Jimmy’s interest in the uilleann pipes came from an encounter with the group Planxty in the early 1970s. He remembers that the moment that he became aware of the individual sound of the pipes. The tone, the control and the articulation all combined to create a magical sound, the power of which has never diminished from his mind.He has been teaching the advanced uilleann pipes class at the Willie Clancy Summer School since 1977. His ‘recording career’ began as one of seven contributors to an album of young pipers. This recording, The Pipers’ Rock is now considered a bit of a classic.

As a member of the group Scullion he recorded on the first album and toured Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Holland. Since then, he has released two solo albums and played on many other recordings. A track from his first CD, Dark Lochnagar’ was selected by the actor Ewen McGregor, as his all-time favourite piece of music, on an BBC radio program ‘Desert Island Discs’ a number of years ago.

Dr. O’Brien Moran teaches part-time at Waterford Institute of Technology and has taught in several third level institutions around Ireland, including UCD and the University of Limerick where he completed his Ph.D. He spent five months at Boston College in 2008 as a Fulbright Visiting Professor and made a close study of the Hudson music manuscripts there. Upon his return to Ireland, he joined the board of the Irish Fulbright Alumni Association and served as President of the IFAA from 2015 to 2017.

As a performer he has played around Mainland Ireland, Europe (France, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland), Japan, as well as Australia and New Zealand and of course, the USA and Canada. A few years ago, he was invited to play for St. Patrick’s Day, in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean – piping in paradise!