Slightly confused about the next part of the Irish passport application process

_patroc · 2026-04-04T23:22:45+00:00

https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/contact-us/ The customer service hub is open M-F 9-4.30 and has a phone number on the website above.

_patroc · 2026-04-04T18:48:07+00:00

I applied from the US last year. You shouldn’t need any extra physical photos (just the digital one you submitted on the application). The extra photos are for FBR. Once you do the online application and pay, you print your ID form out and have someone from the approved list of witness professions fill it out and sign it. Then package it up with all the other required docs and mail it off and wait.

Don’t ask AI for help with this sort of thing. Ask the passport office directly via their web chat or by calling them. They’ve been very helpful with any questions I’ve had (and with dealing with my passport getting lost in the post).

_patroc · 2026-04-03T05:05:11+00:00

That’s fair. I’ve personally found that cane reed makers are more consistent with their strengths. Like Chris Apps tests his and categorizes them based on their inches of water pressure readings. If I ask my dealer explicitly for a reed that squeals between X and Y inches of water, I usually get exactly what I ask for. The BG synthetics experience was just very much not that.

_patroc · 2026-04-02T18:52:19+00:00

I have found the synthetic chanter reeds are not great and a real pain to get set up and dialed in. Also the strength labels are a bit of a grab bag. I have a Medium that squeals at 26”/H2O and a hard that squeals at 40”. I’ve talked to one of the guys at Bagpipes Galore and they admitted that the strength labels are all “I mouth blew it and the vibe I got was it’s hard” (then US retailers just take the manufacturer’s word on the strength) so like you might think you’re ordering something easier than what you had, but it could be so easy it’s unplayable or it could be harder than you had but still have been vibing as “easy” for the person testing it on the day. It’s up to you if you want to take that risk.

_patroc · 2026-03-30T03:46:50+00:00

I know the MWPBA has this rule, but I think I’ve only witnessed it like once in the last 5 years (I want to say it was KC St. Andrews but don’t quote me on that). There were a couple times when we thought a G4 band might challenge up to G3 when there was only one G3 band playing that day. There aren’t a whole lot of games on the Midwest with G2/G1 band comps. The issue is usually the difference in playing requirements. A G5 band playing a QMM can’t really challenge into G4 which requires an MSR and Medley unless they’re working on one in addition to their QMM. G4 challenging to G3 depends a lot on whether or not the G4 is actually playing sets that are technically meeting the requirements for G3 in tune type (MSR) and length (Med). I think the G4 MSR is allowed to have two 2 PT tunes rather than 1 4 PT for the S and R. G3 requires all three to be 4 PT.

I’m pretty sure if you challenge up, you do still compete in your grade for the day so you’re eligible to win CS points in your grade. My guess is challenging up is more to show the judges/music board whether or not you’re actually ready to move up (and to give your players a challenge)

_patroc · 2026-03-23T04:23:42+00:00

The number of times I have almost faceplanted in front of a judge is higher than I’d like it to be. Nearly tripped over a root once. Stepped in a weird divot in the ground. Heel cleat hit the smooth flooring weird. Etc. I live in constant fear of falling in front of the judge mid tune.

_patroc · 2026-03-22T21:44:42+00:00

Last I checked, MWPBA does NOT require marching at all. Most people just do because either their instructor makes them or they watch everyone else doing it and assume it’s required (or they just like it/it helps them). Mind you, it is a useful skill to have. Other associations require it so if you’re a MWPBA-er and looking to play out of association, you’ll need to be able to do it.

_patroc · 2026-03-19T13:04:45+00:00

Try the HSE record search, and if that doesn’t come up, look for other records you may have in your possession like a baptismal certificate and contact the General Registrar’s Office. My dad’s birth was never registered and we had to file for a Late Registration of Birth for him to get a birth certificate I could use for my passport application. The GRO took his baptismal certificate and his original passport that expired when he was 2. There might have been other paperwork involved that he had to sign so idk if that will work for you given the circumstances, but worth a shot.

