Irish duo Colm Broderick and Francis Cunningham in Katoomba concert

On tour from Ireland, duo Colm Broderick on uilleann pipes and Francis Cunningham on concertina will be including the Blue Mountains in their tour schedule. They will perform an intimate acoustic concert open to the public on Sunday, October 29 at Junction 142 in Katoomba starting at 7.30pm.

Piper Colm Broderick has been given the honour of taking possession of a very special instrument of great historical significance in Irish traditional music. It is a set of uilleann pipes once owned by master piper Liam O'Flynn, which was also played for many years by esteemed Miltown Malbay musician Willie Clancy. Na Piobairi Uilleann (the head agency for the instrument, based in Ireland) has tasked Broderick with playing and looking after this special instrument and carrying on its legacy. Broderick has travelled with the instrument across Europe and the Americas giving recitals and workshops.

He is touring with award-winning concertina player Francis Cunningham, a multi All-Ireland concertina winner, who has performed and taught at festivals across Ireland, Europe and America. In 2019 he released his debut album featuring 40 original compositions entitled, rnua.

This tour, lasting more than three weeks, is in celebration of Celtic Piping Club's 10th Anniversary. Last year, the Club's co-founder Sarah Wade met Broderick at a Pipers Gathering in Connecticut USA. She was struck by his performance and teaching style, genuine character, and his custodianship of the famous pipes. Broderick introduced Cunningham as his long-term musical collaborator; he brings a lively energy and charm.

As a duo, Colm Broderick and Francis Cunningham are international ambassadors of Irish traditional music. Broderick from County Carlow and Cunningham from County Clare have played together regularly from a very young age at fleadhs, sessions, performances and more. Their music is rooted in the rich piping and concertina playing traditions of county Clare. Their love and appreciation of Clare-style music is deep and profound, influenced by "the old players" whose legacy they carry into the future. The music of the pair is joyful, evocative, rhythmic and nuanced and speaks through time and generations with a thousand welcomes.

It was important to include the Blue Mountains on the tour itinerary because of the strong music community and connections within the Mountains, and to showcase the outstanding region to our international guests. The Mountains are home to a number of the world's top luthiers in Irish traditional music instruments.

"Visiting Australia to play and share our passion for Irish music is a dream come true," they said. "We have been immensely looking forward to this tour since the opportunity was presented to us. We know that there is a large and growing community of Irish music lovers in Australia and we are very keen to get to know some of you over the month we are here.

"This trip will be the first time that either of us have visited Australia. As such, we hope to be able to share our passion and knowledge of the music with the Irish music community in our concerts and workshops and we truly hope that the experience will get people excited about the opportunities which Irish music presents."

Audiences can expect to hear traditional uilleann piping and concertina music drawing from the unique repertoires of a range of County Clare musicians such as Willie Clancy, Junior Crehan and Paddy Canny among others.

The Blue Mountains concert will be held on Sunday, October 29 at Junction 142 in Katoomba (at the Katoomba Uniting Church), starting at 7.30pm. Tickets for $25 can be purchased in advance at https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1119544 or cash at the door. Youth under 18 years are free.

All tour information is at: https://www.celticpipingclub.com/news-events/colm-broderick-francis-cunningham