The Clancy Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish
folk music
singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music
in the United States
. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy
, Tom Clancy
, Bobby Clancy
and Liam Clancy
. Paddy, Tom, and Liam are best known for their work with Tommy Makem
, recording dozens of albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. They were a primary influence on a young Bob Dylan
and on many other emerging artists.
followed on October 29, 1924, Bobby
on May 14, 1927 and youngest brother Liam Clancy
was born September 2, 1935. Tommy Makem
was born November 4, 1932
After serving in World War II
, oldest brothers Paddy and Tom emigrated from England
to Toronto
in 1947 on the S.S. Marine Flasher, along with 400 returning G.I. brides. The only men on board were Paddy, Tom, their friend Pa Casey and a few sailors. Once in Toronto, Paddy and Tom worked various odd jobs before coming to the United States
two years later, through the sponsorship of two aunts. Residing for a time in Cleveland, Ohio
, the two brothers began to dabble in acting. They decided to move to Hollywood. They didn't get too far, as their car broke down soon after the trip began. They decided to move to New York City
instead.
Arriving in Greenwich Village
, New York City in 1951, Tom and Paddy both established themselves as successful Broadway
actors, appearing in televised performances of their plays. The two brothers established their own production company, Trio Productions. It was here that the singing career began. To help raise money for the company, Paddy and Tom organized 'Midnight Special' concerts every Saturday night at the Cherry Lane Theatre
. Here they would sing some of the old Irish songs that they knew from their childhood. At this time, younger brother Bobby Clancy
, among his many travels of Europe, emigrated to New York City for a time, joining his brothers in Greenwich Village. This was the little-known, first 'unofficial' lineup of a singing group of Clancy brothers.
In 1955, Bobby returned home to Carrick-on-Suir
to take over father Robert J. Clancy's insurance business, freeing youngest brother Liam Clancy to emigrate to New York City to pursue his dream of acting. Liam arrived in New York in January 1956.
A month earlier, Tommy Makem
emigrated to the United States from his hometown of Keady
, County Armagh
in Northern Ireland
. Tommy Makem, born November 4, 1932, had met Liam Clancy months before they both emigrated. Diane Hamilton
, friend of Paddy Clancy in New York, followed in the footsteps of her mentor, Jean Ritchie
, came to Ireland in search of rare Irish songs. Knowing Paddy Clancy, her first stop was at the Clancy household, where she recorded several members of the family, including the Clancys' mother, sister Peg and Joan, and nineteen-year-old Liam Clancy. Hamilton asked Liam and recently returned Bobby Clancy to join her on a trek through Ireland to locate and record source singers.
One of those source singers was Sarah Makem
who had been recorded by Jean Ritchie in 1952 on a similar search of Irish song. Her son Tommy Makem, then twenty-two, and the young Liam Clancy instantly became friends. Said Liam, "Our interests were so similar: girls, theater and music. He had told me he was going to America to try his luck at acting. We agreed to keep in touch." Tommy was recorded for the first time by Hamilton in that autumn of 1955, among the songs he performed was "The Cobbler."
, to where many of his family members had emigrated, working in the mills. A two-ton iron printing press fell on Tommy's hand, crushing it. His hand in a sling, and knowing the Clancy brothers down in New York, he decided that the time was right to make a record. He told this to Paddy Clancy, who had founded a record company, Tradition Records. Paddy agreed and brought in brothers Tom and Liam, as well as Tommy Makem, to record an album of Irish rebel songs, The Rising of the Moon
.
Little thought was given to continuing as a singing group. They all were busy establishing theatrical careers for themselves, the real reason they were all there. But the album was a local success and requests were often demanded for the brothers and Tommy Makem to sing some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Bit by bit, that's how the singing career began. Slowly, the singing gigs began to outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a new album. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand had healed enough he was again able to play tin whistle
and bagpipes
, and the times spent singing together had improved their style together. No longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors singing a couple Irish songs for an album to jumpstart a record label; they were becoming a professional singing group.
The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs called Come Fill Your Glass with Us
, sealed their fate. The album was a success, and the gigs grew along the pub circuit in New York
, Chicago
and into Boston
. It was at their first official gig after Come Fill Your Glass With Us that the group finally found a name for themselves. The owner begged the guys for a name to put on the marquee, but they had none. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like The Beggermen, the Tinkers and even The Chieftains) the club owner decided for them, simply posting "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem". The name stuck. They decided to try singing full time for six months. If singing turned successful, they'd stick with it; if not, then back to acting. The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful after all and in early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan Show
.
Shortly before landing a spot on Ed Sullivan, by chance, the Clancys' mother sent three white Irish-knit Aran sweater
s, purchased from "Babington" (a store in their home town of Carrick), so they would not catch cold in the winters of New York. Realizing the brothers' friend Tommy Makem would also be exposed to the cold, she sent one for him as well. Their manager Marty Erlichman, desperately seeking a way to "package" his clients, found exactly what he was looking for when he saw the three brothers and Tommy Makem wearing the sweaters. The sweaters became the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark. When back in their hometown, the band purchased their Aran jumpers from Babington, on the main street. Babington had a local woman by the name of Betty McGillivray née Duggan knit the jumpers and supply the shop on regular occasions.
. As Pearl Bailey did not show that night, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were given her time. The televised performance instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond
of Columbia Records
. The group was offered a five year contract with an advance of $100,000, a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, they enlisted Pete Seeger
as backup banjo player for the live album A Spontaneous Performance Recording It included songs that would soon become classics, such as "Brennan on the Moor," "Jug of Punch," "Reilly's Daughter," "Finnegan's Wake
," "Haul Away Joe," "Roddy McCorley," "Portlairge" and "Moonshiner." The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 1961.
By the end of 1961, they had released two more albums, one final one with Tradition Records, and another with Columbia, Hearty and Hellish: A Live Nightclub Performance, and they were playing Carnegie Hall
. Additionally, they were making appearances on major radio and television talk-shows in America.
, a popular radio personality in Ireland, was visiting America when he heard of the group. He collected the few albums they had out at the time, brought them back home to Ireland and played them on his radio show. The broadcasts skyrocketed the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to fame in Ireland, where they were still unknown. In Ireland, songs like "Roddy McCorley
," "Kevin Barry
" and "Brennan on the Moor" were slow, depressing songs full of melancholy, but the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had transformed those songs (the disgruntled purists in Ireland said "commercialized") and made them lively. For generations the songs had been a reminder of the troubles in Ireland and therefore they weren't anything anybody sang proudly. The Clancy Brothers changed all that, and the transformed songs reinvigorated Ireland's pride in her music. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were brought over for a sold-out tour of Ireland in late 1962. Popularity in England and other parts of Europe soon followed, as well as Australia and Canada. By 1963, appearing on major talk-shows in America, Canada, England, Australia and Ireland, as well as their own TV specials, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were "the most famous four Irishmen in the world" as said by Ireland's Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne
, in a retrospective interview in 1984. In 1964, one third of all the albums sold in Ireland were Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records.
The 1960s continued to be a successful decade with the release of approximately two albums per year, all of which sold millions of copies. They continued to peak with television appearances in front of President John F. Kennedy
in 1963.
Their popularity is the result of several factors. There was already an American folk revival beginning in the United States, and men such as Ewan MacColl
popularizing old songs on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was the Clancys' boisterous performances that set them apart, taking placid classics and giving them a boost of energy and spirit (not that they took this approach with all their songs; they would still sing the true mournful ballads with due reverence).
But by the late 1960s, rock music had taken full swing, and the ballad and folk boom was waning. To keep the Clancys at the top, Teo Macero began producing their records for Columbia. Macero introduced new instrumentation to the Clancys' music, the among them Louis Killen coming in to play concertina
on backup, particularly on their 1968 album of sea songs, Sing of the Sea. But their last three albums for Columbia Record in 1969 and 1970 are considered by many to be overproduced, with a multitude of string instruments and synthesizers added the simpler traditional Clancy mix of guitar
, banjo
, tin whistle
and harmonica
.
In 1969, the group recorded a song for a two-minute-long TV ad for Gulf Oil
: "Bringin' Home the Oil
". They adapted a traditional Scottish tune they had recorded, "The Gallant Forty Twa," with new words singing about large-capacity supertankers
. The song and commercial featured the then-largest supertanker in the world, the Universe Ireland, which operated with sister ships Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal, all mentioned in the song and which operated from the seaport at Bantry Bay
.
", debuted on 1968's Clancy Brothers album, Home Boys Home.
The "other brother", Bobby Clancy
filled Tommy Makem's vacancy. Also, two of the Furey Brothers (Finbar and Eddie Furey) joined the now-four Clancy Brothers at this time., Finbar Furey was asked by Paddy if he would join them to play whistle and 5 string banjo in Tommy Makem's place. Finbar also added uillean pipes to the show and opened up a new sound to American audiences on stage and TV. The six-piece band recorded two new albums in the summer of 1969: Clancy Brothers Christmas, released later that year, and Flowers in the Valley, released in 1970. The latter was their final album for Columbia Records.
Later that year, Finbar and Eddie Furey left the lineup and for a short time it was just the four brothers, Paddy, Tom, Bobby and Liam Clancy. This lineup recorded only one album together, 1970s Welcome to Our House under their new label, Audio Fidelity Records. Later that same year, Liam and Bobby got into an argument which resulted in Bobby quitting the group.
In 1971, the trio brought in the man who had introduced the concertina
to the music mix, Louis Killen. They recorded two studio albums under the Audio Fidelity label: Save the Land and Show Me the Way. Their next, and final, album for Audio Fidelity was a live album, Live on St. Patrick's Day in 1973, recorded the previous year at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut
.
But by the early 1970s, the Clancys were growing tired of touring and singing as a group; their touring schedule was down to five months a year. The brothers were moving in different directions. All of them had young families at home. Paddy wanted to be home with his family and tend to his farm. Tom began acting again, first on stage then film and television. He moved his family out to Los Angeles in 1974 and landed parts in The Killer Elite
with James Caan
and Robert Duvall
and a major role in Swashbuckler
with Robert Shaw
. Liam Clancy
was looking to branch out of his older brothers' shadow, the men who had veto power over he, Tommy Makem and Louis Killen over the years in what they sang, according to his feature film documentary, The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy. He moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1972 and began a solo career when not with his brothers.
Despite ill-givings and desires to move on, the group made one more album with Vanguard Records
, Clancy Brothers and Lou Killen's Greatest Hits as well as several television appearances on the "Irish Rovers Show" in Canada and a TV special for Brockton television in 1974 (in which Bobby Clancy made a surprise special guest appearance with the group). Further rumblings in the group occurred during a scheduling conflict between a tour of Australia and a film or television role Tom Clancy was set to be in. Tom allegedly accepted the television role over the tour of Australia and told Liam to "Get off my fucking back, little brother," when he informed Tom of the conflict. In 1976, their sister, Cait Clancy O'Connell, was killed in a car crash. After the funeral in Ireland, Liam told his brothers that they would have to find a replacement. "I'm not going to work with you anymore," Liam said, according to his interview in the 2009 "The Yellow Bittern" documentary. Louis Killen left as well and Paddy and Tom decided it was time for a hiatus.
, The Incredible Hulk, Charlie's Angels
and Starsky and Hutch
. Liam Clancy, suffering financial setbacks in taxes, filed for bankruptcy
and moved his family to his in-laws in Calgary
, Alberta
, Canada
. The only one to continue singing, Liam's brother-in-law helped him get some concert gigs to get him back on his feet. Liam was introduced to "The Dutchman
" at this time, which became a hit. The gigs caught the attention of a TV producer and Liam was signed for thirteen episodes of his own music and talk show. The show was a hit and Liam was signed for thirteen more. On the final episode, old friend Tommy Makem was a guest. This hit episode led to the two of them being signed together for twenty-six episodes. Their show together was called "The Makem & Clancy Show."
Liam invited Tommy onto his Canadian television series, "The Liam Clancy Show." It was to be his last episode of that season. Lightning struck twice and the show was renewed for 26 episodes. On the last episode, Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher
was invited as a guest. Once again, luck was in order. Fisher told Makem & Clancy he wanted to produce a record with them.
Fisher produced their debut self-titled album which included all new songs they hadn't recorded before, such as Makem's own compositions "Windmills," and Gordon Bok's "Hills of Isle Au Haut." A last minute addition in "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
" helped the album soar. That song became Liam's signature number as well as ending his financial troubles. With Maurice Cassidy as their international manager and Tommy's wife Mary Makem as stateside manager, the duo hit the road on their first tour in February 1976.
Makem & Clancy followed up their debut studio album with a live record recorded at the Gaiety Theater in Dublin in July 1977, the double LP The Makem & Clancy Concert. They continued taking Ireland, England, Australia, Canada and America by storm with several television specials and successful follow-up albums. They brought their old show from Canada to PBS in America and filmed 13 new episodes for New Hampshire PBS.
In 1978, they hired a total of 10 backup musicians to help record their next effort, a studio album called Two for the Early Dew. The album featured mostly calmer ballads such as the now classic Red is the Rose, Dawning of the Day, Grey October Clouds, another Gordon Bok
number Clear Away in the Morning and Journey's End
. The latter became their standard closing song. Fast, up-tempo songs included the all-Gaelic
Cruiscan Lan, previously recorded by the Clancy Brothers in mostly English. The opening song Day of the Clipper came from the group Schooner Fare
, whom Makem & Clancy had recently seen in concert. When Schooner Fare saw Makem & Clancy in the audience they immediately changed their entire repertoire into Clancy songs. Except for one song, "Day of the Clipper." After the show, Tommy and Liam told the fledging group they were a bit disappointed they sang stuff they new, but they asked, "What was that other song?" They loved it so much, it was used as their opening number.
During the rest of the 70s and early 80s, they recorded several singles, some of which made it onto their compilation album, Makem & Clancy Collection in 1980. TV specials such as an on location show called "The Music Makers" followed.
In 1983, Makem & Clancy recorded their fifth album, Makem & Clancy Live At the National Concert Hall. The album was recorded in February 6, 1983 at Dublin's National Concert Hall and included what many regard as the greatest, most powerful rendition of Tommy's Four Green Fields
. The concert was also filmed for Irish television and PBS in America and included several songs not included on the album, such as Pete Seeger's Rainbow Race. Little Beggarman from this album features a wooden dancing marionette man manipulated by Liam to dance to the beat of the song. This version of the song reportedly received lots of airtime on radio and has become a favorite of many fans.
was an up and coming musician in the States and in Ireland; he was also helping manage, along with Bobby, the Inn that Cait had opened up years before. So they asked him to take on the role Liam had vacated. He would play guitar and occasionally mandolin and Bobby would play banjo, guitar, harmonica and bodhran. Paddy was well versed on the harmonica too and continued playing it. At that point, it was the most musically inclined version of the Clancy Brothers.
Beginning in 1977 they toured three months a year in March, August and November, all in the United States. Tom would fly over a few days before each tour and rehearse material, mostly oldies from their albums in the 1960s but some new ones as well. Robbie was a songwriter, composing several songs the group sang regularly, such as "Bobby's Britches," "Ferrybank Piper," "There Were Roses," and "You're Not Irish." He also brought in songs from others such as "Dear Boss," "Sister Josephine," "John O'Dreams," and possibly his signature song "Killkelly." Bobby brought "Song for Ireland," "Love of the North," and "Anne Boleyn" to the table. In America, the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell continued where they left off, still packing Carnegie Hall. Reviews cited Robbie as a fresh addition to the group with his original compositions, the future of the group.
Over the next several years, Paddy and Tom brought some new material. "Greenfields of France" also known as "Willie McBride" by Eric Bogle had taken off with a recording by the Clancys' old backup musicians, the Furey Brothers in the early 1980s. Soon, every Irish group was singing it, including the Clancys and Makem & Clancy. It became a staple in Tom's repertoire. He also sang "Logger Lover." The group added new lyrics to the old Irish ballad, "She Didn't Dance," and reworked old classics such as "As I Roved Out," "Beer," and "Rebellion 1916 Medley." Some of these songs ended up on the Clancy Brothers' first album in 9 years in 1982, a live album simply titled Clancy Brothers with Robbie O'Connell Live 1982. Many believe the new album was a fresh offering from a reinvigorated group.
In the summer of 1983, the group travelled to their hometown in Ireland to film a 20-minute special on sea songs, all sung on location on the fishing ships in the area. It was called Songs of the Sea
. Directed by Irish filmmaker David Donaghy, it was to be broadcast on the BBC Northern Ireland. It is unknown yet if it was indeed ever broadcast. It is known that Tom tried on many occasions to put it on videocassette but the plans fell through.
in Lincoln Center in New York City. Paddy and Tom Clancy took some time out from the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell, and joined forces with Makem & Clancy. Paddy, Tom, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem were reunited and production on the documentary commenced after a 90 minute debut on Ireland's Late Late Show on April 28, 1984. Traveling to Keady, Tommy Makem's hometown, Carrick-on-Suir
, the Clancys hometown, then New York City in Greenwich Village, a dress rehearsal concert at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion on East 57th Street and finally the big night on May 20, 1984 at the Lincoln Center for the recorded concert, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had returned! The Lincoln Center show had sold out within a week, all 3,000 seats, the rowdy audience providing a great participation on the album, released as Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion. A Reunion Tour of Ireland, England the United States followed in late 1984 and the fall of 1985.
, Tunes and Tales of Ireland. Even Bobby Clancy called this album "crap," and Paddy referred to it as "not our best effort." Regardless, the album is valuable, for it is Tom Clancy's final record.
in 1992, seen by 200 million people worldwide, and the formation of Irish Festival Cruises in 1991, an annual cruise of the Caribbean
. The guys also brought their own tour groups to Ireland, which Robbie O'Connell continues to do to this day.
The Bob Dylan Concert inspired the recording of the first studio album by the Clancy Brothers in over 20 years, since 1973's Greatest Hits. Older But No Wiser, introducing 12 new songs, with the exception of When the Ship Comes In, was released in late 1995. It was the first and only album to feature the lineup of Paddy, Bobby, Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell.
The Irish Festival Cruises had led to financial disputes between the group, Paddy and Liam especially. Liam decided to leave the group. Robbie O'Connell, now with the group for nineteen years, was ready for a change as well. The two departed the Clancy Brothers together and formed their own duo, simply Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell. Before splitting, the Clancy brothers and Robbie O'Connell gave a Farewell Tour of both Ireland and America in February and March 1996. The Irish tour in February was filmed near the Clancys' hometown, televised and later released to video and DVD as The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell: Farewell to Ireland. On both the album Older But No Wiser and the concert video Farewell to Ireland, two sons of two of the Clancy Brothers made their debut. Donal Clancy, Liam's youngest son played backup on the studio album while Bobby's son Finbarr Clancy played backup on the Farewell video. Bobby was beginning to ail at this time and Finbarr was brought on, in part, to aid his father for this concert video. Finbarr did not join them for the American tour.
Dylan stopped Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem in the street one day in early 1962 and insisted on singing a new song he had written to the tune of "Brennan On The Moor," a song from the eponymous Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem album on Tradition Records. It was called "Rambling, Gambling Willie" and was Dylan's attempt to replicate Irish folk heroes in an American context. Dylan continued to use the melodies of songs from the Clancys' repertoire for his own lyrics several more times, including "The Leaving of Liverpool" for "Farewell To You My Own True Love," "The Parting Glass" for "Restless Farewell," and "The Patriot Game" for "With God On Our Side."
Dylan never forgot his debt to the Clancys, which is why they were invited to perform at his anniversary concert. After the concert, the guests were due to go back to Dylan's hotel for a party but at the last moment, Dylan decided he wanted to celebrate at Tommy Makem's pub instead so they all went there.
Sources describes how Liam Clancy tentatively asked Dylan if he would mind if the Clancys recorded an album of his songs, arranged in a traditional Irish style. Far from minding, Dylan was amazed that Clancy felt he had to even ask: Dylan said: "Liam, you don't realise... you're my heroes."
Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell toured for a while as a duo, but very soon added Liam's son Donal Clancy to the mix, forming the trio Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy. The trio released two albums, a self-titled debut album in 1997 and an album of sea songs in 1998, The Wild and Wasteful Ocean. Robbie O'Connell regards the self-titled Clancy, O'Connell and Clancy album as his most favorite work. In 1999, with Liam in Ireland, Robbie in Massachusetts and Donal in New York, the trio decided to call it quits as a full time group. They did say they would occasionally regroup for concerts, which they have, seldom as it is. Officially, Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell perform as solo musicians now.
a lung ailment. During his last years Bobby was unable to stand and perform at the same time because he would quickly run out of breath, so the trio would perform a sitdown concert. Bobby became more frail in his last two years, often becoming confused and forgetful during the concerts. Finbarr and Eddie regularly covered for him, but Bobby pressed on, continuing to do what he loved doing most.
In 2000, the Milwaukee Irish Fest
had its 20th anniversary and in celebration, they had the entire performing Clancy Family sing together on one stage. This once in lifetime lineup included Robbie O'Connell, Donal, Liam, Bobby, Finbarr, Aoife Clancy and Eddie Dillon. These festival sets, August 18, 19 and 20, 2000 were the last times the Clancy Brothers (Bobby and Liam) appeared onstage together.
By March 2002, Bobby's illness had advanced such that he was unable to perform, necessitating in Finbarr and Eddie performing as a duo for the short March 2002 tour. He made one final appearance on an American CBS TV spot promoting Liam's February 2002 autobiography, The Mountain of the Women: Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour. On September 6, 2002, Bobby Clancy died at the age of seventy-five. He was survived by three daughters, one son, his wife Moira and several grandchildren.
and Paddy Reilly
.
In March 2006, fifty years after the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded their debut album, The Rising of the Moon in March 1956, the first full-length biography on the Clancy Brothers was written and published by Conor Murray. The book, titled The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem & Robbie O'Connell: The Men Behind the Sweaters chronicles the Clancy Brothers from the birth of Paddy Clancy in 1922 to early 2006. Simultaneously a two hour documentary on Liam Clancy was aired on Irish television, The Legend of Liam Clancy, as was a new TV concert special from Tommy Makem and his sons, the five-piece Irish folk song group The Makem & Spain Brothers.
From 2005 to 2009 Liam was once again joined by Kevin Evans of Evans and Doherty, both onstage and in the studio. His last album, The Wheels of Life, was released in October 2008 and features prominent musicians such as Donovan
, Mary Black
, Gemma Hayes
and Tom Paxton
.
Tommy Makem died on 1 August 2007, at the age of 74, after an extended fight with cancer.
The last surviving member of the group, Liam Clancy
, died on 4 December 2009 at the age of 74, in a Cork, Ireland hospital.
Every June, in their hometown of Carrick-on-Suir, the Clancy Brothers Festival takes place over three days to commemorate the achievements of the Clancy Brothers. The tradition is carried on by The Makem & Spain Brothers and by the group Clancy Legacy, consisting of nephew Robbie O'Connell, Aoife Clancy (daughter of Bobby Clancy) and Dónal Clancy (son of Liam Clancy).
Bobby's son, Finbarr is a member of The High Kings
. Aoife Clancy was a member of Cherish the Ladies
. She is currently performing as a singer accompanying herself on guitar. She performed in 2003 on the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. In addition to performing with guitarist, Ted Davis from Boston who served as backup; she talks about her work with Cherish the Ladies. Both she and her brother have relocated to the United States.
In 2010, a brand new theatre production was commissioned. 'Fine Girl Ye Are' - The Legendary Story of The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, commenced a theatre tour of Ireland. Produced and narrated by RTE Producer, Cathal McCabe, and featuring a 4 piece ballad group from Kilkenny City - The Kilkennys, the show will perform in a 28 date tour of the UK (February/March 2011). It will also appear at Dublin's National Concert Hall and Belfast's Ulster Hall later in 2011.
Columbia Records
The Irish Uprising (1966)
Audio Fidelity Records
Vanguard Records
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music
Folk music of Ireland
The folk music of Ireland is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in Ireland.-History:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy
Patrick Clancy
Patrick Clancy , usually called "Paddy" or "Pat" Clancy, was an Irish folk singer best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem....
, Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy (singer)
Tom Clancy was a member of the Irish folk singing group The Clancy Brothers. He had the strongest voice of the brothers and had previously been an actor in numerous stage productions, appearing with Orson Welles in King Lear.Like his older brother Patrick Clancy, he was born in Carrick-on-Suir,...
, Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the twin brother of Joan Clancy, and a member of the Irish folk group, the Clancy Brothers...
and Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
. Paddy, Tom, and Liam are best known for their work with Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem
Thomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
, recording dozens of albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. They were a primary influence on a young Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and on many other emerging artists.
The early years
Oldest brother Paddy was born on March 7, 1922. TomTom Clancy (singer)
Tom Clancy was a member of the Irish folk singing group The Clancy Brothers. He had the strongest voice of the brothers and had previously been an actor in numerous stage productions, appearing with Orson Welles in King Lear.Like his older brother Patrick Clancy, he was born in Carrick-on-Suir,...
followed on October 29, 1924, Bobby
Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the twin brother of Joan Clancy, and a member of the Irish folk group, the Clancy Brothers...
on May 14, 1927 and youngest brother Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
was born September 2, 1935. Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem
Thomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
was born November 4, 1932
After serving in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, oldest brothers Paddy and Tom emigrated from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1947 on the S.S. Marine Flasher, along with 400 returning G.I. brides. The only men on board were Paddy, Tom, their friend Pa Casey and a few sailors. Once in Toronto, Paddy and Tom worked various odd jobs before coming to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
two years later, through the sponsorship of two aunts. Residing for a time in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, the two brothers began to dabble in acting. They decided to move to Hollywood. They didn't get too far, as their car broke down soon after the trip began. They decided to move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
instead.
Arriving in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, New York City in 1951, Tom and Paddy both established themselves as successful Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actors, appearing in televised performances of their plays. The two brothers established their own production company, Trio Productions. It was here that the singing career began. To help raise money for the company, Paddy and Tom organized 'Midnight Special' concerts every Saturday night at the Cherry Lane Theatre
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre , located at 38 Commerce Street in the borough of Manhattan, was New York City's oldest, continuously running off-Broadway theater...
. Here they would sing some of the old Irish songs that they knew from their childhood. At this time, younger brother Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the twin brother of Joan Clancy, and a member of the Irish folk group, the Clancy Brothers...
, among his many travels of Europe, emigrated to New York City for a time, joining his brothers in Greenwich Village. This was the little-known, first 'unofficial' lineup of a singing group of Clancy brothers.
In 1955, Bobby returned home to Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. As the name – meaning "the rock of the Suir" – suggests, the town is situated on the River Suir. The of the town gives the population as 5,906 and shows that it has grown by 5.7% since 2002...
to take over father Robert J. Clancy's insurance business, freeing youngest brother Liam Clancy to emigrate to New York City to pursue his dream of acting. Liam arrived in New York in January 1956.
A month earlier, Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem
Thomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
emigrated to the United States from his hometown of Keady
Keady
Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Tommy Makem, born November 4, 1932, had met Liam Clancy months before they both emigrated. Diane Hamilton
Diane Hamilton
Diane Hamilton was the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim , an American mining heiress, folksong patron and founder of "Tradition Records".-Personal life:...
, friend of Paddy Clancy in New York, followed in the footsteps of her mentor, Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie is an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player.- Out of Kentucky :Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest...
, came to Ireland in search of rare Irish songs. Knowing Paddy Clancy, her first stop was at the Clancy household, where she recorded several members of the family, including the Clancys' mother, sister Peg and Joan, and nineteen-year-old Liam Clancy. Hamilton asked Liam and recently returned Bobby Clancy to join her on a trek through Ireland to locate and record source singers.
One of those source singers was Sarah Makem
Sarah Makem
Sarah Makem a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer.She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem...
who had been recorded by Jean Ritchie in 1952 on a similar search of Irish song. Her son Tommy Makem, then twenty-two, and the young Liam Clancy instantly became friends. Said Liam, "Our interests were so similar: girls, theater and music. He had told me he was going to America to try his luck at acting. We agreed to keep in touch." Tommy was recorded for the first time by Hamilton in that autumn of 1955, among the songs he performed was "The Cobbler."
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: early recordings
In March 1956, Tommy Makem was out of work; he had landed himself in Dover, New HampshireDover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
, to where many of his family members had emigrated, working in the mills. A two-ton iron printing press fell on Tommy's hand, crushing it. His hand in a sling, and knowing the Clancy brothers down in New York, he decided that the time was right to make a record. He told this to Paddy Clancy, who had founded a record company, Tradition Records. Paddy agreed and brought in brothers Tom and Liam, as well as Tommy Makem, to record an album of Irish rebel songs, The Rising of the Moon
The Rising of the Moon (album)
The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was initially recorded in 1956. During the original recording, the only instrument used was Paddy's harmonica and there was little harmonization,...
.
Little thought was given to continuing as a singing group. They all were busy establishing theatrical careers for themselves, the real reason they were all there. But the album was a local success and requests were often demanded for the brothers and Tommy Makem to sing some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Bit by bit, that's how the singing career began. Slowly, the singing gigs began to outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a new album. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand had healed enough he was again able to play tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
and bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, and the times spent singing together had improved their style together. No longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors singing a couple Irish songs for an album to jumpstart a record label; they were becoming a professional singing group.
The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs called Come Fill Your Glass with Us
Come Fill Your Glass with Us
Come Fill Your Glass with Us - Irish Songs of Drinking & Blackguarding is a collection of traditional Irish drinking songs performed by The Clancy Brothers with often time collaborator Tommy Makem...
, sealed their fate. The album was a success, and the gigs grew along the pub circuit in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and into Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. It was at their first official gig after Come Fill Your Glass With Us that the group finally found a name for themselves. The owner begged the guys for a name to put on the marquee, but they had none. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like The Beggermen, the Tinkers and even The Chieftains) the club owner decided for them, simply posting "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem". The name stuck. They decided to try singing full time for six months. If singing turned successful, they'd stick with it; if not, then back to acting. The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful after all and in early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
.
The sweaters
The Clancy Brothers' Mum read news of the terrible ice and snow storms in New York City. So she sent Aran sweaters for her sons & Tommy Makem to keep them warm. Paddy & Liam Clancy stated they wore the sweaters for the first time in the Blue Angel club. When Marty Erlichman, their Manager saw the sweaters, he was beside himself! "That's it!" he exclaimed. I've been looking for a special costume for the group. It was also the night that Barbra Streisand sang in the Blue Angel for the first time. (Ref. Regis & Kathy Lee show 1991)Shortly before landing a spot on Ed Sullivan, by chance, the Clancys' mother sent three white Irish-knit Aran sweater
Aran sweater
The Aran sweater is a style of jumper/sweater that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. It is sometimes known as a fisherman sweater...
s, purchased from "Babington" (a store in their home town of Carrick), so they would not catch cold in the winters of New York. Realizing the brothers' friend Tommy Makem would also be exposed to the cold, she sent one for him as well. Their manager Marty Erlichman, desperately seeking a way to "package" his clients, found exactly what he was looking for when he saw the three brothers and Tommy Makem wearing the sweaters. The sweaters became the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark. When back in their hometown, the band purchased their Aran jumpers from Babington, on the main street. Babington had a local woman by the name of Betty McGillivray née Duggan knit the jumpers and supply the shop on regular occasions.
Success
On March 12, 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed for 16 minutes in front of a televised audience of 80 million people on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
. As Pearl Bailey did not show that night, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were given her time. The televised performance instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond
John H. Hammond
John Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
of Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The group was offered a five year contract with an advance of $100,000, a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, they enlisted Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
as backup banjo player for the live album A Spontaneous Performance Recording It included songs that would soon become classics, such as "Brennan on the Moor," "Jug of Punch," "Reilly's Daughter," "Finnegan's Wake
Finnegan's Wake
"Finnegan's Wake" is a ballad that arose in the 1850s in the music-hall tradition of comical Irish songs. The song is a staple of the Irish folk-music group, The Dubliners, who have played it on many occasions and included it on several albums, and is especially well known to fans of The Clancy...
," "Haul Away Joe," "Roddy McCorley," "Portlairge" and "Moonshiner." The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1961.
By the end of 1961, they had released two more albums, one final one with Tradition Records, and another with Columbia, Hearty and Hellish: A Live Nightclub Performance, and they were playing Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. Additionally, they were making appearances on major radio and television talk-shows in America.
International stardom
1962 proved to be an even better year. Ciarán MacMathunaCiaran MacMathuna
Ciarán Mac Mathúna, was an Irish broadcaster and music collector. He was a recognised authority on Irish music and lectured extensively on the subject...
, a popular radio personality in Ireland, was visiting America when he heard of the group. He collected the few albums they had out at the time, brought them back home to Ireland and played them on his radio show. The broadcasts skyrocketed the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to fame in Ireland, where they were still unknown. In Ireland, songs like "Roddy McCorley
Roddy McCorley
Roddy McCorley was a United Irishman and a participant in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.-Life:...
," "Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry
Kevin Gerard Barry was the first Irish republican to be executed by the British since the leaders of the Easter Rising. Barry was sentenced to death for his part in an IRA operation which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers.Barry's death is considered a watershed moment in the Irish...
" and "Brennan on the Moor" were slow, depressing songs full of melancholy, but the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had transformed those songs (the disgruntled purists in Ireland said "commercialized") and made them lively. For generations the songs had been a reminder of the troubles in Ireland and therefore they weren't anything anybody sang proudly. The Clancy Brothers changed all that, and the transformed songs reinvigorated Ireland's pride in her music. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were brought over for a sold-out tour of Ireland in late 1962. Popularity in England and other parts of Europe soon followed, as well as Australia and Canada. By 1963, appearing on major talk-shows in America, Canada, England, Australia and Ireland, as well as their own TV specials, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were "the most famous four Irishmen in the world" as said by Ireland's Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne
Gay Byrne
Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne is a veteran Irish presenter of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999...
, in a retrospective interview in 1984. In 1964, one third of all the albums sold in Ireland were Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records.
The 1960s continued to be a successful decade with the release of approximately two albums per year, all of which sold millions of copies. They continued to peak with television appearances in front of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
in 1963.
Their popularity is the result of several factors. There was already an American folk revival beginning in the United States, and men such as Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
popularizing old songs on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was the Clancys' boisterous performances that set them apart, taking placid classics and giving them a boost of energy and spirit (not that they took this approach with all their songs; they would still sing the true mournful ballads with due reverence).
But by the late 1960s, rock music had taken full swing, and the ballad and folk boom was waning. To keep the Clancys at the top, Teo Macero began producing their records for Columbia. Macero introduced new instrumentation to the Clancys' music, the among them Louis Killen coming in to play concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
on backup, particularly on their 1968 album of sea songs, Sing of the Sea. But their last three albums for Columbia Record in 1969 and 1970 are considered by many to be overproduced, with a multitude of string instruments and synthesizers added the simpler traditional Clancy mix of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
In 1969, the group recorded a song for a two-minute-long TV ad for Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
: "Bringin' Home the Oil
Bringin' Home the Oil
Bringin' Home the Oil is an Irish-themed sea shanty written in 1969 by Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers as the theme for a two-minute long television commercial for Gulf Oil as part of their sponsorship of NBC News coverage of the US space program and the national political conventions in...
". They adapted a traditional Scottish tune they had recorded, "The Gallant Forty Twa," with new words singing about large-capacity supertankers
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
. The song and commercial featured the then-largest supertanker in the world, the Universe Ireland, which operated with sister ships Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal, all mentioned in the song and which operated from the seaport at Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
.
Changes amongst the Clancy Brothers
Other changes in 1969 included the amicable departure of Tommy Makem from the group. Giving them a year's notice, Makem left in April 1969 to pursue a solo career armed with such recent compositions as "Four Green FieldsFour Green Fields
Four Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
", debuted on 1968's Clancy Brothers album, Home Boys Home.
The "other brother", Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy
Bobby Clancy was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the twin brother of Joan Clancy, and a member of the Irish folk group, the Clancy Brothers...
filled Tommy Makem's vacancy. Also, two of the Furey Brothers (Finbar and Eddie Furey) joined the now-four Clancy Brothers at this time., Finbar Furey was asked by Paddy if he would join them to play whistle and 5 string banjo in Tommy Makem's place. Finbar also added uillean pipes to the show and opened up a new sound to American audiences on stage and TV. The six-piece band recorded two new albums in the summer of 1969: Clancy Brothers Christmas, released later that year, and Flowers in the Valley, released in 1970. The latter was their final album for Columbia Records.
Later that year, Finbar and Eddie Furey left the lineup and for a short time it was just the four brothers, Paddy, Tom, Bobby and Liam Clancy. This lineup recorded only one album together, 1970s Welcome to Our House under their new label, Audio Fidelity Records. Later that same year, Liam and Bobby got into an argument which resulted in Bobby quitting the group.
In 1971, the trio brought in the man who had introduced the concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
to the music mix, Louis Killen. They recorded two studio albums under the Audio Fidelity label: Save the Land and Show Me the Way. Their next, and final, album for Audio Fidelity was a live album, Live on St. Patrick's Day in 1973, recorded the previous year at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
.
But by the early 1970s, the Clancys were growing tired of touring and singing as a group; their touring schedule was down to five months a year. The brothers were moving in different directions. All of them had young families at home. Paddy wanted to be home with his family and tend to his farm. Tom began acting again, first on stage then film and television. He moved his family out to Los Angeles in 1974 and landed parts in The Killer Elite
The Killer Elite
The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action thriller film starring James Caan and Robert Duvall and directed by Sam Peckinpah.The screenplay was written by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel, Monkey in the Middle. The novel was written under Hopkins'...
with James Caan
James Caan
James Caan is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery, A Bridge Too Far, Brian's Song, Rollerball, Kiss Me Goodbye, Elf, and El Dorado...
and Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
and a major role in Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
with Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw
-Arts and humanities:* Bob Shaw , Irish science fiction writer* Bob Shaw , co-writer for Seinfeld, A Bugs Life and others* Robert J...
. Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
was looking to branch out of his older brothers' shadow, the men who had veto power over he, Tommy Makem and Louis Killen over the years in what they sang, according to his feature film documentary, The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy. He moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1972 and began a solo career when not with his brothers.
Despite ill-givings and desires to move on, the group made one more album with Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
, Clancy Brothers and Lou Killen's Greatest Hits as well as several television appearances on the "Irish Rovers Show" in Canada and a TV special for Brockton television in 1974 (in which Bobby Clancy made a surprise special guest appearance with the group). Further rumblings in the group occurred during a scheduling conflict between a tour of Australia and a film or television role Tom Clancy was set to be in. Tom allegedly accepted the television role over the tour of Australia and told Liam to "Get off my fucking back, little brother," when he informed Tom of the conflict. In 1976, their sister, Cait Clancy O'Connell, was killed in a car crash. After the funeral in Ireland, Liam told his brothers that they would have to find a replacement. "I'm not going to work with you anymore," Liam said, according to his interview in the 2009 "The Yellow Bittern" documentary. Louis Killen left as well and Paddy and Tom decided it was time for a hiatus.
Break-up and reunion
The dissolution permitted Paddy Clancy to devote his full attention to the dairy farm he had bought with his wife in 1963, while Tom flourished in Hollywood, regularly appearing in movies, TV films and TV shows such as Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, The Incredible Hulk, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
and Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
. Liam Clancy, suffering financial setbacks in taxes, filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and moved his family to his in-laws in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The only one to continue singing, Liam's brother-in-law helped him get some concert gigs to get him back on his feet. Liam was introduced to "The Dutchman
The Dutchman
"The Dutchman" is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968 and popularized by Steve Goodman. At the time Smith wrote the song, he had never visited the Netherlands....
" at this time, which became a hit. The gigs caught the attention of a TV producer and Liam was signed for thirteen episodes of his own music and talk show. The show was a hit and Liam was signed for thirteen more. On the final episode, old friend Tommy Makem was a guest. This hit episode led to the two of them being signed together for twenty-six episodes. Their show together was called "The Makem & Clancy Show."
Makem and Clancy
Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy had both been signed as solo acts at the Cleveland Irish Festival in July 1975. According to interviews they gave for local newspaper articles, the two of them had to keep meeting with each other to make sure the other didn't sing the same songs at each others' separate gigs. They grew tired of it and decided to just team up for a one-time gig. The team-up was a tremendous success, receiving a 5-minute standing ovation! Makem & Clancy was born.Liam invited Tommy onto his Canadian television series, "The Liam Clancy Show." It was to be his last episode of that season. Lightning struck twice and the show was renewed for 26 episodes. On the last episode, Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher
Archie Fisher
Archie Fisher MBE is a Scottish folk singer and song writer.-The early years:Archie Fisher was born in Glasgow on 23 October 1939 into a large singing family. His sister Cilla Fisher is also a professional singer, as was his late sister Ray. In 1960 he moved to Edinburgh and appeared regularly at...
was invited as a guest. Once again, luck was in order. Fisher told Makem & Clancy he wanted to produce a record with them.
Fisher produced their debut self-titled album which included all new songs they hadn't recorded before, such as Makem's own compositions "Windmills," and Gordon Bok's "Hills of Isle Au Haut." A last minute addition in "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it...
" helped the album soar. That song became Liam's signature number as well as ending his financial troubles. With Maurice Cassidy as their international manager and Tommy's wife Mary Makem as stateside manager, the duo hit the road on their first tour in February 1976.
Makem & Clancy followed up their debut studio album with a live record recorded at the Gaiety Theater in Dublin in July 1977, the double LP The Makem & Clancy Concert. They continued taking Ireland, England, Australia, Canada and America by storm with several television specials and successful follow-up albums. They brought their old show from Canada to PBS in America and filmed 13 new episodes for New Hampshire PBS.
In 1978, they hired a total of 10 backup musicians to help record their next effort, a studio album called Two for the Early Dew. The album featured mostly calmer ballads such as the now classic Red is the Rose, Dawning of the Day, Grey October Clouds, another Gordon Bok
Gordon Bok
Gordon Bok is a folklorist and singer/songwriter who grew up in Camden, Maine.-Career:His first album, self-titled, was produced by Noel Paul Stookey and released in 1965 on the Verve Records Folkways imprint...
number Clear Away in the Morning and Journey's End
Journey's End
Journey's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
. The latter became their standard closing song. Fast, up-tempo songs included the all-Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
Cruiscan Lan, previously recorded by the Clancy Brothers in mostly English. The opening song Day of the Clipper came from the group Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare is a local Maine folk band, consisting of the late Tom Rowe , Steve Romanoff , and Chuck Romanoff . Schooner Fare plays primarily original maritime, socially conscious, and traditional folk music...
, whom Makem & Clancy had recently seen in concert. When Schooner Fare saw Makem & Clancy in the audience they immediately changed their entire repertoire into Clancy songs. Except for one song, "Day of the Clipper." After the show, Tommy and Liam told the fledging group they were a bit disappointed they sang stuff they new, but they asked, "What was that other song?" They loved it so much, it was used as their opening number.
During the rest of the 70s and early 80s, they recorded several singles, some of which made it onto their compilation album, Makem & Clancy Collection in 1980. TV specials such as an on location show called "The Music Makers" followed.
In 1983, Makem & Clancy recorded their fifth album, Makem & Clancy Live At the National Concert Hall. The album was recorded in February 6, 1983 at Dublin's National Concert Hall and included what many regard as the greatest, most powerful rendition of Tommy's Four Green Fields
Four Green Fields
Four Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
. The concert was also filmed for Irish television and PBS in America and included several songs not included on the album, such as Pete Seeger's Rainbow Race. Little Beggarman from this album features a wooden dancing marionette man manipulated by Liam to dance to the beat of the song. This version of the song reportedly received lots of airtime on radio and has become a favorite of many fans.
Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell
Meanwhile, after taking the rest of 1976 off, Paddy and Tom made plans to bring back the Clancy Brothers. Liam, now part of Makem & Clancy, wouldn't join so they asked Bobby to come back and take the post he vacated in 1970. Tom was at the height of his new career in Hollywood and Paddy was busy with the farm so it was ultimately decided to tour on a part-time basis and only in the United States. Their recently deceased sister Cait Clancy O'Connell's son RobbieRobbie O'Connell
-Life:Robbie was born in Waterford and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, where his parents had a small hotel. He spent a year touring folk clubs in England before enrolling at University College Dublin where he studied Literature and Philosophy. Being a newphew of the Clancy Brothers,...
was an up and coming musician in the States and in Ireland; he was also helping manage, along with Bobby, the Inn that Cait had opened up years before. So they asked him to take on the role Liam had vacated. He would play guitar and occasionally mandolin and Bobby would play banjo, guitar, harmonica and bodhran. Paddy was well versed on the harmonica too and continued playing it. At that point, it was the most musically inclined version of the Clancy Brothers.
Beginning in 1977 they toured three months a year in March, August and November, all in the United States. Tom would fly over a few days before each tour and rehearse material, mostly oldies from their albums in the 1960s but some new ones as well. Robbie was a songwriter, composing several songs the group sang regularly, such as "Bobby's Britches," "Ferrybank Piper," "There Were Roses," and "You're Not Irish." He also brought in songs from others such as "Dear Boss," "Sister Josephine," "John O'Dreams," and possibly his signature song "Killkelly." Bobby brought "Song for Ireland," "Love of the North," and "Anne Boleyn" to the table. In America, the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell continued where they left off, still packing Carnegie Hall. Reviews cited Robbie as a fresh addition to the group with his original compositions, the future of the group.
Over the next several years, Paddy and Tom brought some new material. "Greenfields of France" also known as "Willie McBride" by Eric Bogle had taken off with a recording by the Clancys' old backup musicians, the Furey Brothers in the early 1980s. Soon, every Irish group was singing it, including the Clancys and Makem & Clancy. It became a staple in Tom's repertoire. He also sang "Logger Lover." The group added new lyrics to the old Irish ballad, "She Didn't Dance," and reworked old classics such as "As I Roved Out," "Beer," and "Rebellion 1916 Medley." Some of these songs ended up on the Clancy Brothers' first album in 9 years in 1982, a live album simply titled Clancy Brothers with Robbie O'Connell Live 1982. Many believe the new album was a fresh offering from a reinvigorated group.
In the summer of 1983, the group travelled to their hometown in Ireland to film a 20-minute special on sea songs, all sung on location on the fishing ships in the area. It was called Songs of the Sea
Songs of the Sea
This article is about the Sentosa attraction. For the attraction`s soundtrack, see Songs of the Sea Soundtrack.Songs of the Sea is a multimedia show located at Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Designed by ECA2 founder, Yves Pépin, Songs of the Sea started its operations on 26 March 2007....
. Directed by Irish filmmaker David Donaghy, it was to be broadcast on the BBC Northern Ireland. It is unknown yet if it was indeed ever broadcast. It is known that Tom tried on many occasions to put it on videocassette but the plans fell through.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem reunion
In 1984, Makem & Clancy's manager Maurice Cassidy, brought the original foursome together with prospects of a documentary of the original lineup to be followed by a concert at Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in Lincoln Center in New York City. Paddy and Tom Clancy took some time out from the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell, and joined forces with Makem & Clancy. Paddy, Tom, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem were reunited and production on the documentary commenced after a 90 minute debut on Ireland's Late Late Show on April 28, 1984. Traveling to Keady, Tommy Makem's hometown, Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. As the name – meaning "the rock of the Suir" – suggests, the town is situated on the River Suir. The of the town gives the population as 5,906 and shows that it has grown by 5.7% since 2002...
, the Clancys hometown, then New York City in Greenwich Village, a dress rehearsal concert at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion on East 57th Street and finally the big night on May 20, 1984 at the Lincoln Center for the recorded concert, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had returned! The Lincoln Center show had sold out within a week, all 3,000 seats, the rowdy audience providing a great participation on the album, released as Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion. A Reunion Tour of Ireland, England the United States followed in late 1984 and the fall of 1985.
