Is anybody out there using a fife in some of your Irish Traditional playing? If so, are you using a “D” or a “Bb” and playing as if it’s a “D” (which I think does not work if you’re playing with others in “D”–right? 
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As a Yank, we have a big fife (and drum!) heritage–which we all inherited from across the Big Pond, of course! 
I’ve played ITM on a D Sweet folk fife in the past - it works great. I think piccolos weren’t uncommon in ITM quite some time ago, but have faded from popularity.
Unless you’re playing at a Bb session, a D instrument that’s made to emphasize the lower octaves is the way to go if you’re playing with others.
Eric
Ditto. Apparently back in teh twenties Piccolos were usually seen when a Flute player needed to be mor up front then with the Microphone this slowly declined from poulartily but froa loud session nothing really cuts through like a Piccolo from what I hear.
It will depend on the session some may not like the shorter flutes at all.. Respect the people at the session and listen to their opinion. A piccolo or “folk fife” in the key of D would be the most appropriate for ITM, but a pennywhistle is more acceptable to most people and not all that more difficult to play (I could never get a good sound out of the thing myself).
Edit to add: if you want to play with other fifers, it would be best to find what instrument they play. Fifes very greatly from one to another and the most important thing is that they play well together, usually in Bb.
When I was a kid, my parents gave me a $1 plastic fife that they bought in Colonial Williamsburg. Not knowing anything about fifes, but having started to play the tin whistle, I immediately started using that fife for Irish music, playing in the lower two octaves only. In fact it was good training for picking up the flute later on. I have a better fife now (a Delrin one made by Chris Abell when he and Skip Healy were developing the prototype for Skip’s fifes), and I keep it on my desk for working out tunes. I like the sound, but again I only play it in the first two octaves, as if it were a flute.