"Being in Belfast, I was aware of them. They are a group that you are always aware of in Irish music. And at that time, they seemed to have a world platform. And I think that they were the first folk group who were taking this music to America, or taking it to England, getting it to a wider audience." Van Morrison speaking about The McPeake Family, who are the subject of Chanter Bag and Bellows; Family Notes.

This documentary explores the rich musical history of this extraordinary Belfast family, from humble beginnings when Francis Joseph McPeake, born in 1885, learned to play the Uilleann pipes from the blind Galway piper, John O'Reilly and became the first piper in Belfast for 116 years.

Francis formed The McPeake Trio with his two sons, which later evolved into The McPeake Family. Francis McPeake III gave John Lennon lessons on the Uilleann pipes.

Pete Seeger visited Belfast to make a film about the family. And so the music has been passed down from generation to generation.

Today, the younger generations are carrying on the tradition of playing music as well as running the Francis McPeake School of Music in Belfast.

This documentary features interviews with members of McPeake family as well as contributions from Van Morrison and Davy Hammond.

Compiled by Therese Kelly

Production Supervision by Peter Woods

First Broadcast 2004

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries