The traditional music firmament has been shaken with the passing of two of its most iconic figures, Paddy Moloney and Tony MacMahon. Both distinctive musicians in their own right, they charted very different paths but both left an indelible mark on generations of musicians and listeners alike.
Paddy Moloney was a Dubliner whose dextrous piping and whistle-playing was at the heart of The Chieftains, a band he founded almost 60 years ago, having made his considerable mark on Seán Ó Riada's seminal collective, Ceoltóirí Chualann. Moloney's friendship with Garech de Brún led to him playing a pivotal role as producer and managing director for de Brún's seminal record label, Claddagh Records, where he steered over 45 albums into the public domain, a number of them classics to this day. Despite Moloney's fondness for luring a plethora of musicians from the worlds of rock 'n' roll, folk, bluegrass and country to the recording studio, he never strayed far from the well of the tradition, and at heart his incandescent sense of adventure and of humour shot through every project The Chieftains undertook, from their ground-breaking tour of China in 1983 to the albums that led to their six Grammy awards.
Tony MacMahon's Clare roots defined him as a man and a musician. A master of the accordion and an accomplished broadcaster, he cast a cold ear over the proliferation of technically competent musicians, many of whom, he believed, lacked heart in their playing, and so, did a disservice to the tradition. He clashed with others on the value of musical cross pollination. For MacMahon, the playing of Galway accordion player Joe Cooley exemplified all that was of value in the tradition: heart and soul embedded in every tune.
Both MacMahon and Moloney were singular personalities with boundless imaginations. MacMahon railed against much of what he believed to be mediocrity in the tradition, while Moloney busily pursued collaborations within and far beyond the tradition. Our music is the poorer for the passing of these giants of the tradition, each melding local and global in their own distinctive ways.