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Deaths and Obituaries |
Hugh Shields was the most incisive commentator on Irish song of the last century. He combined a love of songs and singers with great intuitive understanding of the workings of tradition and its contributors. His capacity for analysis was unsurpassed and his work is beautifully and concisely descriptive; every sentence deserves repeated reading.
His books together with the recordings of traditional singers he was instrumental in issuing will be his memorial. No student of song should neglect his Narrative Singing in Ireland.
John Moulden - 16.7.08
Word is coming in of the death of Marty O'Malley in Miltown Malbay. Marty Malley (the 'O' was generally omitted in familiar speech) was born and lived all his life in rural west Clare. A small farmer, Marty was a traditional singer and a maker of ballads, but was best known for his elegant style of dancing and his generous outgoing nature. He loved good music and had a keen appreciation of its beauty. He was one of a generation that excelled in its welcome to strangers and many of us who first went to west Clare as poverty-stricken youngsters at a time when there were no eating-houses in the area have reason to remember nights when we were given a bed and fed the best of food without any question of payment. Marty, who would never have had much of the world's wealth, equalled any of his neighbours in his generosity.
He had known all of the great west Clare musicians of the twentieth century and danced to most of them, but he had a deep interest in music from outside his own environs and could discuss music from all over Ireland. And he exulted in discussion - it's from talking to such people that younger folks learn, and such discussion can form the habits and attitudes of a lifetime. In conversation he had an eloquence and fluidity of speech that was common among his generation - this can be witnessed in a well -known piece of film footage that is often replayed on TV; the Dublin HQ of Comhaltas had decided to ban 'battering' in competitions of set-dancing, and Marty, who was comfortable and confident in his enjoyment of the tradition, came to its defence on Irish television. It's an impassioned and heated defence, but beautiful in its integrity.
When younger Marty travelled all over Ireland to fleadhanna, and he had thousands of friends. The establishment of The Willie Clancy Summer School widened further his circle of friends by bringing tens of thousands of new people into his own milieu, and his passing will be regretted in almost every part of the world.
Finbar Boyle - 5.7.08
I have the news of the death of concertina player Kitty Hayes from Shanaway West on the morning of Saturday May 17th. She had phoned me just the day before; we were to play tonight at a CD launch and she was looking forward to going, play a few tunes and sing a few songs and she wondered if I was up for 'a practice'. She knew we didn't need it but she liked the company and a few tunes to 'shorten the day' as she would say. Unfortunately I had to pick up something in Ennis so we decided to chance it unprepared. We talked for a while and she was in the greatest of form, as she was a few days before, the last time we played. I had given her a few new tunes that she loved and she was raring to go and play them in public.
Her story is by now well-known: Kitty grew up listening to her father and their next door neighbour, Willie Clancy's father Gilbert play together in the kitchen. As a teenager she worked her father's concertina when he wasn't looking, teaching herself the basics. At that time she was out to the house dances a lot, listening to and playing music. At some point though her concertina broke and around the same time she married flute player Josie Hayes. Raising the family and working the farm there was no money or time for a concertina and it was only in the 1990s she got back to it, after a break of nearly 45 years. I met her on the first night she played out, she was sitting in with fiddlers Junior Crehan and Michael Downes, and she sounded like she had been playing forever.
Soon after, we started playing together - eight or nine years ago. We got on like a house on fire and ended up playing together almost weekly, quietly at home over a cup of tea. She had a good run of it the past few years, getting invited to play, a great television documentary in the Se mo Laoch series made by Breandan Begley and Nuala O Connor that told her story and told it well, and had us all play with her.
Winter was quiet, we played mostly in the kitchen, she particularly loved it when I brought my son along, he plays the concertina and she was always trying to get a few tunes off him, especially The Hunt, which her father used to play. During a few visits my son shot a dozen or so of videos that can be seen on YouTube.
Earlier this week Noel Hill played in town; I was to take her along but at the last minute she decided she'd save herself for the CD launch tonight. She got up this morning, had her cup of tea and then quietly slipped away.
Peter Laban - 17.5.08
Many of you will remember Bernard’s wonderful description of his childhood and how he became a Mummer at the Here we come: traditional and contemporary folk performances in Britain conference here in Aberystwyth in 2006. He was already seriously ill at that time but was eager to contribute his particular experiences of traditional practice.
