes for both chanter and regulator keys, and how to fit them satisfactorily. Students will also get to take home the key they have made at the end of the course.

Cost for the course is €100 for members / €130 for non-members. (Membership can be purchase from €30 on the Na Píobairí Uilleann website).

Student numbers will be strictly limited in consideration of COVID-19. 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, including those specific to COVID-19.

Fabrication of Bore Probes with Conor Roche-Lancaster

*contingent on COVID-19 Guidelines from HSE/Government*

Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd May 2021 (two days), 9.30am – 4.30pm each day at Na Píobairí Uilleann’s PipeCraft Training Centre, Unit 44 Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh.

This course will cover the topic of measuring probes, and will include basic metrology relating to probes, probe design and fabrication, and best practices for using measuring probes.

The course costs €110 for members and €150 for non members (costs are per participant). Places are strictly limited. To register your interest or for more information please contact info@pipers.ie or call +353 1 8730093.

All courses currently taking place at PipeCraft do so in full compliance with guidelines from Government and the HSE to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Increased measures are in now place, including limiting numbers in the workshop, physical distancing where possible, increased ventilation, the wearing of face coverings, high standards of hand and respiratory hygiene, contact tracing and self-declaration. By registering for any such courses you agree to comply with the measures put in place by Na Píobairí Uilleann.

Online Pipes Maintenance Workshop with Jim Wenham

Thursday 28th May, 3.00pm – 5.00pm 

FULLY SUBSCRIBED

This course is now full, but we do plan on hosting another online maintenance workshop very soon. If you would be interested in attending, please email info@pipers.ie.

Na Píobairí Uilleann are please to announce that we will be holding an online pipes maintenance course using Zoom video calling. The course will take place with well-known pipe maker Jim Wenham.

The workshop will comprise of practical demonstrations on how to solve various problems that participants may have encountered with their pipes, and give them the confidence to attempt some of this maintenance work themselves. Topics will include:

• rehemping loose joints
• repair and/or replacement of valves in both bag and bellows
• tying a chanter stock into a bag
• cutting a bag to tie-in a blow pipe
• a systematic approach to leak detection and repair
• replacement of key pads
• cleaning of uilleann pipes

Participants should send, in advance, any queries, faults, or problems that they might like covered when they make their application for a place on the course. They should have their own pipes to hand when logging in to the workshop.

Places on this course are limited. To register your interest or for more information please contact info@pipers.ie or call +353 1 8730093.

Brochure

Na Píobairí Uilleann are pleased to announce that Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE) will again be offering instrument making as part of their Higher National Diploma in Irish Traditional Music Performance (Ceoltóir) in the 2020/2021 academic year. The programme in musical instrument making and performance is of 2 years duration, and students will have the opportunity to undertake strands in pipe making, and this year for the first time, in harp and mandolin making.

All instrument-making components of the course are delivered by Na Píobairí Uilleann in our PipeCraft training centre, Clonshaugh, D17. As well as workshop time with an expert maker, students will also have supervised access to the workshop on a regular basis to further develop the skills learned. Pipe making students will have the opportunity to complete a practice set of pipes in their first year of studies (with the opportunity to progress on to the second year of the course and complete a stock and set of drones), whilst students in harp and mandolin making will have the opportunity to complete both these instruments.

The Ceoltóir course is of two years duration and is suitable for musicians and singers who wish to develop and improve as performers. The instrument making component caters for an increasing demand for good quality instruments within the traditional music community. Ceoltóir aims to provide students with the practical skills and academic qualifications to enable them to have a successful and sustainable career in music. Graduates who achieve a merit/distinction profile are eligible for entry to the final year of the college’s BA (Hons) in Media Production Management, programme which is accredited by Dublin City University.

Applications to the Ceoltóir programme, and to the instrument making strand, can be made through the college website www.bcfe.ie. For further information please contact the course coordinator, Paul McGrattan, by email to  paul.mcgrattan@bcfe.ie or by calling (01) 6269421.