As often happens in skilled crafts, those who know how to make the instruments are few and far between. There is no mass production of uilleann pipes; each one has to be made by hand and it's a painstaking process. It's also a slow one.
A set of pipes from a master craftsman can set a musician back E20,000, so it's not as if there's an enormous demand. The fact remains, there is a demand and with few around who know the trade, musicians find themselves waiting a long time.
To keep the uilleann pipes alive into the future, Na Piobairi Uilleann is setting up a school to teach the art of pipe manufacture.
Unless they can raise E120,000 per year for the next five years, they can't afford to offer a full-time course. For now, the best they can do is provide part-time instruction, in the hope that a few people will fall in love with the complex artistry that is required to create a set of pipes.
Without manufacturers coming up from the younger generations, the uilleann pipes could fade into obscurity and the music would be lost. Singer/songwriter Damien Dempsey will perform on Friday, 29 April, at a fundraising event for the pipe school.
St. Patrick's Day is in the past for this year, but is there anyone out there with the warm glow still lingering? Here's a reminder of the haunting and ethereal quality of the uilleann pipes from Liam O'Flynn, a master of the instrument. Worth making a donation, isn't it?
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