Martin Hayes on Dennis Cahill: 'Dennis was a buddy, a colleague, a friend'

In advance of a tribute event in Bantry, the Co Clare fiddler pays tribute to the man he shared so much music and other experiences with 

Martin Hayes will lead a tribute to the late Dennis Cahill at the Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry. Picture: Joe Chapman

Moments before the guitarist Dennis Cahill passed away peacefully in June, The Lament for Limerick, a tune from his album with friend and collaborator Martin Hayes, was playing in the background. It was fitting that music they created together was there to comfort him at the end. The pair were inseparable for most of their adult lives.

The 68-year-old Cahill first met Hayes, the East Clare fiddler, on the south side of Chicago — where Cahill grew up — in the summer of 1985. A few years later, they formed Midnight Court, a jazz-rock fusion band. They also shared a house together. It was across the street from the Abbey Pub, a live music venue on Chicago’s north side. Musicians were constantly coming and going in the house.