Paddy Moloney

Music

Oct 19

RiP 1938 – 2021

Paddy Moloney or to give him his Irish name, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh, was as we say in Ireland “not the height o’ two turf,” yet he was a giant of Irish music and culture. His personality dominated every stage he ever performed on, and there can be few he did not grace in a career spanning over 60 years. Paddy was an Irish musician, composer, and producer but will be remembered mostly as the co-founder and leader of The Chieftains. He played on every one of their 44 albums and was a leading figure in the revival of the uilleann pipes.

Dublin born and raised

Paddy was born in Donnycarney, Dublin, on 1 August 1938. His father, John, was a bookeeper at the Irish Glass Bottle Company. His mother bought him a tin whistle when he was six. He started to learn the uilleann pipes at the age of eight and picked up button accordion and bodhrán along the way.

The Chieftains

November 1962 was a seminal year for traditional music when Sean Potts, Michael Tubridy, and Paddy formed The Chieftains. For almost 60 years he was the writer and arranger of their music, the undisputed leader and front-man. The Chieftains made Irish music cool, they could have added bass and drums but they didn’t need to and refused to compromise—a policy that paid off when they beat the Stones, Led Zep and all the other supergroups in a UK national poll of young people. The Chieftains toured constantly filling huge venues worldwide; the Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, The Albert Hall, and yet they managed to turn even the largest space into a parlor, sitting in a semi-circle and holding the audience with the power of their music and a bit of craic.

Legends

But they were equally at home in the more intimate venues, one of their last gigs before Covid restrictions put an end to touring was in Carmel, California, our US home.

Paddy’s appetite for collaboration was insatiable and the list would be endless but included Pavarotti, Sting, Don Henley, Paul McCartney, Nancy Griffiths, Stevie Wonder and the list goes on. He even appeared on the Muppets.

Paddy’s Legacy

Not content with writing multiple film scores, he was a founder of Claddagh Records and produced 45 albums for various artists. The man’s talent and energy was boundless.

The loss of Paddy to Irish music, along with his talent, passion and personality, is simply huge. But its future is in secure hands by the countless number of traditional musicians, amateur and professional, who were inspired to first pick up an instrument by ‘wee Paddy’.