Na Píobairí Uilleann (TG4, 2014, 50’)

The uilleann pipes, on the point of dying out in the 1960s, are now a vibrant part of the music scene in Ireland and internationally. From a handful of pipers a few generations back, it is estimated that there are now six thousand players of this uniquely Irish instrument. This is the story of the first piping tionól held in April 1968 in Bettystown in County Meath – a first hand account of what happened on the day the uilleann pipes were brought back from the point of extinction. Na Píobairí Uilleann features interviews and performances from Liam O’Flynn, Paddy Moloney, Sean Óg Potts, Seán Potts senior, Peter Browne, Gay McKeon, Pat Mitchell, Maitiú Ó Casaide, Néillidh Mulligan and Brian Vallely among others. The film is also augmented by archive recordings from the 1968 tionól itself. Produced for TG4 with support from the Irish Language Broadcast Fund Stiúrthóir / Director: Aláin Mac Gabhann Léiritheoir / Producer: Deaglán Ó Mocháin Eagarthóir / Editor: Ray Fallon