Mná na bPíob: A new Irish documentary looks into the lives of female pipers

A new feature-length documentary film called “Mná na bPíob”, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, will follow renowned musician Louise Mulcahy on an exciting journey to uncover the neglected stories of a group of incredible female pipers that were airbrushed out of Irish cultural history.

Irish documentary released on December 19, TG4

A trawl through the annals of Irish traditional music reveals that the Uilleann Pipes, one of the two national instruments, was almost entirely dominated by players of the male gender throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Louise meets fellow musicians and scholars who give her a greater insight into the lives of female pipers and the challenges that they faced during the testing times of the 19th century, right up to the 1950s and beyond.

Reconstructed scenes depicting the era and lives of some of the key characters will be featured along with musical performances to commemorate the music and lives of these women.

Artists featured in the Irish documentary

This vibrant and entertaining documentary is decorated with musical performances from Louise, Michelle and Mick Mulcahy, Máire Ní Ghráda, Molly Ní Ghrada, Mary Mitchell-Ingoldsby, Rosaleen O’Leary, Heather Clarke, Marion McCarthy, Síle Friel, Jane Walls, The Rowsome family, Paddy Moloney and many more.

Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive Liam O’Connor paints a picture of what life was like for some of the earliest referenced female pipers – Kitty Hanley and Nance the Piper who lived in the mid-1800s and played the pipes to earn a living due to the dire circumstances in which they lived.

Historian Sharon Slater puts a context on what the life of a working-class woman would have been like in Limerick in the 1850s.

Na Píobairí Uilleann archivist Emmet Gill tells Louise about the life of the incredible Anna Barry who was the first-ever female to win a piping competition in 1901. Her brilliance inspired other females in her native Cork to then take up the instrument.

Louise also meets with family members of female pipers who tell her more about the incredible lives of their relatives.

Daithí Ó Murchú, the grandson of Mrs Margaret Murphy from Limerick tells Louise about his grandmother who learnt the pipes in at the turn of the 20th century from the blind piper Reilly who would stay with the family and pass on the tradition to her – leading her to win the prestigious Oireachtas competition in 1914.

Louise travels to Wicklow to meet with brothers Joe and Peter McKenna who now own Mrs Murphy’s pipes – they play a tune and tell Louise about how they came to acquire the instrument. Musician and broadcaster Peter Browne paints a picture of Ireland in the 20th century when it would have been extremely strange for a woman to be seen socialising, let alone playing the uilleann pipes.

Mary Mitchell-Ingoldsby in University College Cork tells Louise about another amazing Cork piper called May McCarthy, who in addition to her talents as a musician, was an active Republican who used her opportunities for travel and performance as a way to spread the republican movement.

Na Piobairí Uilleann CEO Gay McKeon and talks about the ethos of the organisation and the great efforts that they have invested in fostering and encouraging young women to take up the instrument in recent years.

Máire Ní Ghráda speaks about her own life in music and her enthusiasm for the future of young female pipers.

Louise meets with Reverend Violet Johnston, the niece of an eccentric and formidable piper who lived throughout the early-mid 20thcentury in Carnlough County Antrim. Ulster Museum curator Fiona Byrne shows Louise the set of pipes that was once owned and played by Netta Jane Nicholl.

Paddy Moloney and Betty Nevin remember their time learning from the great Leo Rowsome in the 1940s and 1950s.

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