Do Brian McNamara & Cillain Vallely make their own reeds?

Uilleann Pipes
1

I wonder if Brian McNamara, Padraig McGovern & Cillain Vallely make their own reeds?
I know Mick O’Brian makes his own reeds. Watching video clips of these four pipers, playing live, I’ve noticed that their chanters/pipes are always very in tune.

2

I don’t know about Mr. Vallely, but I heard Mr. McNamara say ‘no’ to the question once.

3

Nor does Mr. Vallely, at least as of a conversation a few years back.

4

Hello friends,
we had a lot of them in classes & sitting and talking on the Pipers Chair. As they told us: Mick builds his own things (had some discussions with him about staple regarding 2nd octave). Cillian does not. I had asked him about his drone reeds. He has a friend in the background. Paddy Keenan did. Brian I have never asked. Also I’ve not asked Padraigh.

A perfect reed can only be made by the piper who plays it for at minimum one year - summer und winter included. No reed maker has time enough to play, test, scratch for four weeks until it’s perfect.

5

Thanks for your replies. I suppose Mickey Dunne is probably the reed tech. for Blackie O’Connell and Marie Ni Ghrada (her D set that is)?

6

My educated guess is that Brian MacNamara plays reed made by the makers of his sets. Last I knew that would be Benedict Koehler and Geoff Woof. I imagine that Mick makes the reeds for Paidraig’s D set, as Mick made all the reeds for the sets made by Victor Mullally ( I believe).

7

Doesn’t Maire play a D set by Benedict Koehler?

8

Not sure who made Máire Ní Ghráda’s reeds but I know Blackie plays reeds made by Richard Patkos mostly. Sometimes switches to Paddy O’ Hare chanter reed while he’s waiting for a new reed from Richard.