It was a real pleasure to see him performing King William with such gusto last Boxing Day. And it was his suggestion that King William should take on all-comers in the final performance, resulting in a series of energetic, improvised combats that left a pile of colourful, paper-decked figures in the street. I think perhaps he knew that this would be his last…
Bernard will be greatly missed – by his family, by his friends, by his community. But he will linger in the performances of the Mummers. Older members say that it takes many years for them to stop imagining their departed colleague still there in a role. And every time Tenpenny Nit strikes himself on the head - to show his ‘little wit’ - Bernard will be present: this action was his invention when for many years he played that character. And when at 11 o’clock in the square we hear these words, it’s Bernard’s voice we’ll remember:
Mike Pearson - 22.5.08
Professor of Performance Studies
Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, Aberystwyth University
John Messenger - 24.4.08
Joe Ryan, of Inagh, Co Clare, passed away on Monday, March 10, at the age of 80. I am sure that many a head was bowed, or a glass raised, in greater Dublin and London as well, where the genial fiddler was very active and had many friends through a long lifetime in the music scene. Joe was one of the giants of the Clare - indeed the universal Irish music scene - whose innate gift for the music spoke volumes for the humble but highly respected musician who won many prizes, including the All-Ireland senior fiddle in 1969.
At age 11, he took up the fiddle in Inagh, a crossroads village between Ennis and Ennistymon where one could shorten the road towards the West Clare village of Miltown Malbay. He took up carpentry as a trade, working first in Ennis, then Dublin, London and back again in Dublin where as a foreman he trained many a trainee joiner.
The fiddle and Irish music and Clare were always important parts of his life wherever he traveled, as he shared tunes with Bobby Casey in London, John Kelly in Dublin at O’Donoghues on Merrion Row and the Four Seasons and Slatterys on Capel Street and with Junior Crehan in Miltown Malbay. He was a regular tutor at the Willie Clancy Summer School and was even listed for Miltown this July.
Ryan was part of that seminal scene of musicians who literally recreated the Banner County in Dublin at the Mrs. Crotty’s Club on Church Street in the early 1960s. Out of that milieu came one of the most exciting ceili bands in Irish music, the Castle Ceili Band that featured Ryan, Kelly, Liam Rowesome, Sean Keane, John Dwyer on fiddles, Mick O’Connor and Michael Tubridy on flutes, James Keane on accordion, Bridie Laverty on piano and Bennie Carey on drums. They won the senior All-Ireland in 1965, and Ryan could still be seen proudly wearing his blue blazer from those halcyon days at special occasions many years later.
His music was recorded and documented in a variety of settings like the Castle Ceili Band; Crossroads, a Green Linnet cassette that he made with harmonica player Eddie Clarke from Cavan; Ceol An Chlar: Traditional Fiddle Music from West Clare, a CCE recording featuring Ryan, Bobby Casey, Junior Crehan, John Kelly and Patrick Kelly from Cree, and his own solo album, An Buachaill Dreoite.
Paul Keating - 26.3.08
Excerpted from his obit in The Irish Voice
Storyteller and ballad singer: Born April 11, 1928, Died November 8, 2007 age 79. Many will already have heard the sad news that Scotland's great ballad
singer and storyteller Duncan Williamson has died after a stroke. Duncan was in hospital in Kirkcaldy for a few days after suffering the stroke which affected his right side and lost him the power of speech, and he passed away early in the morning of Thursday 8th November.
His funeral will take place in Strathmiglo Church, Kirk Wynd, Strathmiglo, Fife on Tuesday 13 November at 2:00pm.
Duncan's contribution to the storytelling revival has been immense and he had an important repertoire of traditional Scots ballads and folksongs. Numerous books of traditional tales compiled by Duncan and his second wife Linda have been published worldwide. He has travelled widely since the 1970s taking his storytelling and ballad singing throughout Europe and to the USA.
A obituary has appeared in The Herald: www.theherald.co.uk/features/obituaries/
Fourteen books of folktales by Duncan Williamson are listed by Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/
Duncan has lived in Ladybank in Fife for the last few years and has been a guest at the annual Fife Traditional Singing Weekend in nearby Collessie every year since 2004 with songs on several CDs: www.springthyme.co.uk/fifesing
Scottish Storytelling Centre: www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk/
Peter Shepheard - 11.11.07
The Board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive deeply regrets the death on Thursday 30 August 2007, after a long illness, of Dr Tom Munnelly, its founding Chairman from 1987 to 1993 and a world authority on Irish traditional song. He contributed greatly over many years to the establishment of the Archive, to the building up of its collections and to the development of its ethos. His continuing active interest and his personal generosity with his expertise and encouragement will be greatly missed by his colleagues, as will his wit and humour.
