Sad day for music

Paddy Moloney obituary

#PaddyMoloney, who has died aged 83, was a founder and the leader of the #Chieftains, a band that made #Irish #traditional #music famous across the globe. A composer, arranger of traditional music and innovative #musician on the tin whistle and the #uilleann pipes, #Moloney was a towering influence in #IrishMusic for more than six decades. His ambition for the band and his love of music led to a long series of collaborations on stage and on record with a wide variety of performers, some from the pop and rock world and others who made traditional music from a variety of cultures.

#TheChieftains grew out of informal groupings of highly accomplished #musicians in #Dublin. In 1959, Moloney was recruited by the composer Seán Ó Riada to arrange the music for the play The Golden Folk at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. This led to Ó Riada forming Ceoltóirí Chualann, playing Irish music in a chamber orchestra style with Ó Riada on harpsichord and Moloney, Sean Potts (whistle) and Michael Tubridy (flute). The arrangements, with musicians playing in various combinations, using harmony rather than the unison playing of Irish dance bands, had a great influence on the musical style of the Chieftains.

Moloney formed the group in 1962 with Potts, Tubridy, Martin Fay (fiddle) and David Fallon (bodhrán) specifically to make an album for Garech Browne’s new Claddagh record label, with Moloney arranging all the music. The album was called simply The Chieftains, to be followed by The Chieftains 2 (1969), then The Chieftains 3 and so on, right up to number 10 in 1980. There was a turnover of band members, but the central and dominating figure of Moloney ensured that the Chieftains’ winning style continued...

...The band received six Grammys over their long career as well as a lifetime achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 folk awards in 2002. Moloney always remained ambitious for the Chieftains, bringing enthusiasm, energy and business sense to all their projects. And he remained a superb uilleann piper.

Moloney was born in Donnycarney, north Dublin, to John, an army sergeant and Catherine (nee Conroy), both of whom were musicians, as were countless family members, especially those living near his maternal grandparents in Co Laois.

Almost before he started at St Mary’s school, his mother recognised his musical talents and bought him a tin whistle. Paddy soon persuaded his parents to buy him a practice set of pipes, costing a whole week’s wages, and he enrolled at the school of music run by the master piper, Leo Rowsome.

He made his public debut, aged eight, with fellow musicians in Phoenix Park, and was soon winning prizes at competitions. Still in short trousers, he played alongside piping greats such as Séamus Ennis and Willie Clancy and was soon a regular performer at Dublin’s Pipers’ club.

Having left school at 16 to work in the offices of the builders’ suppliers Baxendales, Moloney became managing director of Claddagh Records in 1968, where he was responsible for releasing and promoting dozens of music and spoken word records.

#Ireland