Musical styles mix on Raglan Road

On Raglan Road on an autumn day... the strains of ‘The Mexican Hat Dance’ took on the air of an Irish folk tune.

The quiet, leafy thoroughfare made famous by the poet Patrick Kavanagh was the slightly surreal setting for the founder of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney, to show the musical connections between the two countries with the assistance of a traditional Mexican mariachi band.

The occasion was explained by the decision of the Mexican government to bestow one of its major cultural honours on the six-time Grammy winner in recognition of his role in building relationships between Ireland and Mexico.

The Mexican ambassador to Ireland, Carlos Garcia de Alba, will formally present the prestigious Ohtli award to Mr Moloney at a ceremony in Dublin later today.

At a photocall at the embassy yesterday, Mr Garcia de Alba explained the award (which translates as “path” in Nahuatl, the Aztec language) was “very rare” and had only been presented to about 250 people over the past 25 years.

Mr Moloney is the third Irish recipient of the honour following last year’s award of the Ohtli to Ciaran Cosgrove of TCD and Nuala Finnegan of UCC.

The ambassador said the award was particularly due for Mr Moloney’s work on The Chieftains’ 2010 album in collaboration with Ry Cooder, San Patricio, which was inspired by the story of a battalion of Irish conscripts led by Maj John O’Reilly, who deserted the US army to fight with the Mexicans during the war between the two countries in 1846.

Mr Moloney explained he first came across the story of the St Patrick Battalion while researching the music of the American Civil War 25 years ago which led him to exploring further the music of Mexico from the 19th and 20th centuries.

“European music has had a huge influence on Mexican tunes. I gathered enough material to do four albums,” recalled the 74-year-old, who said he was a big fan of the famous Mexican singer Chavela Vargas who died last month.

Mr Moloney said he was delighted with the honour while also paying tribute to the Irishmen, many of whom were hanged for desertion, who had inspired his work.

He revealed Neil Jordan had declared an interest in exploring the possibility of making a film about what is a famous chapter in Mexican history.

Mr Moloney said Liam Neeson, who provided a voiceover for the San Patricio album, had vowed that he would love to play the role of John O’Reilly in such a project.