The Board extends its sympathy to his wife Annette, his children Colm, Tara and Éadaoin, and his other relatives and friends.
Tom Munnelly, born in Dublin but resident in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, since 1978, made the largest field-collection of Irish traditional song ever compiled by any individual. He was a singer and an enthusiast for traditional singing from his earliest years, and was influenced by the collecting work and writings of Breandán Breathnach and Hugh Shields. After recording privately in the 1960s, and collecting especially from Traveller singers, he became a professional folklore collector and archivist with the Department of Irish Folklore, University College Dublin (now the UCD Delargy Centre for Irish Folklore and the National Folklore Collection), from 1974 to date, with a concentration on English-language song. He recorded, indexed and transcribed over 20,000 songs (and a mass of other folklore) during decades when older traditional culture has been fast disappearing, and his work could not now be replicated.
His extensive list of audio and print publications includes The Mount Callan Garland: Songs from the Repertoire of Tom Lenihan and Songs of the Irish Travellers 1967-1985. He lectured and taught widely, was an leading activist in many folkmusic organisations and festivals, including the Folk Music Society of Ireland, the Willie Clancy Summer School and the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing, and he served on national bodies such as the Arts Council. Recently he was presented with the festschrift Dear Far-Voiced Veteran: Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly, and was made an honorary Doctor of Literature by the National University of Ireland Galway.
Irish Traditional Music Archive - 30.8.07
Tom Munnelly (25/5/1944 - 30/8/2007)
If there's a life hereafter, he dwells in bliss; if not, he made the best of this.
We were all very sad to hear of the death on Thursday 30th August 2007, after a long illness, of Tom Munnelly, world-renowned authority on Irish traditional song. The hundreds that assembled for his funeral in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, on Saturday, 1st September, in support of his family, included singers and musicians famous and infamous (to quote one of those singers), academics, broadcasters and journalists, near neighbours, and friends from far and wide. To paraphrase a verse from The Galway Races one could say, of the attendance:
There were a lot of people there from all denominationsLast June I was writing a review of Dear Far-Voiced Veteran - Essays in Honour of Tom Munnelly for Teabhtha, the journal of the Co Longford Historical Society, and needed to be sure Tom had done some collecting in the county. Dr Nicholas Carolan of ITMA said he'd check it with Tom, and when he called back to confirm it was true, he said he had just spoken with Tom on the phone. Nicholas said that when he asked him if it was a convenient time to be calling, Tom replied: “No problem. I have the parish priest here with me and we're just going over the arrangements for my funeral.”
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, and Presbyterian
There were tears and then some laughter that did mix in combination,
Affecting priest and singer, the scribe, and odd grammarian.
Cho. With me whack fol the doh fol the diddly idle ay.
Tom was noted for being plainspoken, and that remark of his was typical of him. The Memorial Service he had planned with the priest, Sean Murphy, reflected his thoughtful view on living and dying, and farewell material that was a mixture of sadness and humour.
It opened with Frank Proffitt's song, Going Across the Mountain:
Going across the mountain, oh, fare you well;As the wicker coffin was leaving the church, the speakers blared out the Pilgrim's Chorus from Wagner's Tannhauser. People smiled, of course, and when I asked a family member if it was Tom's idea of a joke, she said it wasn't. “When we tried to dissuade him, he persisted. He said there was some Wagnerian compositions he liked and the Pilgrim's Chorus was one of them.”
Going across the mountain, you can hear my banjo tell.
Got my rations on my back, my powder it is dry;
I'm a-goin' across the mountain, Chrissie, don't you cry.
Fr Sean Murphy did the introductions and welcomed everybody. He was dressed in a suit and tie, reflecting the fact that this was not a strictly religious service. Sean observed that Tom was not a religious man, but he was happy to offer him 'a lone of the hall', as Éadaoin, one of Tom's children put it. She observed later in her talk that she wanted to thank Sean who shared Tom's view of the church as the people's house ('tigh an phobail' in the Irish language).
Éamon Ó Bróithe played a lament on the uilleann pipes at the graveside; Maighréad Nic Dhomhnaill and her sister Tríona sang The Greenwood Laddie and Nicholas Carolan gave the oration. It was a wonderful send-off for Tom, and his widow, Annette, and children, Colm, Tara and Éadaoin, relatives, colleagues and friends, will have been comforted by the great outpouring of love and affection for a generous and gifted man.
