Paddy Moloney: A Giant Departs, Leaving a Rich Musical Heritage
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Brian McGowan
A brief mention was made in the last issue of the passing of Paddy Moloney, co-founder and lead composer and arranger for the Irish musical group The Chieftains, along with a promise to do Paddy more justice in a future article. This week we fulfill that promise.
If you don’t know who The Chieftains are, it’s sorry I am for your loss. Famous the world over, the band has been delighting audiences for more than 50 years, and in that time have been one of the most profound driving forces behind the revival of Irish traditional music. They have been instrumental in introducing it to audiences far and wide, of every nationality and ethnic derivation.
The list of their accomplishments is epic: 44 albums produced, beginning with their first in 1964, and continuing to their last release, “Voice of Ages,” in 2012; renowned film soundtracks; live performances; and collaborations ranging from The Rolling Stones to Luciano Pavarotti. At the heart of the band, cradling his uilleann pipes and his tin whistles, sat Dublin-born Paddy Moloney, a musical genius if ever there was one, and a thoroughly charming character.
Coming from a family with strong musical roots, Moloney early on was strongly influenced by another giant of Irish traditional music, Sean O’Riada. He joined O’Riada’s musical group, Ceoltóirí Chualann, in the late 1950s. Moloney and a group of like-minded musicians, including Sean Potts and Michael Tubridy, then formed The Chieftains in November 1962.
Their first album, “The Chieftains,” was released two years later. My first exposure to The Chieftains came with their fifth album, “The Chieftains 5,” released in 1975. It was this album that sparked their true breakthrough to international acclaim.
For me, it was a revelation. Though I grew up in a family proud of its Irish roots, we had become “Americanized” over time. The Irish music we listened to was that of John McCormack, or Irish-American “stage hall” music, or later The Clancy Brothers, as they rode the American folk music revival to fame.
So, it was a strange voyage to sail through an album of Irish music that had not a single vocal track upon it, and be entranced with the magic of uilleann pipes, fiddles, flutes, tin whistles, the harp and the bodhran drum. I was hooked, and almost 50 years later, still am.
Though the band often veered in slightly different directions than a purely traditional style would dictate, and drew some criticism from purists as a result, they were key players in reviving a popular interest in the reels, jigs and harp tunes of pre-famine Gaelic Ireland. And under Moloney’s influence they charted a course to a different, and totally vibrant, manner of playing the music than any others had done before.
Moloney was born on Aug. 1, 1938, the Celtic feast of Lughnasadh. His father, John, was an accountant, his mother, Catherine, a homemaker. She bought him a tin whistle when he was six, and he was off to the races. At eight he was learning the uilleann pipes, one of Irish music’s most difficult instruments. His teacher was Leo Rowsome, known as the “king of the pipers.” And Paddy became a master of it, as well as the tin whistle, the bodhran drum and the button accordion.
Under Moloney’s leadership, the band won six Grammy Awards, as they shifted from pure tradition to innovative collaborations with non-Irish groups, blending different musical traditions together to produce sounds truly unique. A major love of Moloney’s was American country music, and he performed with artists such as Emmy Lou Harris and Earl Scruggs. He was also a fan of, and beloved by, Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney as well.
Moloney died on Oct. 21 in a Dublin hospital, survived by his wife Rita O’Reilly, two sons, one daughter, a sister and four grandchildren. He and his wife were one year short of a 60th wedding anniversary. He was 83 years young.
Rest assured, Paddy is still playing his pipes, only now in an “Angel Band.”
Pleasantville resident Brian McGowan was born and raised in the Bronx, and is a second-, third- and fifth-generation Irish-American/Canadian, as his immigrant ancestors followed several paths to the New World. Reach him at brian.m.mcgowan1952@gmail.com or on Twitter (@Bmcgowan52M). He is the author of two books, “Thunder at Noon,” about the battle of Waterloo, and “Love, Son John,” about World War II. Both are available at Amazon.com.
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