Paddy Moloney died on October 12th, 2021, at the age of 83, and almost instantly, glowing tributes began to pour in from all over the world. In this segment of A Celtic Sojourn, we explore the impact of his life and the music of the group he created, The Chieftains over their six decades of existence. I believe Paddy Moloney essentially created, or should I say assembled, what we call Celtic Music today.
In this extensive tribute, I talk with Mick Moloney, himself such an influential musician and singer, now a Professor at NYU. We hear from Joey Abarta, an Uilleann Piper who lives in Boston inspired by early Chieftains recordings, and journalist Paul Keating of the Irish Voice, who talks about the influence of the Chieftains in creating an acceptance of Irish traditional music worldwide as high art. Emmylou Harris gives the final emotional farewell to Paddy and, for all of us, thanks him for what he gave the world.
Note: During the program, I talk about Comhaltas the worldwide Organization of Irish Traditional Muscians. Its local branch here in Boston can be contacted here.
Below is a playlist of some of my favorite Chieftains recordings. It includes all of the music used in this tribute, and more. Remember, in order to listen to Spotify, you need to have at least a free account. Spotify is useful, but please support artists directly by buying music, tickets, and merchandize directly from their web sites.