Aidan O'Hara - 4.9.07
If you would like to attend the funeral, please phone Don Rowse on 01993 850297 to assist with the catering.
13.6.07
Sophie LeggThe funeral is on Thursday 14th at 1:30pm, at St Petroc's Church, Bodmin. Family flowers only, but any donations in lieu to Athelstan House Care Home, Bodmin.
Lyn Murfin - 8.6.07
(Back at the begining of 1989, Vic interviewed Sophie about her life and family, which made a nice little article for MT, including a couple of sound clips. As it was so long ago there are doubtless many of you who've not seen it - click here to do so now. Ed.)
'Peerie' Willie JohnsonBorn in Yell, before moving to Lerwick, 'Peerie' Willie was our very own home-grown guitar genius, equally at home trading tunes, chords and licks in his 'local' with anyone who cared (or dared) to join in, or modestly, even reluctantly, sharing the stage with some great musical names, occasionally in front of massive TV or radio audiences.
An illustration of his modesty can be left to Willie himself. When world-renowned guitarist Martin Taylor invited Willie to the front of the stage to offer his own personal debt of gratitude during a concert in Lerwick, Willie was seen to whisper something in Martin's ear by way of a reply. "That was a great moment, what did he say to you", I asked Martin after the concert. Martin laughed and shook his head. He told me "Never mind a yon nonsense boy, is du going to da Lounge for a tune when dis is all ower?" That was Willie for you in a nutshell.
(Excerpted from Davie Gardner's obituary in The Shetland News at: www.shetland-news.co.uk/opinion/Peerie%20Willie%20-%20a%20musical%20giant.htm )
Davie Gardner - 25.5.07
Mark Wilson - 9.5.07
Reg Hall - 25.4.07
Frank was due to be awarded the EFDSS Gold Badge at the Beyond Marrow Bones event on Sunday 13th May, to coincide with the launch of the new edition of his book Marrow Bones. This event has now been CANCELLED.
Peta Webb - 26.4.07
We are conscious that so very many people loved Barry but are aware that the chapel only holds 120 people. We would ask you to to consider whether you wish to attend the ceremony or could go directly to Thundercliffe. We'd like you to dress in the way Barry would expect you to, something that would be fitting for a very colourful man! Rather than flowers, we'd be grateful if you would make a donation in Barry's name to the English Folk Dance and Song Society. For those of you who are musicians, please bring along your instruments to Thundercliffe.
Addresses for both the crematorium and Thundercliffe are as follows: Grenoside Crematorium, Sheffield S35 8RZ; Thundercliffe Grange, Grange Lane, Rotherham. Grange Lane is the B6086 which passes under the M1 near J35
Johnny Adams - 22.4.07
To all who knew him, Sheffield musician, collector and film maker Barry Callaghan was pivotal in the Sheffield music scene, endlessly enthusiastic and deeply knowledgable.
Prior to his trip to Majorca, he and Johnny Adams were engaged in finalising the details of his book and CD of English tunes compiled with the help of many of the musicians and bands on the scene. He was very pleased with the selection of tunes and also with the selection of tracks on the companion CD that is to be released at the same time. His pleasure was increased by the fact that it was a collaborative effort by us all.
The EFDSS book and CD, Hardcore English will make a fitting memorial to a man whose infectious enthusiasm for traditional music in general, and English traditional music in particular, was a tonic for everyone who was exposed to it.
A lovely man and a great ambassador for traditional music, dance and song. Do get in touch if I can be of any further help.
Malcolm Woods - 17.4.07
malcolm.woods@btinternet.com
Among other things, Tony was a previous editor of English Dance and Song, a collector of song and stories (mainly from Sussex and Surrey), and the author of numerous books relating to the customs and traditions of Sussex.
Tony's funeral is this Friday, 23 March at 10.00, St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, Springfield Road. Horsham RH12 2PJ. The church is between the Green Dragon and The Malt Shovel, about half a mile from the railway station.
There is an expectation from the family that there will some music and singing after the service in the Parish Hall.
Sean Goddard - 15.3.07
Rod Stradling - 24.2.07
Funeral service will take place at St Wilfred's church, South Stainley, Monday Dec 11th at 2 p.m. followed by internment in the churchyard. No flowers please. Donations in memory of Nigel will be received at the service for The English Folk Dance and Song Society. Enquiries to W Bowers, Harrogate 01423 770258.
