Born into the legendary McPeake family in Belfast, Francis McIlduff was introduced to the sights and sounds of traditional music at a very early age, and whilst widely recognised today as one of the finest pipers in the country, it was on the bodhrán that he made his debut performance at the age of 12.
Influenced in style particularly by Christy Moore, his bodhrán playing was soon to take a back seat to the uillean pipes more synonymous with the family name. Along with the pipes, the seemingly obligatory outstanding low whistle playing soon went hand in hand at performances the length and breadth of the country.
Since debuting with the family band, ‘Clann McPeake’ at a very tender age, Francis has gone on to perform and record with some of the foremost traditional and contemporary artistes in music today, including the seminal Irish folk rock outfit ‘Alias Ron Kavana’, ‘Sin É’, ‘Afterhours’ featuring singer Alan Burke, Hungarian-based traditional outfit ‘Fianne’, banjo player Stevie Dunne, John McSherry and Dónal O‘Connor and ‘At First Light’.
An excellent piper, great low whistle player and nifty bodhrán player to boot!
