The history of Piping in Ireland
A brief history of the pipes extends over a span of 13 Centuries, the earliest references are in the ancient law tracts and annals. Some high crosses have carved depictions of early pipes (10th Century) and from the 15th Century onwards references become more frequent. All of these pipes were mouth-blown instruments.

The distinctively Irish form of bagpipe, the Union or Uilleann Pipes, is believed to have originated about the beginning of the 18th Century. No exact source of development has been found. The present form, with three drones and three regulators, came into being at the beginning of the 19th Century.

Piping was at its height in pre-famine Ireland (pre 1847) and was not confined to any social stratum. Social changes in the second half of the 19th Century led to the decline in piping and by the beginning of the 20th Century the last of the old pipers were mostly destitute, finding refuge in workhouses.

  From UilleannPipers.com