Steve Gardham - 8.12.06
Moving into Jenny's mother's house and farm, they quickly established themselves as respected stalwarts of the local community - particularly its cultural aspects. MT readers will recall, from the booklet notes to The Hardy Sons of Dan double CDs, Keith Summers' statement: 'I have to stress now - without Michael and Jenny's input and assistance for my project, none of these recordings would ever have been made'.
It was typical of the man that, when I was discussing the Hardy Sons project with Mike - and the need for haste in getting it finished while Keith was still with us - he made no mention of the fact that he was, like Keith, also struggling with cancer. Sadly, that struggle is now over.
I understand that hundreds came to his funeral, and only wish that Danny and I had known about it - we would certainly have wished to pay our last respects. The task of compiling and releasing the companion volume to The Hardy Sons of Dan, and certainly its booklet, will be all the harder now that two of the main protagonists are no longer with us.
Rod Stradling - 23.11.06
A lovely man who I’ll miss greatly. My own heartfelt sympathy goes to the family as does, I’m sure, kind thoughts from many of your readers and friends of the Horn Dancers.
Just heard last night funeral arrangements as follows: Tues 28th Nov at Abbots Bromley Church 1.15. 2.30 at Stafford Crematorium for those who wish to join the family, then after at "The Crown" in Abbots Bromley. The family are keen that as many people as possible get to hear about it.
Doc Rowe - 25.11.06
Ray Templeton - 10.10.06
Ray Templeton - 10.10.06
The funeral will take place tomorrow in Mullaghbawn. Removal from the house at 11.45am to arrive at the church at 12.00 noon. Burial immediately after in the adjoining cemetery.
Jerry O'Reilly - 3.10.06
The funeral is being held tomorrow in Belfast.
Peter Ingram - 5.9.06
Brought up in Kells, Co Meath, Mícheál’s familial roots lay in the Irish-language speaking area of Rannafast in County Donegal. Though he learnt many a song from his late father Aodh (who collected plenty of Donegal songs for the Irish Folklore Commission), it was the family’s summer visits to the Donegal village which vastly augmented the repertoire of Mícheál and his sisters Tríona and Maighread, not least through time passed in the company of their aunt, Neillí Ní Dhomhnaill, renowned as one of the county’s greatest singers.
At Rannafast a lasting friendship was forged with a young Derry singer and guitarist, Dáithí Sproule, who was attending Irish language classes in the village. Finding a musical affinity based upon a shared love of traditional Irish songs and the finger-picking guitar style pioneered by English folk guitarists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, Mícheál, Dáithí and Tríona formed the band Skara Brae while studying at University College Dublin in the late 1960s. Joined by Maighread, who was still at school, they released a remarkable eponymous album for the Gael Linn label in 1971 whose hypnotic marriage of mellow harmonies, backed by guitars and Tríona’s clavinet still retains its original haunting impact.
The band, which had subsequently and unsuccessfully attempted to turn electric, folded in the following year. Mícheál went on to record an innovative folk-rock album, Celtic Folkweave, with the singer Mick Hanly in 1974. However, true renown resulted from his membership of one of Ireland’s most influential and wildest groups (both musically and socially, if all the rumours are true), the Bothy Band, from 1975 to 1979. Formed with sister Tríona, fiddler Paddy Glackin (first replaced by Tommy Peoples and then by Kevin Burke), flute player Matt Molloy, uilleann piper Paddy Keenan and multi-instrumentalist Dónal Lunny, The Bothy Band’s impact upon the Irish music scene was almost instantaneous and the band later achieved great success in Europe.
After the band’s split Mícheál recorded Promenade with Kevin Burke before emigrating to the USA. He settled in Portland, releasing another collaboration with Kevin bearing that city’s name as its title in 1982. Tríona also crossed the Atlantic and, with Mícheál, formed another influential, though short-lived band, Relativity, with Phil and the late Johnny Cunningham. However, Mícheál’s developing musical interests, which espoused not only his native traditions, but jazz-fusion, world and ambient music, came to fruition in the more enduring Nightnoise (also involving Tríona) whose career spanned thirteen years and seven albums (several released while Mícheál was effectively producer-in-residence for the Windham Hill label).
