Monday 28th July - Friday 1 August 2025 | 10am – 1pm | Ulster University, York Street, BT15 1ED

Use EARLYBIRD-2025 to avail of the Earlybird discount and save over £50 on selected masterclasses. Discount ends 1 April 2025.

We have a fantastic Summer School accommodation offer starting at only £349 for 7 nights in Belfast City Centre, click here to find out more.

Born in County Limerick, Louise Mulcahy is an internationally renowned performer on uilleann pipes who has toured extensively throughout the world, both as a musician and guest tutor at many festivals including Augusta Irish Week in the United States, The Catskills Irish week, to name but a few. Louise has collaborated with many artists including her father, Mick and sister, Michelle on three albums, features on various TV projects for TG4 and BBC Alba and released her solo album, Tuning the Road, to great acclaim.  Louise is the only person in the history of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann to have won four Senior All Ireland titles on the same day. 

Hailing from Ballymagovern on the Cavan-Leitrim border, Pádraig McGovern is a highly regarded uilleann pipes tutor. He was taught by master piper PJ Flood from Belturbet, Co. Cavan and heavily influenced by the accordionist Vincent Tighe and the Leitrim researcher and collector Fr. John Quinn. Pádraig developed his music as a member of the Ceolas Céili Band under the tutorship of Fr John Quinn where he inherited a rich repertoire of music resurrected from the manuscripts of Stephen Grier and Alex Sutherland.

He has recorded and performed with various artists including Peter Carberry, Garadice, Lúnasa, Dervish, Téada, Gatehouse, Steve Cooney, Ryan Molloy & Dónal Lunny. Pádraig has also worked as a researcher/performer on many projects including ‘The Leitrim Equation 4’ and ‘The Pipes, The Pipes’, a show devised by Dónal Dineen and produced by Siobhán O’ Malley.

The Summer School’s team of tutors is made up of internationally renowned performers with proven track records as teachers and educationalists. The primary means of teaching and learning will be ‘by ear’ with an emphasis in the less experienced classes of assisting pupils to develop oral/aural skills in addition to instrumental competency and developing core repertoire. All classes are designed for intermediate to advanced (minimum 2 years instrument experience) adults and children over 6 years of age except beginner instrument classes, whistle and sing, set dancing, sean nós dancing, traditional singing & sean nós singing which are suitable for all levels including beginners.