Just curious no other reason. I am mixed race with my fathers side being Scots and my Mothers side being Indian. I don’t have any Irish relatives close in the family Tree.
Wondering who is Irish, first or second generation or are there many folks like me who are not in any way much related to Ireland or the diaspora.
I’m quite far removed from having any irish blood. I’m swedish with a bit of norwegian a couple of generations back, and one of my ancestors came from Russia 200 years ago.
African/English not a drop of Irish, but the pipes called so I had no choice - before it was all Les Paul Standards, National duolians, triple 0 Martins, blues, country blues, ragtime, English folk, Watersons, Muckram Wakes, Jansch, Ann Briggs, Shirley Collins, John Martyn, Pentangle, Fairport, Keith Christmas, Jo Ann Kelly etc. - moved to Sweden with guitars, bought a Wheatstone then heard the pipes and that was it, chance meeting with Dave Williams in Newark, Notts. and my fate was sealed 
As far as I know your ancestors used to keep visiting the British Isles for a couple of hundreds of years and made a significant “footprint” in the genome of the local population.
My Grandad on ma paternal side x 40+ Generations back,Sir William de Hacket,went to Ireland in the 12th centuryCE, and liked the hospitality.Bórd Failte was in its infancy with free food, drink, housing ,entertainment etc etc.He was Anglo Norman, French ,but they quickly assimilated in those days and after plundering the peasantry he founded the Franciscan Friary at Cashel..on ma other side the Maternal link were the Adamsons frae Invernesshire in Scotland ,who being persecuted Calvinists emigrated to Co.Westmeath in 1638.Converted to Catholicism and went on to become musicians and in the case of ma G Uncle Brigadier General George Adamson, the taking of Athlone castle frae the British.Athlone Castle was renamed Adamson castle in memory of him. Sadly he was shot dead in Athlone at the outbreak of the Civil War.He is commemorated with a statue at Athlone bridge a plaque at Athlone castle and a Celtic cross in Moate…So just about like every other person in Ireland I am a hybrid but happy to be Irish.. 
Slán Go Foill
Granny and Grandad Hackett
Uilliam
The details of my life are quite inconsequential.
While that is true, those activities ceased several hundred years before the UPs came about, so I felt it not important enough to mention. After all, most commonly accepted research agree that if we just go far enough back, we all come from the same place, more or less, but that’s all a question of semantics. And beyond that, many scholars agree that pre-medieval population of Sweden (as I thouroughly abhor the term “vikings”) were more inclined to travel eastwards, not west, and that they would very rarely settle, but rather were traders and craftsmen, the stereotypical “viking raider” who came to pluner and pillage, and then settled down, were more often of the areas that are now Denmark and Norway.
And this concludes our history lessons today, the exam will take place next friday after lunch, and remember to read chapters 7-15. Dismissed.
I’m a mix of this and that: My mom’s side (the “Irish” side) reads as a who’s who of 19th Century Western European derivations. But the Kleen name comes from a long, proud line of warrior-like/pastry-loving Luxembourgers.
tommykleen
My ancestors came from Betelgeuse.
Oh really… Do they know the Maloneys from there ? 
Uilleam, you have a most noble heritage. Would you be needing a personal piper by any chance ? 
Walser, from the Italian Alps, Austrian, French Canadian from early settlers in Quebec, Cowboy, from the Nevada ranch I grew up on.
Scots, Scots, with the occasional Scot thrown in AFAIK.
David
My aunt always maintained that we are Irish, but I’ve got family in the Carolinas as far back as 1780, so who knows for sure. I do know that I’ve had precious little luck tracking down the name Mathis anywhere. Could be that that it’s an alternate spelling of Mathews or Matthews, or something like that. My mom’s family came from Wales in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s, although I don’t know if that’s where they originated or not. Family name there is Trevathan.
When one plays the guitar, one is rarely asked whether one is of Spanish descent. Similarly, you don’t have to be Italian to play the violin or German to play the saxophone. As the uilleann pipes expands its familiarity among music lovers worldwide, the question of Irish ethnicity will become less and less relevant. By saying that, however, I am not saying the connection with Ireland is not a good thing or should be diminished. Quite the opposite.
It is a compelling instrument and its sound is compelling whether your ears and brain are composed of pure, partial or no Irish DNA.
Of course, as the early history of union pipes and of the development of our pipes from earlier forms of pipes becomes better understood, Ireland’s “ownership” of the instrument arguably diminishes. The instrument appears to have been partially developed in Scotland and England, if not other places as well. Obviously, Ireland has been the main homeland for the instrument from its inception and it is central to Irish musical culture. However, in my submission, it is a good thing for uilleann pipes that the instrument’s recognition is expanding well beyond the home island.
My grandmother on my father’s side came here from Ipswitch by the hand of my grandfather (John Kerr) who was stationed there during his service. There is quite a bit of mixed history behind the name Kerr: so far as I have been able to tell, my relatives who carried the name to America were from Ireland but there’s it has been suggested to me that they originally came to Ireland by way of Scotland (and I don’t know how long they were in either country). It’s a bit murky but the furthest I’ve been able to go back was in Ireland with a Thomas Kerr in the 1700’s. The family emmigrated and thrived for many years in Pennsylvania, US for the better part of the 1800’s and early 1900’s. There were a few Kennedy’s married in from unknown Irish providence, a Hickey of unknown Irish providence, a Jackson from Kildare and a Jackson from Wexford. I know virtually nothing of my mother’s side. The name is Fouché which I have only assumed is French but cannot backup with fact. So, my Irish ancestry is far removed and heavily diluted but it’s in there… which I didn’t even know until after I began playing the music. I only found out these things through my grandfather’s cousin who was investigating her own ancestry and shared some of her findings with me.
I’m with PJ mainly…
Though, am glad that my G/G/Grandmother was born in Ireland: apparently to Scottish parents.
Most of the Tres (& the Pens and Pols) were Cornish at some point. There’s a rhyme that goes something like “By tre, pol & pen, [ye shall know*] the Cornish men.” I’ve reconstructed the part in parentheses, but I’m mildly confident about the rest.
*Or maybe “that’s the mark” Or something.
Both me Parents came from wexford, as i did, but now live in England. Mt grandad was an ammo distribution boy in the 1916 uprising
There are loads of different types of music played on guitar,violin and saxophone but the vast majority of music played on Uilleann pipes is Irish music. I think its great that people from all over the world are playing Irish music.
RORY
It’s really interesting to get some glipmses of the folks heritage and history. I think it does matter where we came from as it gives all of us a uniqueness and individuality. Guess I find it really interesting and I think it is great that all sorts of people from a wide variety of backgrounds all have the same commonality and love of ITM .