Mícheál moved back to Ireland and settled in Dublin in the late 1990s. Though there was a stunning reunion of Skara Brae during Donegal’s Frankie Kennedy Winter School, much of his time was spent on the golf course. However, in 2001, he and fiddler Paddy Glackin issued the sumptuous Reprise album which features Mícheál’s starkly powerful rendition of one of the big songs from the Irish tradition, Bríd Bhán, as well as demonstrating that Mícheál remained one of the music world’s finest guitar accompanists.
Researching an article on The Bothy Band a couple of years back I spoke to Mícheál and asked him about his future musical plans. Something big was in the offing, he informed me, but sadly we will now never know exactly what it was.
Geoff Wallis - 16.8.06
I understand that Cullerlie Festival, due to be held in late July, has been cancelled.
Derek Schofield - 13.7.06
Anne Reid of Cullerlie Farm Park, Echt, Aberdeenshire, died on 25 June 2006. She was a fine traditional singer and widow of the late 'Tam' Reid, 'the Bothy Ballad King' (d. 2003).
Her legacy is great. Some highlights are:
Ian Russell - 18.7.06
Ken Ricketts - 10.7.06
TASCQ [Traders in the Area Supporting the Cultural Quarter], the Temple Bar traders group and organizers of the annual Temple Bar Trad Festival, today [Mon 10 July 2006] expressed regret on the passing of Irish musician, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill.
Mícheál performed with Skara Brae at the Temple Bar Trad Festival’s opening concert in January of this year in what was generally seen as an artistic highlight in Dublin’s calendar of events. A cornerstone of seminal modernising bands such as Skara Brae and The Bothy Band, Mícheál made a huge contribution to traditional, folk and contemporary music. He formed and influenced new ways of arranging traditional songs and was constantly respectful of those from whom he collected this music. His generosity and attention to detail are legendary amongst his colleagues and peers.
TASCQ would like to express our sincere condolences to Mícheál’s sisters Maighread and Tríona, his brother Conall and his extended family.
Lisa Fitzsimons - 10.7.06
Communications Manager, TASCQ
Given the small size of the Cemetery facilities, the Kennedy family has requested that funeral attendance is restricted to family members and a few close friends, so unless you're specifically invited you won't be expected to turn up. There will be some sort of event in due course to commemorate his life's work.
Gwilym Davies -13.6.06
8.6.06
Maggie Murphy was born in 1924 in Tempo, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and lived in and around that area all her life. In 1952 Peter Kennedy was taken to see Maggie (then) Chambers by Irish folk-song collector Sean O'Boyle in Bellyreragh where she was in service. It was there that the classic recording of Maggie and her niece Sarah singing Linkin' o'er the Lea (The Auld Beggarman) was made. This influential recording was subsequently released on the Caedmon LP series Folk Songs in Britain and Ireland in 1961.
Maggie came from a musical family and many of her songs came from her mother. Her father was also a good singer but she'd say that he wouldn't teach her whole songs like her mother did. Maggie left service to get married and was married for thirty years until her husband died in 1981.
I first met Maggie at an Inishowen Singers weekend in Donegal. She was on fine form in front of a very appreciative audience and it was Norma Waterson (who had known Maggie for many years) who suggested that I should record her.
Taking advice from Keith Summers, who had recorded Maggie in 1979 (see MTCD329-0 The Hardy Sons of Dan) and Sean Corcoran who had recorded her in the early 1990s, I made many visits to Maggie's bungalow in Tempo always to be greeted with, "Come on in, you're welcome!" My recordings were published in 1996 on VT134CD Linkin' O' the Lea.
These afternoons at Maggie's, in front of her Aga with the tea pot constantly simmering and Maggie smoking cigarette after cigarette were always magical. The songs would tumble out one after another interspersed by fits of laughter, for Maggie was not only one of the finest traditional singers I ever met, she was also one of the wittiest!
In later life she found new audiences for her songs and not only in her own locality; she was also invited to several singing weekends across Northern Ireland and she appeared on The Pure Drop on RTÉ television.
Maggie Murphy will be greatly missed by anyone who met her. Hopefully her recordings will inspire the next generation of singers, and what is certain is that she will always have a very special place in Ulster's traditional singers hall of fame.
