The Annual Willian Kennedy Piping Festival, from 1994 to 2024, made Armagh a place of pilgrimage for the worldwide community of those who love pipe-based music. Over 1,100 musicians made a toal of 2,300 appearances, representing some 40 national and regional piping traditions across four continents.
The cost of the festival, and the scarcity of public and private funding, caused the Club to call a halt after the 30th edition in 2024.
In November 2025, as a gesture of thanks to the musicians and audiences that supported us though those three decades, we presented the Willian Kennedy Piping Weekend – named, like the Festival, in honour of the blind craftsman from Tandragee who contributed significantly to the development of the modern uilleann pipes.
Like the Festival, the Weekend featured musicians from several countries (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, the USA and Spain), centring on a concert by the transatlantic supergroup Lúnasa. Other familiar elements include a variet of music sessions in pubs, hotels and the city’s cultúrlann, a special concert for school, and an expert lecture.