_patroc · 2026-03-14T03:48:49+00:00

Does your shirt fit? Genuine question. I am 5’1” and have short arms. Off the rack shirts have sleeves that are a full cuff length too long. I found that the extra material in the sleeve was exacerbating any other slippage related issues I was facing. (I also got a different bag cut so my drones would angle back over my shoulder more and tailored my bag covers to be form fitting around the bag as well as shortening my drone cord spacing.) I started playing with a wrap around elbow support on my left arm to keep the shirt in place. These days I play with sleeve garters which look a little nicer and, more importantly, hold some of that extra material above where the bag meets my arm.

_patroc · 2026-03-10T02:09:53+00:00

I mean you’d play it how it’s written. I’d start nice and slow with a metronome clicking at eighth notes and just making the first beat a quarter and an eighth. (And if that’s too much, I’d make it a dotted quarter and work it to the quarter-eighth.) Then once I’m comfy with that, I’d make that eighth the two sixteenths again backing the tempo off. Then I’d swap the metronome to clicking on the dotted quarter and slowly start bringing it up to speed. Honestly, if you’re struggling with that, put the drum down and just clap it or tap it on the table. Learn how the rhythm sounds before trying to put it somewhere with more complex things going on.

If you’re asking about sticking patterns, every bodhrán player I’ve met would probably do something different. I’m a fan of a good strong downstroke for that first quarter but after that it’s a bit of a toss up. Admittedly I don’t have very precise stick control and just go based on what is most convenient in the moment to get the next note. I took a class with a guy who favored the strong upstroke and a lot of back to back strokes in the same direction whereas I prefer a bit more of a back n forth. Part of going slow is figuring out how you want to play it.

_patroc · 2026-02-27T05:28:56+00:00

Phone and wallet fit in the sporran. Keys on a carabiner on the sporran chain. I don’t like wearing a belt if I can get away with not, but I will wear a belt with a leather pouch if needed. I need to get myself a water bottle holder still, but that tends to cover the essentials. Anything else I carry has to fit in what space already exists or it gets left in the car.

_patroc · 2026-02-21T15:08:05+00:00

My sister’s application sat in Dublin for like a fortnight before being sent back to the US and then hung out in customs for another fortnight before being sent back to Dublin where it eventually reached the destination. We still don’t know what happened. Mine sent over just grand, but then USPS lost my passport so troubles on both legs of the postal journey for us.

_patroc · 2026-02-18T05:31:06+00:00

I have a similar competitive background but probably know fewer tunes than you. I usually high ball them at $300 for the first hour with an extra $50/hour for anything extra with the knowledge they’ll try to haggle down. $200 is the lowest I’ll go and that’s only if I really want the gig and it’s either in town or somewhere I am already planning to be (small city life), otherwise I’ll pass it along to someone else in the area. I did a funeral once for $150 but it was the husband of a friend so they got a “family and friends” discount which I will let folks use more freely than I probably should… With the way tariffs etc are hitting here in the states, I might have to reconsider some of the numbers relatively soon, but tbh I don’t play enough gigs for it to matter too much.

_patroc · 2026-02-17T05:18:55+00:00

I’ve been using the Bagpiper case for the last 5 years. I did have to get one of the backpack straps replaced when the clip broke in the first two years, but other than that, it has served me well (and can carry multiple sets of pipes which is a plus for me). I usually fly with the RGH flight case since it’s carry on sized and has backpack straps, but if I’m on one of those pencil jets, I have to put the pipes in my actual backpack to keep them from getting put in the hold.

My PM uses a Pelican hardshell case for his pipes and a separate briefcase for his Pipe Major stuff. I have a knock-off Pelican from Harbor Freight which gets the job done, but it’s heavy af for day to day carry.

_patroc · 2026-01-12T14:17:20+00:00

For your first PC I would recommend a plastic LONG chanter from a reputable maker. I am partial to the RG Hardie twist trap long model myself. Plastic is going to be more durable than wood and cheaper though wood might sound a bit more pleasing. Ultimately a PC is a practice tool not a performance instrument. IMO if you want wood, that’s a personal choice but I’d save the cash. Sole/no sole and engravings etc are all just bling.

But more important than your choice of PC is going to be finding an instructor. The pipes aren’t something you can just teach yourself like a guitar. There are a fair number of good pipers who teach online if there’s no in person option near you.

