Paddy Moloney
Encyclopedia
Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Irish
musical group The Chieftains
and has played on every one of their album
s.
He was born in Donnycarney
in Dublin. His mother bought him a tin whistle
when he was six and at the age of eight he started to learn the Uilleann pipes
. He also plays button accordion
and bodhrán
. In the late 1950s he met Seán Ó Riada
and joined his group Ceoltóirí Chualann
in the early 1960s. Together with Garech de Brun (anglicised to Garech Browne
) of Luggala
, he founded Claddagh Records
in 1959. In 1968 he became a producer for the label and supervised the recording of 45 albums.
He has done session work for Mike Oldfield
, The Muppets
, Mick Jagger
, Paul McCartney
, Sting and Stevie Wonder
. He is the primary composer and arranger of much of the Chieftains' music, and has composed for films including Treasure Island
, The Grey Fox, Braveheart
, and Gangs of New York
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
musical group The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and has played on every one of their album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s.
He was born in Donnycarney
Donnycarney
Donnycarney or Donnycarny is a Northside suburb in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is bordered by Beaumont, Artane, Killester and Marino, and lies in the postal districts of Dublin 9 and 5....
in Dublin. His mother bought him a tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
when he was six and at the age of eight he started to learn the Uilleann pipes
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
. He also plays button accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
. In the late 1950s he met Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada , was a composer and perhaps the single most influential figure in the revival of Irish traditional music during the 1960s...
and joined his group Ceoltóirí Chualann
Ceoltóirí Chualann
Ceoltóirí Chualann was an Irish traditional band, led by Seán Ó Riada, which included many of the founding members of The Chieftains. Ceoltóirí is the Irish word for musicians, and Cualann is the name of an area just outside Dublin where Ó Riada lived...
in the early 1960s. Together with Garech de Brun (anglicised to Garech Browne
Garech Browne
The Hon. Garech Domnagh Browne, born 25 June, 1939, is a member of the titled family of Oranmore and Browne in the West of Ireland and is a wealthy patron of Irish arts, notably traditional Irish music...
) of Luggala
Luggala
Luggala , also called Fancy Mountain , is a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland. Its cliffs are situated above a lake, Lough Tay, and are a popular location for rock climbing.Luggala is about southwest of Dublin.- Luggala Estate :...
, he founded Claddagh Records
Claddagh Records
Claddagh Records is a record label which was founded in 1959 by Garech Browne and Ivor Browne. It specialises in Irish traditional music and spoken word. Gareth had been taking lessons at the time from the master piper Leo Rowsome whose artistry was very well known. Leo, who had made many...
in 1959. In 1968 he became a producer for the label and supervised the recording of 45 albums.
He has done session work for Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, The Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Sting and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. He is the primary composer and arranger of much of the Chieftains' music, and has composed for films including Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1990 film)
Treasure Island is a 1990 film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous 1883 novel Treasure Island. It was filmed in 1989 on location in Cornwall, England, and in Jamaica, and also at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England....
, The Grey Fox, Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
, and Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
.
Selected discography
- Paddy Moloney and others - The Drones and Chanters: Irish Pipering (1971)
- Paddy Moloney and Sean Potts - Tin Whistles (1974)
- Silent Night: A Christmas in Rome (1998)
External links
- Video Interview 2011 Naples Daily News
- Paddy Moloney Interviewed on Chiff & Fipple
- Traditional Folk Album Siobhán O'Brien "SONGS I GREW UP TO" Featuring ~ Paddy Moloney playing the Uillean Pipes, Tin whistle & Low Whistle on “The Lakes of Ponchartrain” & “Long Black Veil“.