Michael 'Blackie' O'Connell is one of the most exciting uilleann pipers in traditional music. 

He was taught by the great Limerick piper Mickey Dunne, and his influences are the playing of Paddy Keenan, who is a regular visitor to his home in Clare, Finbar Furey and the great Johnny Doran.

Between extensive tours of Europe, the USA and the Far East, Blackie can be found at his sessions in local bars in Co Clare. At concerts and sessions, he performs with gusto, and audiences are swept away by his exuberant and fast flowing piping style.  

Peter Browne was born in Dublin in 1953. He learned his music from three of the great pipers of modern times: Séamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome and Willie Clancy.

In the early 1970s he played with the groups Raftery and 1691 and later spent two periods playing on both pipes and flute with The Bothy Band. He has twice been the winner of the Oireachtas uilleann-piping in 1994 and 1998 and also won the prize for slow-air playing in both those years. 

He has worked as a session musician for many traditional artists and has featured as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Peter worked for over 40 years in RTÉ Radio and his weekly programme The Rolling Wave enjoyed a large listenership in Ireland and abroad.  

Rita Farrell is a London born uilleann piper, flute and piano player. With family roots firmly in Co Leitrim, she initially started playing the tin-whistle at the age of 5.  Rita eventually progressed onto the concert flute and uilleann pipes and went on to win multiple national and international medals at the Fleadh Cheoil.

After studying at Queens University Belfast, Rita returned to settle in London where she practices as an architect and remains a prominent figure in the traditional Irish music and session scenes, organising the London events for International Uilleann Piping Day annually.

Over the years, she has played at many traditional music festivals worldwide - including the first Ferryside Festival in 2023 - and has featured in many concerts at Willie Clancy Summer School.

Rita features on The Rolling Wave, A New Generation of Pipers CD and the recently released Mná Na bPíob Uilleann: Vol.1 CD of women uilleann pipers.

Siobhán Peoples is a world-renowned performer and teacher and a leading ambassador for the traditional arts in Co Clare. 

She has been involved in traditional music from the age of 11, and is steeped in the musical history of Co Donegal, through her father Tommy, and of Clare, through her grandmother Kitty Linnane, pianist with the original Kilfenora Céilí Band. 

Siobhán has been a tutor in the University of Limerick for the past 20 years and enjoys teaching all over Ireland and Europe. 

In recent years, Siobhán has been one of the driving forces behind the resurgence of the Ennis Trad Festival. In 2023, she was the recipient of the the prestigious MÓRglór award in recognition of her contribution to the traditional arts in Co Clare.

Based in Chester (just over the border from north Wales), Chris Coe is a talented pipemaker and reedmaker with a reputation for detailed, beautiful craftsmanship.  Chris is a regular contributor to Na Piobairi Uilleann's PipeCraft pipemaking programme both as an instructor and as a creator of technical drawings of historic sets of pipes.    

Jon Turton lives in North Wales and has been playing the pipes for more years than he cares to admit. With close family links to Liverpool (and Roscommon) he is a stalwart of the North West session scene, hosting a twice monthly session in Chester. 

Jon is the current All Britain winner in Senior Uilleann Pipes and Pipes Slow Airs. At the 2023 All Ireland Fleadh, he came a very credible 3rd in the Slow Airs competition.