Uilleann pipe pronunciation

The wrong pronunciation of the word Uilleann pipes is something Uilleann pipers have to deal with daily.
I have heard them called about a dozen wrong names and normally I will just tell people they are “Irish Bagpipes” to avoid having to explain the proper pronunciation. In this blog post we will set it straight once and for all. The word Uilleann means “elbow” and is pronounced one of two ways.

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1) ILL-EEE-UN
Say the word ILL
Say the letter E
Say the word UN, as in the word “UN-stable”

2) ILL-UN
Same as above you just don’t pronounce the “E” in the middle. 

​Both ILL-EEE-UN or ILL-UN are acceptable ways to pronounce the word Uilleann pipes and if you are still having problems pronouncing the word correctly then just say Irish Pipes.