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TITLE: Francis McPeake Family Concert, May 16, 2007
SPEAKER: Francis McPeake Family
EVENT DATE: 05/16/2007
RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes
DESCRIPTION:
From March through May 2007, scholars and artists gathered at the Library of Congress and other venues in and around Washington, DC, to present and promote Northern Irish arts and culture through the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme. The May events at the Library of Congress included an exciting and thought-provoking series of concerts and lectures and a special symposium. Together, they highlighted and focused attention on the unique geographical, cultural and musical landscape of Northern Ireland. Featured is the Francis McPeake family.
Speaker Biography: Francis McPeake (1885-1971) was born in Belfast, worked in a factory as a boy, and at the age of nine years played in the O'Connell Flute Band. He took the initiative of writing to Ireland's Own for information on Irish pipes and harp and studied uilleann pipes under the blind Galway piper John Reilly. His son, Francis McPeake II (1917-1986) began to play the pipes when he was eighteen years old. He formed the first McPeake Trio, which included his father, and they were to win the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod three times. He afterwards included his children, which meant that the group had six members and was known as The McPeake Family. Among other places, they played in the Royal Festival Hall in London. On the suggestion of Pete Seeger, who filmed the McPeake Family in Belfast in 1964, the family made a two-month tour of the United States in 1965, including a performance for President Lyndon Johnson at the White House. Their song, "Will You Go, Lassie, Go" written by Francis Sr. became an anthem of the folk song revival. They were noted for close harmonies of uilleann pipes, harps, and voices. Francis McPeake founded the Clonard Traditional Music School in 1977, now internationally famous and known as the Francis McPeake School of Music, and many young people have learned how to play traditional music at this wonderful Belfast institution. The third and fourth generations of the McPeake family performs at this concert.