I will be visiting Ireland for the first time the 12-20 of October (too brief, I know), staying mostly in and around Dublin. I am planning to take a few day tours to other parts of the country, but on those days probably won’t be able to go explore much on my own. I might do an overnighter somewhere, but I’m not sure yet.
Where would you suggest going to see historic sets of pipes? And what about taking in some solo piping recitals? Or finding areas where it’s common to hear solo pipers busking?
NPU, conveniently (for you) located in Dublin.
Replying to some questions sometimes feels like a message from the Ministry of stating the bleeding obvious, doesn’t it? Perhaps the reason why replies aren’t always immediately forthcoming.
Anyhow, you may want to try The National Museum at Collins’ Barracks. I don’t know how many of their sets are on display at the minute but you may get to look at the Vandeleur ‘paperclip’ set and others from the historic collection. And Leo Rowsome’s personal set, that was donated to the museum last year.
The Guinness brewery has some very historic pipes and is well worth a visit.
RORY
Thanks for the replies. I was already hoping to visit the NPU offices.
While this line of questioning is quite obvious, people of my personal acquaintance who have been to Dublin and other parts of Ireland as tourists barely recall that such an instrument even exists. They may have seen or heard them “somewhere,” but being culturally unfamiliar, thought of them as a curiosity and quickly forgot and moved on to something else.
As for listening to the pipes, I am primarily interested in solo piping rather than hearing them as part of a session. And not much seems to come up on Google.
The cobblestones pub (in smithfield I think) seems to have a lot of piping. It would be worth finding out if there’s any on there during your visit.
Although Ireland is the place to go for music and piping it is not like there’s a piper around every corner. I have never seen a piper busking in Dublin except for a few GHB pipers that made me walk in the opposite direction 
I have seen and heard great piping at The Cobblestone and at Hughes. And there’s a fairly new place called the Pipers Corner that should offer piping. I have not been there yet, myself.
I have seen and heard great piping at The Cobblestone and at Hughes. And there’s a fairly new place called the Pipers Corner that should offer piping. I have not been there yet, myself.
You will have to wonder if a pub is the best place to go looking for solo piping. Unless there’s a recital on offer, for that, keep an eye on the schedule for ‘session with the pipers’. Pipers do busk, occasionally, or they used to anyway. I saw both Keenan and Hannan busk in Dublin during the eighties. And I still occasionally see the odd one playing out. Siobhan Hogan was playing out in Galway often a few years ago (although I haven’t seen her since), a guy was out on the Saturdays at Limerick’s milkmarket fairly regularly. Problem is, the pipes aren’t really suited to a noisy urban environment, you barely hear them unless you’re very close up.
You may strike it lucky in a quiet spot though:
Ah. Simon Doyle. Lovely piper. Lovely man. You do see him out and about a fair bit, often with his family. His boys are pipers and his girls are lovely musicians too, but other instruments, like fiddle and banjo.
On the question of hearing pipers play, you might want to try the Sunday lunchtime session in the Cobblestone with Kevin Rowsome and his wife Lorraine (fiddle). Theirs is a really friendly session, and it’s at a time when the pub isn’t too crowded. It is a session, rather than solo pipes, but it very easy to both see and hear clearly what Kevin is doing, and it’s a lovely atmosphere.
It’s usually the whole family or most of them. But I singled him out above, with a pic of his own, given the context of solo piping. And I like the ‘feel’ of the square B&W roll film images.
I was touristing in Dublin a year ago and visited a number of pubs (a large number…) and heard interesting sessions at Hughes, Cobblestone, and Pipers Corner.
The best uilleann pipe listening was at Cobblestone. There was a lovely small session with a terrific piper. The acoustics were good and we could hear the pipes perfectly from where we were sitting.
The session looked very much like this
http://cobblestonepub.ie/gigs/session-with-the-pipers-na-piobairi-uilleann-3
The session at Hughes was mostly singing, the night we were there. Tunes would break out now and again.
BTW these pubs were all on the North side. We were staying on the North side. Every time somebody asked where we were staying they were shocked when we told them.
Something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOqD2vqyKg&t=4s
BTW in a few minutes we’re meeting our son at a pub called Dublin4. From that video I would expect it to be pricey and posh.
About NPU, I checked online and there didn’t seem to be anything going on while we were in Dublin.
I didn’t know about sets of pipes in a museum. If I had known, I wouldn’t have had the courage to inflict such on my wife!
I think Gay McKeon is usually in the back room at Hughes on a Sunday.
If you’re going to Ennis the early eve Friday ‘piping heaven - piping hell’ session
go to the pipers corner in Dublin! It is the pub of Sean McPotts There is trad music every night, usually (or at least very often) with pipes. Usually, two paid musicians play a gig there, so its no too crowded, noisy session. You probably won’t find solo piping there, because usually two musicians play. But a fantastic piper, accompanied by a fiddle should do the job too 
Take a look on their Facebook page, they always post, who will play.
have fun!
Or finding areas where it’s common to hear solo pipers busking?
Earlier today a piper was playing in shopstreet in Galway. Really an environment too noisy and busy for the pipes. He kept the pipes going in 27C and full sun though. On the other hand, I walked by three times and each time he was racing through the Foxchase.
I walked by three times and each time he was racing through the Foxchase.
Must have been a long chase - Fox probably had a good head start 