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This subseries contains correspondence, accounts book, membership lists, receipts, meeting minutes, rules and objective documents, insurance policies, rent notices, bills and equipment manuals relating to the early years of Na Píobairí Uilleann, particularly to the period when their premises was located at 32 East Essex Street, Dublin 2.

This subseries relates to the various activities carried out by Na Píobairí Uilleann to promote their organisation, as well as, the art of uilleann piping and pipe making. These activities include the publication of it newsletter An Píobaire, exhibitions on uilleann piping, the promotion of the uilleann pipes through participation in music competitions like Feis Ceoil and the establishment of pipe making companies throughout Ireland.

Letters from Séamus MacMathúna, Wexford; Larry McCullough; Larry Lynch who encloses a copy of an itinerary for a ‘14 day dance and music tour of Ireland June 23-July 6, 1981’; letter from Diarmuid Grainger ‘enclosing details of the passing away of Mr Moss Kennedy, piper and pipe maker… he was 82’ Grainger gives a good deal of biographical information in this letter (4 June 1982); letter from Tadhg Mac Lochlainn thanking Breandán Breathnach for the tape of ‘D[enis]. Delaney’, MacLochlainn ‘knew Denis well and saw [him] playing in 1916/17 when I was about 10 or 11 yrs.’ (4 Dec 1982)

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Letters, notices and articles sent to Breandán Breathnach relating to the society’s newsletter An Píobaire. Most of the material dates to the early 1970s including an article and illustration from Ronnie Wathen (Wathen, Ronnie, 1934-1993), Es Cloí, Deyá, Mallorca entitled ‘Beginning the pipes: a personal note’ (10 Nov 1970); ‘Latest News Snippets from Pat McNulty’, Glasgow’ (May 1972) and a retraction statement from Theodor Podnos, New Jersey, U.S.A ‘Theodor Podnos regrets the erroneous statement made in his lecture of June 19, 1972 concerning the tunings of modern Highland chanters’ (30 April 1973). Also included are two copies of An Píobaire Nov [1977] and May 1982.

General correspondence from uilleann pipers, other musicians, academic researchers and Irish music enthusiasts from Ireland, United Kingdom, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Australia and the United States of America. Many of the correspondents request information on membership to Na Píobairí Uilleann, they look for information about piping classes, about where they can buy uilleann pipes and about pipe and reed making classes. Letter writers also requests to buy the society’s publications including tutor books, the journals Ceol & An Píobaire and request to purchase cane, hemp and reeds. They also look for information on contemporary and historical uilleann pipers, sound recordings and sheet music and seek answers to technical questions about chanter and reed making. Many letters contain information about uilleann pipes, pipers, reed making and pipe manufacturing. Some letters compliment Breandán Breathnach on his publications. Regular correspondents include Tom Busby, Martin Cooney, Wilbert Garvin, Robbie Hannan, Robert McMahon, Pat McNulty, Bill Ochs, Theodor Podnos, Ronnie Wathen. There are also some letters relating to the early years of the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. Undated letters are filed at the end of the series.

This series relates to the uilleann piping organisation Na Píobairí Uilleann which was founded in 1968. The majority of the papers relate to the early years of the organisation from 1968–1978, when Breandán Breathnach was chairman. A large amount of the correspondence is addressed to the chairman’s home address, 47 Frascati Park, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. There are also letters addressed to other committee members including secretary, Brian Vallely and Terry Moylan. The objectives of the organisation are to ‘promote and encourage the playing of the uilleann pipes; to collect and preserve music for the instrument in any manner considered feasible by the council; to assemble materials and carry out research on the history of the pipes and pipers; to issue from time to time publications about piping and the affairs of the association; to spread the knowledge of reed making and to promote the making of pipes.’ (BBR-18712/5/2). The series is divided into three subseries, the first contains some financial and administrative documents relating to various NPU premises and to specialist equipment acquired by the organisation. The objectives of the organisation are reflected in the second subseries ‘Activities’ with documents relating to the society’s bulletin An Píobaire; the music competition, Feis Ceoil; letters relating to the organisation of some of the early Tionól [Pipers’ Gatherings]; the piping exhibition Pipes and Piping, which was exhibited around the country in various locations; and documents relating to proposals sent to Gaeltarra Éireann, Shannon Development and The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust for grant aid to assist in setting up pipe makers in business. The final subseries, ‘General Correspondence 1969-1982’, contains letters from many uilleann pipers active in the society in the 1970s.

These fonds were largely created by Breandán Breathnach while he was chairman of the uilleann piping society, Na Píobairí Uilleann, from its establishment in 1968, right through the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The majority of the material dates from the decade 1968-1978. The first series contains letters from Francis O'Neill (O'Neill, Francis, 1848-1936) to William Halpin and letters from various individuals to Seán Reid (Reid, Seán, 1907-1978), mostly dating from the 1930s. It is most likely that the Seán Reid and Francis O'Neill letters were purchased by, or donated to, Breandán Breathnach in 1973 by Seán Reid after a request by Breathnach to deposit the originals in his newly established 'National Archives'. Breathnach wrote 'I am making so bold as to suggest you should donate these & other papers you might have to the National Archives new established in this Department or perhaps you would not mind offering them for sale' (M/187/3/3/2, 30 Oct 1973). These fonds also contain papers relating to Seán Ó Riada (Ó Riada, Seán, 1931-1971) from Len Clifford who seemed to be acting as an agent for ÓRiada during the early 1970s. It is not known how Breathnach came to be in possession of these papers, it is most likely that they were given to him as part of his national music archive project. The last series in this collection relates to the organisation Na Píobairí Uilleann. It includes correspondence and papers of a financial and administrative nature, as well as, documents relating to the organisation's various activities i.e. exhibitions, concerts, and pipe making.

This series is made up of three Thematic Indexes to Irish Dance Music which was compiled on index cards by Breandán Breathnach over a period of thirty years. The index controls about five or six thousand dance tunes in manuscripts, books and on sound recordings. It provides names for tunes without titles, gives the printed history of the tunes, and lists the appearance of tunes in various sources.