Leo Rowsome

Leo Rowsome had a profound effect on the evolution of Irish music. Representing the third generation of pipers in his family, Rowsome was one of Ireland's few professional musicians in the 1930s and '40s. Teaching uillean pipes at the Municipal School of Music in Dublin since 1920, Rowsome won a first place prize at the Dublin Feis Ceoil in 1921. The first president of the Pipers Club, Rowsome joined with his brother, Tom, to form a new organization, Cumann Ceoltoiri Eirann, in January 1950. The organization evolved into Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eirann in 1952. ~ Craig Harris