Makem and Clancy break-up
Makem & Clancy returned to recording studio in 1986 to produce their final album, We've Come a Long Way. Not wishing to overstay their welcome, or let their material begin to go stale, the duo amicably broke up after 13 years. Both men resumed the solo careers they had begun before reuniting back in 1975.Tunes and Tales
The Clancy Brothers (Paddy, Tom and Bobby) with Robbie O'Connell recorded a new live album at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New HampshireGoffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
, Tunes and Tales of Ireland. Even Bobby Clancy called this album "crap," and Paddy referred to it as "not our best effort." Regardless, the album is valuable, for it is Tom Clancy's final record.
Death of Tom Clancy
In May 1990, Tom Clancy was diagnosed with stomach cancer. When Tom went into surgery to save his life later in the summer, brother Liam stepped in Tom's place and joined his brothers and nephew on their tour in August. The surgery proved unsuccessful, and Tom Clancy died at the age of 66. Tom also left behind one son and five daughters, one daughter and his only son from his first marriage, one from his second marriage, and three with his third; the youngest daughter was two years old when he passed.Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell of the 1990s
With the death of Tom, Liam stepped in full time with his brothers. This lineup experienced a more active time than the previous decade, with appearances on Regis and Kathie Lee in 1991, 1993 and 1995, an appearance on a 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concertThe 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration
The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration is a live double-album release in recognition of Bob Dylan's 30 years as a recording artist. Recorded on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it captures most of the concert, which featured many artists performing classic Dylan songs,...
in 1992, seen by 200 million people worldwide, and the formation of Irish Festival Cruises in 1991, an annual cruise of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. The guys also brought their own tour groups to Ireland, which Robbie O'Connell continues to do to this day.
The Bob Dylan Concert inspired the recording of the first studio album by the Clancy Brothers in over 20 years, since 1973's Greatest Hits. Older But No Wiser, introducing 12 new songs, with the exception of When the Ship Comes In, was released in late 1995. It was the first and only album to feature the lineup of Paddy, Bobby, Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell.
The Irish Festival Cruises had led to financial disputes between the group, Paddy and Liam especially. Liam decided to leave the group. Robbie O'Connell, now with the group for nineteen years, was ready for a change as well. The two departed the Clancy Brothers together and formed their own duo, simply Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell. Before splitting, the Clancy brothers and Robbie O'Connell gave a Farewell Tour of both Ireland and America in February and March 1996. The Irish tour in February was filmed near the Clancys' hometown, televised and later released to video and DVD as The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell: Farewell to Ireland. On both the album Older But No Wiser and the concert video Farewell to Ireland, two sons of two of the Clancy Brothers made their debut. Donal Clancy, Liam's youngest son played backup on the studio album while Bobby's son Finbarr Clancy played backup on the Farewell video. Bobby was beginning to ail at this time and Finbarr was brought on, in part, to aid his father for this concert video. Finbarr did not join them for the American tour.
Clancy Brothers influence on Bob Dylan
The Clancy Brothers were contemporaries of Bob Dylan and they became friends as they played the clubs of Greenwich Village in New York in the early 1960s. Howard Sounes in his biography of Dylan describes how Dylan listened to the Clancys singing Irish rebel songs like "Roddy McCorley" which he found fascinating, not only terms of their melodies but also their themes, structures and storytelling techniques. Although the songs were about Irish rebels, they reminded Dylan of American folk heroes. He wanted to write songs on similar themes and with equal depth.Dylan stopped Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem in the street one day in early 1962 and insisted on singing a new song he had written to the tune of "Brennan On The Moor," a song from the eponymous Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem album on Tradition Records. It was called "Rambling, Gambling Willie" and was Dylan's attempt to replicate Irish folk heroes in an American context. Dylan continued to use the melodies of songs from the Clancys' repertoire for his own lyrics several more times, including "The Leaving of Liverpool" for "Farewell To You My Own True Love," "The Parting Glass" for "Restless Farewell," and "The Patriot Game" for "With God On Our Side."
Dylan never forgot his debt to the Clancys, which is why they were invited to perform at his anniversary concert. After the concert, the guests were due to go back to Dylan's hotel for a party but at the last moment, Dylan decided he wanted to celebrate at Tommy Makem's pub instead so they all went there.
Sources describes how Liam Clancy tentatively asked Dylan if he would mind if the Clancys recorded an album of his songs, arranged in a traditional Irish style. Far from minding, Dylan was amazed that Clancy felt he had to even ask: Dylan said: "Liam, you don't realise... you're my heroes."
Clancy Brothers & Eddie Dillon, and Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy
After the breakup Paddy and Bobby continued touring as the Clancy Brothers, with Bobby's son Finbarr Clancy becoming an official member of the group. The trio added longtime friend of Bobby's daughter Aoife, Eddie Dillon, to the group for a thirteen city engagement in early 1997. The quartet was known as the Clancy Brothers and Eddie Dillon. Eddie Dillon, a Boston based musician, is the only American ever to perform with the Clancy Brothers.Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell toured for a while as a duo, but very soon added Liam's son Donal Clancy to the mix, forming the trio Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy. The trio released two albums, a self-titled debut album in 1997 and an album of sea songs in 1998, The Wild and Wasteful Ocean. Robbie O'Connell regards the self-titled Clancy, O'Connell and Clancy album as his most favorite work. In 1999, with Liam in Ireland, Robbie in Massachusetts and Donal in New York, the trio decided to call it quits as a full time group. They did say they would occasionally regroup for concerts, which they have, seldom as it is. Officially, Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell perform as solo musicians now.
Death of Paddy Clancy
The other group members, as far back as 1996 when Liam and Robbie were still in the mix, had noticed aging Paddy Clancy's unusual mood swings. In the spring of 1998 the cause was finally detected - Paddy had a brain tumor as well as lung cancer. He wasn't told of the lung cancer so as not to discourage him when he went for a brain operation. The brain tumor was removed successfully, but lung cancer was terminal. Paddy was told of the other ailment which he accepted "with great bravery and courage," said his wife Mary Clancy. Paddy Clancy died in the morning hours of November 11, 1998, at the age of 76. Two weeks before he died, knowing Paddy didn't have long, Bobby called Liam and Paddy together to reconcile their differences - Paddy and Liam had been at odds for two years since the breakup over the Irish Cruises. But the two brothers did reconcile and the three brothers sang together that night at an informal session at their local pub. Liam, Robbie and Donal took time out of their November tour of the US to go to attend Paddy's funeral. Old partner Tommy Makem also attended.Reunion and death of Bobby Clancy
Bobby, Finbarr and Eddie Dillon resumed touring as a trio, The Clancys and Eddie Dillon. The trio recorded a live album in October 1998, Clancy Sing-a-Long Songs and one in March 2001 during Bobby's last tour. In 1999 Bobby had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosisPulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs. It is also described as "scarring of the lung".-Symptoms:Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis are mainly:...
a lung ailment. During his last years Bobby was unable to stand and perform at the same time because he would quickly run out of breath, so the trio would perform a sitdown concert. Bobby became more frail in his last two years, often becoming confused and forgetful during the concerts. Finbarr and Eddie regularly covered for him, but Bobby pressed on, continuing to do what he loved doing most.
In 2000, the Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest is a yearly ethnic festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on the Lake Michigan, USA, every third weekend in August. More than 130,000 people attend the Fest each year to take in nearly 250 acts on 17 stages. The four-day festival in downtown Milwaukee started in 1981...
had its 20th anniversary and in celebration, they had the entire performing Clancy Family sing together on one stage. This once in lifetime lineup included Robbie O'Connell, Donal, Liam, Bobby, Finbarr, Aoife Clancy and Eddie Dillon. These festival sets, August 18, 19 and 20, 2000 were the last times the Clancy Brothers (Bobby and Liam) appeared onstage together.
By March 2002, Bobby's illness had advanced such that he was unable to perform, necessitating in Finbarr and Eddie performing as a duo for the short March 2002 tour. He made one final appearance on an American CBS TV spot promoting Liam's February 2002 autobiography, The Mountain of the Women: Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour. On September 6, 2002, Bobby Clancy died at the age of seventy-five. He was survived by three daughters, one son, his wife Moira and several grandchildren.
