Pádraic Mac Mathúna + Louise Mulcahy (Féile MOTH)

About

Legendary Folk Instrument Series #7: Séamus Ennis' uilleann pipes. Feat. Pádraic Mac Mathúna and Louise Mulcahy. Pádraic was born into a musical family in Dublin. His mother Dolly was a well known traditional singer, and his father Ciarán, was a leading figure in Irish music broadcasting, on both radio and TV, from his early nationwide recordings in the 1950s till 2004. After learning whistle and flute, Padraic’s first lessons on the pipes were in Na Piobairi Uillean (NPU) in Dublin, and after a number of years, he tutored young pipers in NPU and at Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare. While living in London in the late 1980s, he enjoyed sessions of music with Tommy McCarthy and family and other London-based musicians. Pádraic and the late Liam O’Flynn became close friends from the 1970s, and he benefited hugely from Liam’s generous support and encouragement. In fact, Padraic inherited the famous Coyne set of pipes from Liam in 2018, who in turn had inherited them from his mentor Séamus Ennis. Pádraic’s piping CD (‘Blas na Meala / Hive of Honeyed Sounds’ ) in the early 1990s was a critical success. Over the years, Pádraic has travelled widely playing in the US, UK and Europe and enjoyed collaborations with outstanding musicians including the late Sean Keane, Tony Linnane and Paddy Glackin. Since retiring, Pádraic is currently involved in cataloguing music collections from Ireland and abroad in the Irish traditional Music Archive, Dublin. Louise Mulcahy is one of Ireland’s most talented and gifted instrumentalists in Irish traditional music today. Louise is an internationally renowned performer on the uilleann pipes, flute and whistle. Louise is a member of the highly acclaimed Mulcahy Family and no musical family today is more impressive in upholding the best principles of the tradition. The set of uilleann pipes Louise performs on is a beautiful flat set of uilleann pipes once owned and played by Liam O’ Flynn. The set was made about 40 years ago by the renowned French maker Alain Froment. The set has a beautifully sweet and mellow tone. Liam recorded and performed on broadcasts with the set throughout his career including The Piper’s Call album. Louise is honoured to have the set onloan from Na Píobairí Uilleann.