Thanks Martin the Feis and the Mod here in Scotland probably started around the same time.
My experience of Irish piping is confined to the Sligo/Lietrim area during our bi-annual visits, where to the casual visitor they are thin on the ground and all are men with the same in these parts.
The upsurge in lassies playing the pipes is mirrored here in Scotland by the number of girls taking up the fiddle over the same period.