Celebrating a chieftain: Paddy Maloney ar Chloch le Carn, RTÉ 1
A celebration of the life and career of Paddy Moloney, uilleann piper, tin whistle player, composer and founding member of The Chieftains is celebrated in this week’s episode from the series of Cloch le Carn on RTÉ 1 at 7pm on Tuesday 8th March.
Born in 1938 into a musical household in Donnycarney on the northside of Dublin, Paddy was surrounded by traditional music from a young age. He would master his craft as an uilleann piper under the watchful eye of tutor Leo Rowsome.
He came to prominence in the late 1960s as part of the group Ceoltóirí Chualann. Paddy would be instrumental in the arrangement and selection of music for the group which was put together by musical director and composer, Seán Ó Riada. The group would record the renowned live album, ‘Ó Riada sa Gaiety’ in 1969.
During his time as managing director of Claddagh Records Paddy would produce over 40 albums, many of them going on to become classics of the genre including The Liffey Banks by Tommie Potts and The Star Above the Garter by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford.
Paddy Moloney was best known as the founding member of The Chieftains. He would remain front and centre of the group for almost 60 years in a line-up that changed many times over the years and included musicians such as Seán Potts, Michael Tubridy, Martin Fay, Peadar Mercier, Seán Keane, Derek Bell, Kevin Conneff, and Matt Molloy. Since 1962 they have been six-time Grammy Award winners and are recognised as having transformed and popularized Irish folk music around the world, touring and recording to great acclaim.
A founding member of Na Píobairí Uilleann he remained faithful to the piping tradition while courageously venturing into previously uncharted terrain, collaborating with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Sting, Sinéad O’Connor, Marianne Faithful and Ry Cooder. Paddy would be instrumental in helping The Chieftains take home an Oscar for composing and performing the original soundtrack for the Stanley Kubric film, Barry Lyndon.
Highlights of Paddy’s career often coincided with seminal historic events, such as being the first Western group to perform on the Great Wall of China. In Ireland he was involved in many major State occasions, such as Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 when The Chieftains performed to an audience of over 1.3 million, and in 2011 as part of the historic visit to Ireland of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
Paddy Moloney passed away in October 2021 following a short illness. This episode of Cloch le Carn looks back at his life and career through the eyes of those closest to him. Contributions from his daughter Aedín, Seán Keane, Michael Tubridy, Seán Potts and Gay McKeon.
Cloch Le Carn, Tuesday 8th March, 7PM on RTÉ One
https://www.rte.ie/gaeilge/2022/0302/1283997-celebrating-a-chieftain-paddy-maloney-ar-chloch-le-carn/