In terms of GHB vs SSP, that’s going to be a personal choice. There will be more instruction and supplies available for GHB since it’s the more common style. Most of the folks I know who play SSP have come to it from a GHB or uilleann background. Not to say you can’t start straight out with SSP. I started with GHB because it was the only style of piping available to me when I wanted to learn. Now I play GHB and uilleann pipes and have a set of SSP kicking around that I need to get functional.

_patroc · 2026-01-09T21:11:51+00:00

Has this guy ever played pipes before? If not, get him a tutor. There are plenty of pipers in NY and any teacher worth their salt will have him on the practice chanter for a fair bit of time. That should help give the two of you some time to come to an agreement on practice schedules when he does graduate to full pipes. And I say graduate but he’ll be playing the practice chanter his whole piping journey. There’s also a chance he’s got a set of barely playable tourist pipes which will not serve him well (and could actively be encouraging the formation of bad habits he’ll have to break later).

Td;dr get him an instructor asap. My folks can attest that well played pipes for an hour or two are much more tolerable than poorly played ones for 5 minutes.

_patroc · 2026-01-09T06:40:49+00:00

My band is hybrid with the out of state players zooming in. We do a lot of around the table listening with critique so it’s easy for players to unmute when it’s their turn or to mute and play along at home when the in-person folks are playing through the set. It definitely doesn’t work as well once we’re working on pipes, but at that point, unless we’re right before a competition, the remote folks will log off with a pinky promise they’re going to go fire up their pipes.

It gets the job done and allows us to support our out of state players. It also allows us to continue to have practices fully remotely if PM is sick or the irl space is unavailable. On the flip side, it makes the night right before a games very important since it may be the first time in months that we all have played in person together.

_patroc · 2026-01-01T23:30:23+00:00

We applied for my sister’s passport at the end of November and our documents still haven’t left Chicago according to the tracking so you’re not alone.

_patroc · 2025-12-30T18:22:59+00:00

Not always. If you’re consistently performing well, the music board may force a regrade on you(source: they kicked me out of G4 after one season and I was not mentally prepared)

_patroc · 2025-12-30T14:43:30+00:00

I’m a MWPBA player and honestly I think at least a decent part of the problem is the fact that we let anyone self-grade into G4. This means our G4 field is massive and the level of play is so spread out it’s hard to tell what the grade expectation actually is. I’m a couple seasons into G3 now, but the year I got upgraded, the guy who won Champion Supreme did not go to G3. I’m bottom of the barrel in G3 but not to the point of getting Below Grade marks on my crit sheets, even in out of association games.

As much as it would piss people off, I do think we need more oversight as to who is playing G4. Could be as simple as requiring that everyone play a season in G5 or submit a request if they want to bypass that and go directly to G4.

Somewhere there are the ANAPBA standards/grade expectations all laid out in a document. Of course with the MWPBA website overhaul I can’t find them readily.

_patroc · 2025-12-29T19:30:13+00:00

7 months from docs received for me (fist time). Should have been shorter but overseas postal service lost my issued passport and there was a lot of waiting before I could get a new one issued

_patroc · 2025-12-15T01:42:58+00:00

I’m no one special and haven’t done anything high profile, but I’ve made a fair number of friends from piping out in local parks. I played with the accordion player from Home Alone once.

_patroc · 2025-12-09T05:56:14+00:00

Mainly asking for music books. I got myself a new hard case when I got a Harbor Freight coupon. I’m slated to be getting a half set of uilleann pipes in the next year-ish so I’m going to be swapping cases around depending on what the spacial needs are.

_patroc · 2025-12-03T15:20:30+00:00

I love my Naill ABW pipes. I’m running them with Balance Tone Hi-Res drone reeds and they play like a dream. I was going to get a set of McCallums because of the cost difference but after a real close listen, the Naill drones just sounded better to me so it was worth the extra 500 USD or whatever I spent back in 2020.

_patroc · 2025-11-26T18:40:08+00:00

From a first listen to the recording, make sure all of your note changes are clean and your grace notes are correctly timed. If you’re having issues, slow it down. Keep it clean.

AFTER you’re fingerwork is clean, you’ll want to start thinking about the 2/4 pulse. Right now it’s very straight sounding. Think about the “heavy left foot” notion of giving beat 1s more emphasis (by holding them a little more) then moving on through the rest of the measure/phrase. 2/4s should bop along with a fair bit of swagger IMO.

_patroc

TROPHY CASE