Tom Creegan

Tom Creegan grew up in Dublin learning in one of the best environments possible, the Pipers’ Club in Thomas Street. He played extensively in Europe and Canada before moving to Seattle where he fell in with a bad crowd, joining the Irish Pipers’ Club, at that time under the helm of Denis Brooks. Tom learned a lot from Denis of the depth and breadth of the tradition, while listening repeatedly to piping 78’s spun at LP speed

He played for many years with the scourge of the left coast, The Suffering Gaels, along with Finn MacGinty, Conor Byrne and Dale Russ. Over the years, he has also been lucky enough to meet and play with Kevin Burke, Micheál Ó’Domhnaill and Johnny Cunningham. Tom is now in a band called Crumac, still playing alongside renowned fiddler, Dale Russ.

In February 2009 Tom was invited to play at the inaugural Leo Rowsome Annual Commemoration at Na Píobairí Uilleann, the Dublin HQ of piping.

He has many years of teaching experience, first at the Thomas Street Pipers’ Club, and later in Seattle with Cumann na bPíobairí (Irish Pipers’ Club), as well as at many music festivals and schools. He continues to live in Seattle along with Lisa and sons, Dermot and Niall, and currently serves on the committee of the Irish Pipers Club. Tom is editor of The Pipers’ Review, the club’s newsletter, which is distributed throughout North America and to many points beyond.

Tom’s set of pipes, in the key of D, were made in Dublin in the mid 50’s by the great Leo Rowsome. The pipes were ordered from Leo by a fisheries biologist living in Stevenson, Washington, who was then working at the Bonneville Dam. There the set languished for many years before being rescued by that pipes and reed guru, Ted Anderson. Ted brought the pipes south to his home in California. A few years later (and very fortunately for Tom) Ted let him have the set, and they then returned to the suitable climes of the Pacific Northwest.