I want to start this week by acknowledging Siobhán Long, traditional music writer and my counterpart over at the Irish Times, who I understand has retired. Long has for decades written with a voice that’s carried real weight. When I first became aware of her work 25 years ago, she was already a seasoned hand, but over the years I've done my best to pay close attention to the artists and topics she wrote about because I admired how she shared her taste and opinions, always giving the music the gravitas it so richly deserves. It is a consequential loss for the music’s intellectual life. Congratulations on your well-earned retirement, Siobhán! I wish you all the best with whatever direction you choose next.
In other news, harmonica player John Murphy has died. A renowned musician with an engaging personality, Murphy was from Carrig-on-Bannow in Wexford, where he ran Colfer’s Pub. Murphy’s brilliance can be heard on a few very memorable albums, including “The Trip to Cullenstown” (1991) with Phil & his brother Pip Murphy (harmonicas) and Tony Holleran & Mick Daly (guitars); “Harmonicas & Harmonies” (2011) with Benny McCarthy, Dónal Clancy; and the Tin Sandwich Band’s “By Hook Or By Crook” (2012) with Pip Murphy (harmonica), Benny McCarthy (melodeon) and Dónal Clancy (guitar). Each contains wonderful music and they’re all worth revisiting. Murphy also played a major role in the Phil Murphy Weekend, the well regarded festival).
Deepest condolences to the whole Murphy family on their immense loss.
Finally, the legendary uilleann piper Paddy Keenan has died. A founding member of the Bothy Band, Keenan was a hugely influential musician whose adventuresome personality and immeasurable energy matched the way in which he played.
Keenan was from a travelling family based in Trim, Co. Meath. A third generation piper (his father and grandfather both played), he started on the instrument at the age of 10. In his early years, he often played with Johnny Doran and Finbar Furey. Keenan’s first public performance took place when he was 14 and in the 1960s, into the 1970s, he toured with The Pavees, a family band his father led.
Keenan recorded “Paddy Keenan,” his first solo album, in 1975. Among the musicians who appeared on it was Johnny Keenan, his well-regarded brother, for whom the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival was named. That year, he was also playing with Seachtar, a band that would become the Bothy Band, one of the most important and consequential groups in Irish music history. The Bothies recorded three studio albums, including “1975” (1975), “Old Hag You Have Killed Me (1976), and “Out of the Wind – Into the Sun” (1977), and a live album, “After Hours (Live in Paris” (1979), each one a classic. Keenan was also part of the group’s 2023/4 reunion.
In the 1970s through the ‘90s, Keenan recorded several highly acclaimed albums, including “Doublin’” with fiddle player Paddy Glackin (1978) and solo albums “Poirt An Phiobaire” (1983) with Arty McGlynn, and “Ná Keen Affair” (1997), with a set of guest musicians that included Tommy Peoples, Seamus Creagh, Arty McGlynn, Niall Vallely, and others. More recent albums have included “The Long Grazing Acre” (2001) and "Eire Japan" (2016) with Frankie Gavin, Junji Shirota, and Mareka Naito.
There are few musicians who have had so strong an effect on the music. Once called “The Jimi Hendrix of the pipes” by bandmate Dónal Lunny, for his imaginative, rhythmic, and soulful playing, Keenan has inspired generations of pipers. His significance in traditional music has been recognized through several awards, including the TG4 Gradam Ceoil for Traditional Musician of the Year award in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 by the Irish Music Association. A profoundly consequential musician, Paddy Keenan will be remembered as one of the greatest uilleann pipers in Irish music history. Thank you for the music, Paddy!
