From Kerry to Sligo, trad music maestro Leonard savours his craft Leonard Barry
Accomplished uilleann piper talks about the release of his third album, and how he has developed as a musician while living in the north-west
THE evocative and distinctive sound of the uilleann pipes is a gift for everyone and blessed are those who can play them.
Leonard Barry, a proud Kerry man who is Sligo-based, is one of the finest uilleann pipers around and he’s one of the nicest people you could ever meet.
This talented musician, affable and unpretentious, has just launched his third solo album, Littoral.
This is the third offering from an artist who turned 50 last September. Unveiled last month at the Celtic Connections event, Littoral follows on from his previous releases, both solo albums, Mind the Pipes (2002) and New Road (2013).
The coming months will be about bringing Littoral to new audiences whilst continuing to enthuse those who’ve been lucky enough to hear and appreciate his craft.
In a sought-after quiet corner during a busy evening at Shoot The Crows pub, a well-known Sligo town hostelry where trad musicians frequent and play, Leonard reflected on the process – sometimes difficult but never a chore – that led to the creation and eventual recording of Littoral.
A lot of the work was put in during the Covid years when lockdown curtailed normal life and, for artists like Leonard, funding from The Arts Council was a godsend.
The idea for a third album stemmed from conversations with Michael McGoldrick, a noted trad musician and producer who features as one of the guest musicians on Littoral.
“We are very lucky in Irish [trad] music that we can meet and hang out with our heroes.
“They say you should never meet your heroes but they’re wrong,” Leonard said. “These tracks reflect the relationships I have with these people over a long time. For me it was about picking the 11 nicest sets. Lockdown gave me a lot of time to reflect on everything, really.”
There’s a variety to the album and this richness is something that Leonard hopes will be savoured.
He has played many of these tunes in the past and wanted to get them in the one creative, collaborative space.
Leonard continued: “I think there are different textures on this album and different ideas from the other two albums. With this album I wanted to put something together that I could gig.
“If you go out solo, as an uilleann piper, it is a niche thing. I love it and still do quite a bit of it but I like working with other musicians and people like to see other instruments and hear different sounds.”
He is keen to praise the input of the album’s producer, Michael McGoldrick, who is one of eight musicians to feature on Littoral.
WHEN Littoral was finally completed, the first few listens brought a mixture of emotions. “It’s weird,” Leonard admitted. “It can be hard to enjoy it when you are listening to it the first couple of times because you are listening for your mistakes.
“You are looking out for things that you think might have to be redone. Still, it is very rewarding when its ready. At the end of the day a lot of thought goes into it and a lot of work, obviously. To see the finished product is a great buzz.”
Getting an album made is commonplace for musicians, whatever the genre. But go back decades and think of the unrecorded work by countless of trad footsoldiers, in hundreds of townlands, whose work enthused their communities.
“Recordings are very accessible now – but there are several neighbours of mine down in Kerry, people that I would have learned a load of music from, but they were never recorded at all.
“Some of the best traditional musicians to my mind were never recorded. But, in saying that, the process is so much easier these days.”
Now with a third album on his already impressive musical CV, Leonard has further elevated his career, one that began in north Kerry’s Kilmoyley, near Tralee.
When he started out his uilleann piping adventure his influences included notable performers such as Paddy Keenan (The Bothy Band), Johnny Doran, Willie Clancy, Seamus Ennis and Liam O’Flynn.
Leonard’s initial taste of playing music was as a kid when he took up the tin whistle – his uncle, Bert O’Brien, was one of his earliest mentors.
The Sliabh Luachra style from Munster, which originates from the borders of counties Kerry, Cork and Limerick has also impacted Leonard’s playing. The uilleann pipes are a technical instument, complex for some, but when mastered they can produce a haunting harvest of sound.
“When I started out there weren’t a lot of pipers in the area where I’m from in north Kerry.
“In one way, I was playing the repertoire of other instruments – it is only in my late teens and early 20s that I discovered the real piping repertoire.
“I try to take a bit from everything I like from everyone. But certain tunes won’t work as well on the pipes as they do on other instruments.”
LEONARD agrees that he’s obviously a different uilleann piper now than, say, 20 years ago. “When you are young you tend to play everything faster, wilder and all that. You are mad for sessions and hammering it [the music] out.
“As you get older you develop technically. Your style develops from all your influences over the years to where you are today. It is always evolving. Then there will be a stage when people will recognise my style of playing.”
From his late teens until he was 30,
Leonard was honing his skills as an uilleann piper and enjoying the task (“making money and spending it” is how he describes those years).
Then came a dramatic career change as a significant part of Leonard’s life was spent in the capital when he worked with the Dublin Simon Community.
“When I was living in London I was always fascinated by the homeless Irish over there. I wanted to do something else – other than being a fulltime musician – and this was an itch that I wanted to scratch.”
Leonard studied at Trinity College, later worked in Australia with the First Nations people (those suffering from substance abuse problems) and then came a decade or so with the homeless support charity in Ireland’s largest city.
He still played music during his time in Dublin but his main job was working with people marginalised by life’s problems.
“When you are working with street drinkers and drug users you are working with some of the most chaotic