Irish Examiner view: Legacy of legend

The death of Paddy Moloney, who co-founded and led The Chieftains, has robbed us of a music legend. Nevertheless, his legacy lives on. Picture: RollingNews.ie

THE death of Paddy Moloney, who co-founded and led the globally successful folk music group The Chieftains, has robbed us of a music legend. Nevertheless, his legacy lives on.

After playing alongside Seán Ó Riada in his group Ceoltóirí Chualann, Moloney founded The Chieftains in Dublin in 1962 with Seán Potts (tin whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), David Fallon (bodhrán), and Mick Tubridy (flute). The group would go on to win six Grammy awards and become one of Ireland’s most famous musical acts. Moloney and The Chieftains helped to re-popularise Ireland’s traditional music, collaborating with everyone from Mick Jagger to Luciano Pavarotti.

The Chieftains developed a global reputation, performing for the Pope and politicians, and at the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Their music has even been celebrated out of this world. In 2010, astronaut Cady Coleman — a friend of Moloney’s — performed flute and tin whistle on board the International Space Station for the album The Chieftains in Orbit, the first time album recordings were made in space.