Pipeversity returns as Clew Bay Pipe Band take over top Mayo venue
Clew Bay Pipe Band will bring Pipeversity, their high-energy fusion of pipes, rock and Irish dance, to the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar on Friday, November 20.
It is one of the most ambitious productions the Mayo band has staged, and it is built for the scale of the 2,200-capacity venue.
Most people think they know what a pipe band does: kilts, a parade, a stirring march down the main street. Pipeversity starts there and keeps going.
The pipes and drums remain the backbone of the night. Around them, the band layers in rock and contemporary music, singers, traditional tunes and the speed and spectacle of Irish dance. The result is a full theatrical production in which rock collides with tradition, with performers from several generations sharing one stage.
Leading the guest list is Mundy, the Offaly singer-songwriter whose hits July, Mexico and To you I bestow along with many other songs have brought him great acclaim and whose recording of Galway Girl with Sharon Shannon went to number one in Ireland.
Mundy has a long history with Pipeversity, having performed with the band at Westport in 2013 and again in 2016, and his return brings that partnership to a much bigger stage.
He is joined by the Cresham Irish Dancers, who add the drive and colour of Irish dance and by Anú, a unique, young and exciting vocal group born from a creative song writing collaboration with the Clew Bay Pipe Band.
Participation is central to Pipeversity. Children and young people perform alongside experienced musicians within a supportive, multigenerational ensemble that fosters learning, confidence and creative ambition
This year's production not only reaches across generations but also borders. Young members of Clew Bay Pipe Band are working with Polish counterparts, sharing music, ideas and influences and that collaboration brings Szymon Karlowicz of The Voice Kids of Poland to the Pipeversity stage.
The Clew Bay Pipe Band has long enjoyed the involvement of Polish musicians of exceptional calibre who have made their home in the local community.
Among them is Bart de Boer, musical director and producer of Pipeversity, who came via Warsaw to Westport and now runs Clew Bay Recording Studios
Pipeversity itself is not new. It goes back to 2013, when the band played the Westport Festival of Music & Food with guests including Matt Molloy and Damien Dempsey, and a Pipeversity concert in Westport that October sold out in two days.
In November 2016 the band staged Pipeversity XVI over two nights at Westport Town Hall Theatre, the venue where their first CD was recorded live.
In August 2017 the show filled a 500-seat marquee in Cootehill, Co. Cavan, for a concert in tribute to the crew of Rescue 116.
Two years later the band took it to the French Alps, headlining the week-long Criou Celte Festival in Samoëns and closing with a sold-out concert for more than 1,400 people.
Pipeversity came to the TF Royal in 2025. Each version has pushed the format a little further, and the 2026 show is the next step.
The band's own story began with free music lessons.
In October 2010, Carrowholly National School principal Peter Carney, musician Des Cafferkey and former drum sergeant Owen McNamara started teaching pipes and drums to national-school children at no charge, and the band was officially launched on St Patrick's Day 2012.
Within months they had shared a stage with The Chieftains and played the national anthems at the Aviva Stadium before Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Germany.
Since then they have joined Imelda May at Vicar Street, the Marquee in Cork and the 3Arena alongside special guest Jeff Beck, recorded on her single Tears of Clew Bay, appeared on The Late Late Show, played Temple Bar TradFest three years in a row and, in April 2022, played on top of Croagh Patrick for the late Charlie Bird's charity climb.
"Pipeversity has always been about taking the pipes somewhere people don't expect them to go," said Des Cafferkey, Pipe Major and Musical Director of Clew Bay Pipe Band.
"We love traditional music, but we've never believed tradition has to stand still. This year at the TF Royal is one of the most ambitious things we've ever done.
"There'll be faces people know, some new ones, and young musicians from Ireland and Poland making music together. The best way to understand it is to be in the room when the pipes start up, so come along, bring the family and enjoy the night."
Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show starting at 8pm. Tickets from €33.65 plus booking fees are on sale now from the TF Royal and Ticketmaster.