The Hudson River Pipers Club held its inaugural meeting almost four years ago in Piermont, NY, along the western shore of the Hudson River, north of New York City. Since then we’ve grown our membership to  some fifteen  pipers and we now hold our monthly gatherings in nearby Valley Cottage, NY. Our original group is still intact and we’ve welcomed many new pipers. We have  been extremely fortunate to have attracted as visiting teachers some of the very best pipers in the world; such All-Stars as Michael Cooney, Paddy Keenan, Jerry O’Sullivan, David Power, Cillian Vallely, Mattie Connelly, Ivan Goff, Bill Ochs, Martin McCormack and Tommy Martin. Our excellent “Teacher-in-Residence,” Club member Rich Wolff, lends his considerable musical talents to the group during the rest of our meetings. 

The above photo of Jerry O’Sullivan, courtesy of the William Kennedy Piping Festival, shows Jerry playing at the Event in Armagh last November. The link on the photo will bring you to an interview with Jerry by Club member Jim Reilly. The interview recently appeared in the  Seattle Pipers Club publication, The Pipers Review. We re excited about upcoming piping events, including Celtic Irish Arts Week in East Durham this July.

Thanks to Member Liam O’Neill’s hospitality (and wife, Amy), we recently enjoyed a group lesson with Michael “Piper” Cooney followed by a session and house party at the O’Neill’s homestead in New Paltz, NY. Above, Michael joined by well-known guitar accompanist Pat Egan performing at the evening outdoor concert, following the indoor class. During the class the group worked on The Colliers, both as a jig and a reel.

One last group photo before Summer break; Left to right, Jim Reilly, Katie Carmen, Garr Disalvo, Joe Leathem, Bonnie Yancoski, John McAuliffe, Peter Haller, Michael Cooney, Rich Wolff, Bill Keenan, Liam O’Neill and Tracy Kingsley. Not pictured,  Members Tacey Deyrup, Dan McNamara and Erik can der Leeuw.

                                                            

Members of the Club send their very best wishes and greetings to Pipers and Pipe Clubs around the world and extend an invitation to visit us at any Club events. We also welcome inquiries from interested pipers. The Club meets the first Saturday of each month, except during July and August as we normally attend the Celtic Irish Arts Week in East Durham, NY, and October when we usually attend the Northeast Tionol. If you are interested in joining us, please contact any HRPC member you are acquainted with or e-mail Liam O’Neill, at liamoneill2@gmail.com, or Jim Reilly, at jcreilly@aol.com.

See our Links page for other websites of interest to Uilleann pipers.

Thank you for visiting The Hudson River Pipers Club.

Ceol    Ceili    Craic