Kieran O’Hare

Kieran O’Hare is a highly respected and sought-after performer of traditional Irish music on the uilleann pipes, concert flute, and tinwhistle. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where he continued the process of learning the tradition of uilleann piping from master pipers.

In 1994, Kieran received the honor of being the first American-born player of Irish music invited to perform in the annual ‘Ace and Deuce of Piping’ concert, held in Ireland’s National Concert Hall. Since then, he has made countless appearances at festivals and concerts across Europe, North and South America, Japan, and China. Among the many artists with whom Kieran has performed, toured or recorded are Mick Moloney and The Greenfields of America; fiddlers Liz Carroll and Jerry Holland; baroque performers Ensemble Galilei; the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; Bonnie Raitt; The Paul Winter Consort; Josh Groban; and Don Henley.

In 2002, Kieran appeared in a musical role in the Sam Mendes film Road to Perdition. In 2006-2007, Kieran was the featured uilleann pipes and tin whistle player on Broadway for the new musical The Pirate Queen, written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and produced by John McColgan and Moya Doherty of Riverdance. In 2007-8, Kieran was a featured performer on the PBS special presentation ‘Celtic Origins’ with the Irish choral group ANÚNA. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 as a soloist with the New York Pops Orchestra under the baton of Steve Reineke.

Kieran is a staunch advocate for and master teacher of Irish traditional music. In addition, he has extensive experience in designing music for the stage, with projects at such venues as Arena Stage (Washington, DC), The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and The Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT). Since 2007, he has collaborated with his wife, the fiddle player Liz Knowles, to compose, arrange, and perform the music for large-scale European-based productions integrating traditional and contemporary Irish music with dance and song. Their most recent project has been as musical and artistic directors in France for the ‘grand spectacle’ Fête de la St. Patrick et de la Bretagne, a presentation of the music and dance of Ireland and Brittany.

Kieran performs with the trio Open the Door for Three, along with Liz Knowles and Dublin-born bouzouki player and singer Pat Broaders. Their fourth album together, A Prosperous Gale, was released in spring 2024.

He has served on the Board of Directors of Ná Píobairí Uilleann in Dublin, an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of uilleann piping worldwide, as well as the board of The Northeast Tionól, North America’s largest uilleann piping event.