John Howson - 22.6.06
He formed a band of his own, called Ceoltóirí Altan (named after the lough which sits beneath Errigal Mountain) and the name would be passed on to his daughter Mairéad's own hugely successful band. Apart from music, Francie was a notable footballer and actor (in his seventies he regularly appeared as the local postman in a TG4 soap opera), but the focal points of his life were always his family and music. He and his wife Kitty were always extremely proud of the achievements of their children (in addition to Mairéad, Gearóid is a notable guitarist and Anna a superb singer who was once a member of Macalla) and overjoyed by Ciarán's achievement in being named TG4's Young Musician of the Year in 2003 - the whole family made a notable on-stage appearance at the awards ceremony concert. He was also a mine of information about local musical traditions and ever helpful in passing on his knowledge and experiences gleaned from playing with the likes of John Doherty and Danny O'Donnell.
For many visitors to Gweedore, however, it was the Monday night session at Hugh Gallagher's pub in Bunbeg which will forever be associated with Francie. His chair was always set on the righthand edge of the tables reserved for musicians, as viewed from the bar, and Gearóid would be sat down opposite him. As the session leader, he usually set the agenda for the first few tunes, but was then always willing to allow others to take the lead on others. However, if he didn't appreciate someone's rendition or selection, then once the 'interloper's' choice had ended, there'd be a nod to the right and across to Gearóid and a sudden dash into a set of highly elaborate and very rapid tunes - highlands and strathspeys, impossibly complex reels. Such was never done from malice, but more to emphasize that this was a Donegal pub where Donegal tunes took precedence and Francie was always happy to talk to the newcomer afterwards.
Kitty and her children buried Francie at Magheragallon Cemetery yesterday.
Geoff Wallis - 31.3.06
The Folk scene has lost the best trumpeter and brass arranger it has ever had. The music world has lost a great friend, musician, negotiator (his MU day job) and all round good bloke. Our deepest sympathy to his family.
Officials at the Musicians Union will publicise details of funeral and/or memorial if that is what Howard's family wishes.
Steve Heap - 18.3.06
It is with great sadness that I report the death this morning of Nibs Matthews, former Director of the EFDSS and Squire of the Morris Ring 1960-2. Nibs had suffered from Parkinson’s for some years and died in hospital after a fall at home at the weekend. He was 85.
The funeral arrangements are as follows:
Friday 24 March, 1pm at West London Crematorium, Kensal Green, Harrow Rd, W10 4RA. The crematorium is to the west of the ‘circle’ in the middle of the cemetery. Afterwards in the WIV pub (formerly known as the William IV) on the Harrow Road within walking distance for ‘a drink on Nibs’.
Nearest station: Kensal Green Station - on the Bakerloo Line and the Euston/Watford Line. Car Parking within the Crematorium Grounds. No flowers by request. It is suggested that morris kit should not be worn.
Donations to ‘The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library’ (c/o Malcolm Taylor, EFDSS, 2 Regents Park Rd London NW1 7AY)
Derek Schofield - 11.3.06
Another old style Cape Breton fiddler, the under-recorded John Neil MacLean, passed away in January.
Mark Wilson - 23.2.06
Pittsburgh PA
Charles was a gentle giant, a prolific scholar and beloved colleague whose presence in the English Department and in the University gave new and unique meaning to the term 'professor'. Certainly with his prolific productivity, including nineteen scholarly books (with others still in the offing) and hundreds of articles on music, folklore, and popular culture, Charles could have gone to any institution in the land, but his feet were deep in the Tennessee soil. He was Missouri born and bred - and Blue Raider to the core, having joined MTSU in 1970, where he remained until his retirement just this past year.
Though nationally and internationally known for his accomplishments, Charles never ventured far from heart and home, from family and friends. Unpretentious, dedicated, mentor to countless students and friend to all who knew him, Charles has left an indelible imprint. He will be missed by those who did not know him personally, and even so much more by those who did.
John McDaniel - 9.2.06
Dean, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN.
In late 2005 Tony became extremely ill and was in hospital for a long spell, but before Christmas he had appeared to be making a good recovery, and had been out and about just the day before he died. His death came as all the more of a shock because of this.
The funeral is to be held in Tannington on Tuesday 31st January, and it is to be expected that many more will turn up than will be able to fit in the church.
Katie Howson - 28.1.06
East Anglian Traditional Music Trust
Obituary to be published in The Independent written by Ken Hunt. I don't know about funeral arrangements.
Hans Fried - 19.1.06
The funeral is to be at Sunderland Crematorium, on Tuesday (17th), at 2:30, afterwards at The Buffs, Birtley.
11.1.06
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