Internationally respected as a performer and tutor, Brian McNamara hails from a musically rich rural region (County Leitrim) of Ireland which has produced notable musicians past and present and which has been prominently associated with the preservation and performance of Irish Traditional Music.

Introduced to the Uilleann pipes in 1979, Brian has become renowned nationally and internationally for his unique musical style and repertoire. As a winner of multiple All-Ireland titles at Junior and Senior level during the 1980s, he became a regular member of concert tour groups and now travels extensively as a solo performer and tutor.

Brian has been a frequent guest on National and International radio and television over the past 20 years and participated in a number of documentaries for television. He has also been the subject of numerous interviews in piping and Irish Music related publications.

Though he plays a number of instruments including flute and whistle, it is as an Uilleann piper that he is best known. He is a noted for playing both 'Concert' pitched and 'flat' pitched pipes as evidenced by his recordings. The pipes currently played by Brian are the products of some of the finest contemporary pipe makers. See 'My Pipes' for further details.


Brian's style is regarded as unique against the backdrop of modern piping styles. It has been nurtured by the strong influences of his principal teacher Peter Maguire and the very strong influences of his immediate family environment. It has been described as a beautifully sweet, articulate, controlled, staccato yet flowing style underpinned by definite phrasing and strong rhythm.