Seán McGuire: Seán McGuire, who has died aged 77, was a traditional fiddle-player of outstanding skill and talent.Renowned for exciting and flamboyant playing, imaginative tune settings and technical mastery, he had the ability to play the most demanding pieces in the dance music repertoire.
He usually played with accompaniment, a practice that was frowned upon in some quarters. And his style, which reflected Scottish, classical and other influences, was occasionally criticised by purists.
"My lifelong battle with the so-called purists is that music, no matter where it comes from, is culture; it's alive and representative of the people," he explained. "It's known for its regional interpretations, the same as the tongue. I don't speak the same as the fellow from Mayo or Cork, yet we're from the same country. That said, this is something that lives and it's got to progress itself."
In any event, audiences loved his playing in the style he described as "progressive traditionalist". Highly regarded by his fellow musicians, the collector Breandán Breathnach wrote of his amazing powers of execution, and of his ability to "toss off reel after reel in riotous variations".
In an interview with The Fiddler magazine in 1998, Seamus Connolly, the Co Clare fiddler now based in Boston, praised him for opening the way for younger musicians to apply classical training to the traditional style.
"As far as I am concerned, McGuire was a real genius of a player and I hope he is ultimately accorded his true place in the annals of traditional Irish music."
He was born in Belfast on December 26th, 1927, into a musical family. His father, John Maguire (Seán adopted the spelling, "McGuire"), grew up in Mullaghorn, Co Cavan, an area that produced many fine singers, melodeon players, fiddlers and flute players. Cavan also had a strong marching band tradition, providing a training ground for numerous fife, whistle and flute players, and these were John Maguire's first instruments.
Moving to Belfast, John married Martha Butler from Ballycastle, Co Antrim. They set up house in Dunmore Street, off the Springfield Road, where Seán was born. The family home was well known for music sessions, and he grew up listening to Irish music played by Belfast's best musicians.
He began learning the violin at the age of 12, by which time he was working as a trainee machinist. He studied under Dr George Vincent, from whom he learned fingering, and "Madame" May Nesbitt, a strict disciplinarian who developed his tone production, technique and bow control. In addition to mastering the fiddle, he learned to play the uileann pipes, and in later life he also learned to play the flute, guitar, tin whistle and piano.
In his teens he was first violinist with the Co-operative Youth Orchestra but he turned down an invitation to join the Belfast Symphony Orchestra, preferring to play traditional music. At the age of 15 he made his first broadcast, on BBC Overseas Radio. In 1949 he won the gold medal at the Oireachtas, scoring 100 per cent from the four judges.
Having played alongside his father and Johnny Pickering in the Malachy Sweeney Céilí Band, he formed his own band, playing all over Ireland and Britain, and made a number of solo, group and céilí band albums. He later played with the Four Star Quartet that recorded the album, Music of Ireland, which he rated as one of his best recordings.
By now married to Maureen McNally from Liverpool, in 1952 he toured the United States and Canada, playing to a full house in Carnegie Hall. He was also a guest on the Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey network television shows. In New York he was invited by Wurlitzers to play the Stradivarius and Guarnerius violins held in trust by them, an honour that placed him in the company of musicians such as Fritz Kreisler and Yehudi Menuhin.
A regular guest at the Pike Folk Club, Belfast, in the 1960s, he also played with the Gael-Linn Cabaret. He performed in Britain, playing with the flute-player Roger Sherlock, and for a time they were both members of the Hibernian Céilí Band. He later began a long musical partnership with accordionist Joe Burke.
In Belfast he conducted classes at the Clonard Traditional School, run by the McPeakes, and later at the Andersonstown Music School. In the 1980s cancer of the throat brought a halt to public performances, and he had a tracheotomy.
He recovered and at the National Concert Hall, in 1988, a special concert was held to celebrate his 60th birthday. He resumed teaching and playing and in 1990 recorded the album, Portráid. It captures his mature style perfectly, from gypsy-jazz-style hornpipes to a whimsical version of The Boys of the Lough. An album with some of his pupils, The Hawks and Doves of Irish Culture, was released in 1996.
Other albums include Champion of Champions (1969) with Josephine Keegan, Two Champions (1971) with Joe Burke and Pure Traditional Irish Fiddle Music (1982) with his brother, Jim. An Honorary Artiste of the Soviet Union, he also received the Fiddlers' Green Hall of Fame Award.
Seán McGuire: born December 26th, 1927; died March 24th, 2005