THE musical legacy of Planxty founder and master uilleann piper Liam Og O’Flynn will be maintained by County Limerick traditional musician Louise Mulcahy who is this year’s recipient of the Liam O’Flynn Award.
An internationally renowned performer and tutor on both uilleann pipes and flute, the Abbeyfeale woman will receive an award bursary of €15,000 along with a period as artist in residence at the National Concert Hall.
The residency will allow her to collaborate, innovate and create a new work to be performed at the National Concert Hall as well as engaging audiences with traditional arts. She will also be loaned a set of Uilleann pipes once owned by Liam O’Flynn by Na Píobairí Uilleann.
A member of a well known musical family, Louise has released four albums along with her father Mick and sister Michelle. Her debut solo album ‘ Tuning The Road’ was released in 2014 and she is currently researching the history of Irish women and the uilleann pipes.
She has also won many All Ireland titles, including four Senior All Ireland titles on the same day at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2001.
This was followed by appearances at some of the biggest national and international music festivals throughout Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, America and Canada.
Louise was voted Female Musician of the Year in 2005 and 2015 as well as a joint award with her sister Michelle in 2017 when she also won the Tradconnect Album of the year award.
A regular contributor to national and international music broadcasts, she has presented the traditional Irish music series ‘Geantraí’ for TG4 and featured on the award winning series ‘Port’ for BBC Alba and TG4.
Louise graduated with her masters degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2016 and was awarded the 2016 Doctoral Fellowship in Irish Music Studies at NUI Galway.
