Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan, who is an uilleann piper from Strabane, says it was the “highlight of his career” to have his music featured in a Superbowl advert
Kendrick Lamar wasn’t the only musical star showcasing their talents during the Super Bowl, one man from County Tyrone also had his music played to the many millions tuning in from around the globe.
Chris McMullan, who is an uilleann piper from Strabane, said it was the “highlight of his career” to have his music featured in an advert starring Irish actor Barry Keoghan during the game’s TV coverage.
The 30-second advert for US firm Squarespace, which pays homage to The Banshees Of Inisherin film, ran between the first and second quarters of Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX.
The game saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, to deny them an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl.
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CJ Gardner-Johnson and Tyler Steen celebrate the Eagles’ Super Bowl win
The advert sees Keoghan, depicting his Banshees character Dominic Kearney, riding a donkey that is meandering along on a path in rural Ireland while he tosses laptops out of a satchel to bemused islanders.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr McMullan said he was overjoyed that his rendition of the ‘Limerick Lament’ was used for the advert.
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Barry Keoghan won a Bafta for his performance in The Banshees Of Inisherin
Chris has been playing the uilleann pipes for many years, and said he also enjoys playing the flute and tin-whistles.
The uilleann pipes, also known as Union pipes or Irish pipes, have been played for centuries and are a beloved instrument in Irish traditional music.
He said “out of the blue” he received an email asking if his music could be used for a Super Bowl advertisement.
‘I thought it was a scam email at first’
“I was working on a cruise ship at the time,” Chris explained.
“The email came through at about 05:30 in the the morning and the email heading was something like: ‘Can we use your music for a Superbowl advert?’
“I thought surely that’s a spam email so I ignored it, but then a second email came through and then after two days a third email arrived.
“At that point I was like OK and checked it out, they showed me all their credentials and I checked them out and then, once I was convinced they were like the real deal, went for it.”
Chris said the song they asked to use was actually recorded in his house and all done using a standard microphone.
“The song is called the Limerick Lament and it’s from 1607, so it’s been around awhile,” he said.
“They just seemed to go for it because it was the sound they were after.”
Hit the hay before the first play
Asked if he stayed up to watch his Super Bowl debut, Chris said that unfortunately jet lag got the better of him and he was unable to stay awake to witness it play out live to a global audience.
“I was flying back from the Caribbean after working on the cruise ship and I was absolutely wrecked,” he said.
“I tried my very best to stay up, but I just couldn’t.
“So many people though, friends and family, all recorded it for me and I also managed to watch it back on the re-runs so that’s something.
“The response has been incredible and I’m just really proud of it.”
Chris said since the advert aired, he has received so many messages asking about the uilleann pipes and said he was delighted to help highlight the instrument.
