Making Uilleann Pipes | Dublin City, Ireland 1963

Third generation uilleann piper Leo Rowsome plays, makes and teaches the pipes. Leo Rowsome was born in Harold’s Cross in Dublin to parents from County Wexford, and is the third generation of his family to be both a piper and an instrument maker. His workshop on Belton Park Road in Donnycarney is situated to the rear of the family home. Breandán Ó hEithir describes him as, Ceardaí i mbun a céirde. Leo Rowsome also teaches the pipes at the Municipal School of Music on Chatham Row, and many of his students such as Paddy Moloney and Liam O’Flynn are well known names today. Early recognition of his talent saw him perform on the opening night of the national radio station 2RN in 1926. He established Cumann na Piobairí Uilleann in 1936 and is one of the founder members of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. No stranger to the nation’s airwaves or stages, the prolific Leo Rowsome has recorded many albums and performed solo and with a raft of other musicians. This episode of ‘Muir agus Tír : In A Pipe Maker’s Workshop’ was broadcast on 28 February 1963. The narrator is Breandán Ó hEithir.