Davy Spillane

Davy Spillane (born 1959) is a player of uilleann pipes. Davy was born in Dublin in 1959 and was brought up to speak Irish as his first language. At the age of 12 he fell under the spell of the uilleann pipes. His father took him to festivals around Ireland. For the next three years he played at sessions and met many prominent Irish musicians. He met many of musicians in a Dublin pub called O'Donohuges. At the age of 16 he started to play at conc... more

Davy Spillane (born 1959) is a player of uilleann pipes. Davy was born in Dublin in 1959 and was brought up to speak Irish as his first language. At the age of 12 he fell under the spell of the uilleann pipes. His father took him to festivals around Ireland. For the next three years he played at sessions and met many prominent Irish musicians. He met many of musicians in a Dublin pub called O'Donohuges. At the age of 16 he started to play at concerts in Ireland, Britain and Europe. He starred as a gypsy in Joe Comerford's film "The Traveller". In 1978 he appeared on a compilation album of promising young uilleann players called "The Piper's Rock". From this point he moved away from traditional music and began to write his own tunes, mainly ballads. He attended the Irish Medium secondary school Coláiste Eoin. He was a founder member of Moving Hearts, along with Christy Moore and Donal Lunny in 1981. Although each member had a strong pedigree of Irish folk music, the band played mostly... less