December 4th, 2001
8th William Kennedy International Piping Festival

Over the past seven years the William Kennedy International Piping Festival in Armagh has established itself as one of the most important piping events in Europe.

The festival features various lunchtime concerts and workshops throughout the week and concludes with a series of night-time concerts at the weekend. This year’s event took place between the 13th and 19th of November and lived up to all expectations.

The festival kicked off on the Tuesday night with a launch of both the festival and of a major new exhibition entitled "Pipes, Pipers and Paintings" in the Armagh County Museum. These were launched respectively by Sylvia McRoberts, Mayor of Armagh and by Nicholas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Music Archive.

The main piping concert took place in the Market Place Theatre on the Saturday night. This was a concert of pipers from all over Ireland, England, Scotland and parts of Europe. Though this was a three-hour concert of mostly solo piping, audience members were exhilirated from start to finish as this was certainly one of the most memorable concerts in recent years at the festival.

Highlights from this concert included an electrifying set from Jose Manuel Tejedor on Asturian Gaita, which included a duet with Michael McGoldrick on flute. Fred Morrison from Scotland made two appearances - one set on highland pipes and one on Scottish Border pipes before he was joined on stage by what has to be one of the most unique ensembles ever put together. It featured Paddy Keenan on Uilleann pipes, Fin Moore on Scottish Small Pipes and Andrew May on Northumbrian pipes.

Other highlights included sets by Tommy Keane and Diarmuid Moynihan on Uilleann Pipes and a spectacular set from the Gianni Pirelli Trio from Italy. The trio play traditional Italian instruments - Zampogna, Organetto and Ciaramella, and produce a sound that captivated the local audience.

The final event of the festival was the Uilleann Pipes concert, which took place in Drumsill House Hotel. This concert was probably a fair test of nerves for those taking part but they were quickly in their stride and it was certainly hugely enjoyable for those fortunate enough to be in the audience.



The line-up featured a group of seven pipers from the Armagh Pipers Club, including festival organiser Brian Vallely; Rick Lines from Canada; Tommy Keane; Diarmuid Moynihan; Tiarnán Ó Duinnchínn, Cillian Vallely, Michael McGoldrick and Paddy Keenan. The concert ended with an impromptu but nonetheless exhilarating duet between Paddy Keenan and Niall Vallely on concertina.

With the official events concluded, sessions commenced and continued long into the morning with reports of rather loud bagpipes being heard at unearthly hours!