The 21st Century and the next generation
The last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers, Liam Clancy, continued to tour solo, as well as write. In 2002, through Doubleday, Liam published the first part of his memoirs, Mountain of the Women: Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour. Liam enjoyed a bit of a resurgence on TV spots promoting the memoirs on American TV and Irish TV. Taking some time off from touring, Liam came back in full force in 2005 with his tour "Seventy Years On." Liam turned 70 in September 2005 and sang with an Irish Legends act at the Gaiety Theater in Dublin in August 2005, with Ronnie DrewRonnie Drew
Joseph Ronald "Ronnie" Drew was an Irish singer and folk musician who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin...
and Paddy Reilly
Paddy Reilly
Patrick 'Paddy' Reilly is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. He is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry" and "The Town I Loved So Well"....
.
In March 2006, fifty years after the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded their debut album, The Rising of the Moon in March 1956, the first full-length biography on the Clancy Brothers was written and published by Conor Murray. The book, titled The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem & Robbie O'Connell: The Men Behind the Sweaters chronicles the Clancy Brothers from the birth of Paddy Clancy in 1922 to early 2006. Simultaneously a two hour documentary on Liam Clancy was aired on Irish television, The Legend of Liam Clancy, as was a new TV concert special from Tommy Makem and his sons, the five-piece Irish folk song group The Makem & Spain Brothers.
From 2005 to 2009 Liam was once again joined by Kevin Evans of Evans and Doherty, both onstage and in the studio. His last album, The Wheels of Life, was released in October 2008 and features prominent musicians such as Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
, Gemma Hayes
Gemma Hayes
Gemma Claire Hayes is an Irish singer-songwriter and member of The Cake Sale.-Early life:...
and Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
.
Tommy Makem died on 1 August 2007, at the age of 74, after an extended fight with cancer.
The last surviving member of the group, Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
, died on 4 December 2009 at the age of 74, in a Cork, Ireland hospital.
Every June, in their hometown of Carrick-on-Suir, the Clancy Brothers Festival takes place over three days to commemorate the achievements of the Clancy Brothers. The tradition is carried on by The Makem & Spain Brothers and by the group Clancy Legacy, consisting of nephew Robbie O'Connell, Aoife Clancy (daughter of Bobby Clancy) and Dónal Clancy (son of Liam Clancy).
Bobby's son, Finbarr is a member of The High Kings
The High Kings
The High Kings are an Irish ballad group. They were formed on Carick on Suir by Fibarr Clancy and Martin Furey.Brian Dunphy , and Broadway/pop/country singer Darren Holden were later recruited having wowed the world with their own solo careers on broadway in musical reviews, such as Riverdance...
. Aoife Clancy was a member of Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies is an American all-female Irish-American super group. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985, the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female musicians in America in what had been a male-dominated scene...
. She is currently performing as a singer accompanying herself on guitar. She performed in 2003 on the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. In addition to performing with guitarist, Ted Davis from Boston who served as backup; she talks about her work with Cherish the Ladies. Both she and her brother have relocated to the United States.
In 2010, a brand new theatre production was commissioned. 'Fine Girl Ye Are' - The Legendary Story of The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, commenced a theatre tour of Ireland. Produced and narrated by RTE Producer, Cathal McCabe, and featuring a 4 piece ballad group from Kilkenny City - The Kilkennys, the show will perform in a 28 date tour of the UK (February/March 2011). It will also appear at Dublin's National Concert Hall and Belfast's Ulster Hall later in 2011.
With Tommy Makem
Tradition Records- The Lark in the MorningThe Lark in the Morning (album)The Lark in the Morning is an album by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, family and friends.It has the distinction of being the first album-length recording of Irish music to be recorded in Ireland. It was recorded by Diane Hamilton and Catherine Wright on portable equipment, between August and December...
- Tradition LP/Rykodisc CD - (1955) - The Rising of the MoonThe Rising of the Moon (album)The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was initially recorded in 1956. During the original recording, the only instrument used was Paddy's harmonica and there was little harmonization,...
(or Irish Songs of Rebellion) (1956, 1959 second version) - Come Fill Your Glass with UsCome Fill Your Glass with UsCome Fill Your Glass with Us - Irish Songs of Drinking & Blackguarding is a collection of traditional Irish drinking songs performed by The Clancy Brothers with often time collaborator Tommy Makem...
(or Irish Songs of Drinking and Blackguarding) (1959) - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem (self-titled) - (1961)
Columbia Records
- A Spontaneous Performance Recording (1961)
- Hearty and Hellish! A Live Nightclub Performance (1962)
- The Boys Won't Leave the Girls AloneThe Boys Won't Leave the Girls AloneThe Boys Won't Leave the Girls Alone is a collection of mostly traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was their third album for Columbia Records and was released in 1962. It was also their first studio album for Columbia. Its title is taken from the song,...
(1962) - 2 stereo issues (one includes alternate mixes) - the last two albums were issued on now out of print Shanachie CDs
- In Person at Carnegie Hall (1963) - also on Columbia CD
- The First Hurrah!The First Hurrah!The First Hurrah! is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was their fifth album for Columbia Records and was released in 1964. The album's title is likely a play on Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel "The Last Hurrah"...
(1964) - Recorded LIVE in Ireland (1965)
- Isn't It Grand, Boys (1966)
- Freedom's Sons (1966)
The Irish Uprising (1966)
- In Concert (1967) - also on Columbia CD
- Hearty And Hellish (1967)
- Home, Boys, Home (1968)
- Sing of the Sea (1968)
- The Bold Fenian Men (1969)
- Reunion (1984) - Released on Blackbird LP/Shanachie CD
- Luck Of The Irish - Columbia/Sony compilation. Contains 1 new song (Wars Of Germany) and 3 new performances of previously released songs: (Home Boys Home, The Old Orange Flute and They're Moving Father's Grave To Build A Sewer) (1992)
- The 30th Anniversary Concert CelebrationThe 30th Anniversary Concert CelebrationThe 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration is a live double-album release in recognition of Bob Dylan's 30 years as a recording artist. Recorded on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it captures most of the concert, which featured many artists performing classic Dylan songs,...
(Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
/Various) (1992) - Irish Drinking Songs (1993) - contains unreleased material from the Carnegie Hall album
- Ain't it Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems (1995) - unreleased material from the 1960s era
The Clancy Brothers (Liam, Tom, Pat, Bobby)
- Christmas - Columbia LP/CD (1969)
- Flowers in the Valley - Columbia LP (1970)
Audio Fidelity Records
- Welcome to Our House (1970)
Lou Killen, Paddy, Liam, Tom Clancy
Audio Fidelity Records- Show Me The Way (1972)
- Save the Land! (1972)
- Live on St. Patrick's Day (1973)
Vanguard Records
- Clancy Brothers Greatest Hits (1973) - Vanguard LP/CD
- This was reissued as 'Best of the Vanguard Years' with bonus material from the 1982 Live! album with Bobby Clancy and Robbie O'Connell.
Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem
Blackbird and Shanachie Records- Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy (1976)
- The Makem & Clancy Concert (1977)
- Two for the Early Dew (1978)
- The Makem and Clancy Collection (1980) - contains previously released material and singles
- Live At The National Concert Hall (1983)
- We've Come A Long Way (1986)
Bob Dylan
- The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (Pat, Liam & Bobby Clancy sing "When The Ship Comes In" with Tommy Makem and Robbie O'Connell)
The Clancy Brothers (Tom, Pat, Bobby) and Robbie O'Connell
- Live - Vanguard (1982)
- "Tunes and Tales of Ireland" - Folk Era Records(1988)
The Clancy Brothers (Liam, Pat, Bobby) and Robbie O'Connell
- Older But No Wiser - Vanguard (1995)
Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy
Helvic Records- Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy - (1997)
- The Wild And Wasteful Ocean - (1998)
Tommy Makem
- Ancient Pulsing - Poetry With Music
- The Bard Of Armagh
- An Evening With Tommy Makem
- Ever The Winds
- Farewell To Nova Scotia
- In The Dark Green Wood - Columbia Records
- In The Dark Green Woods - Polydor Records
- Live At The Irish Pavilion
- Lonesome Waters
- Love Is Lord Of All
- Recorded Live - A Roomful Of Song
- Rolling Home
- Songbag
- Songs Of Tommy Makem
- The Song Tradition
- Tommy Makem Sings Tommy Makem
- Tommy Makem And Friends In Concert
Liam Clancy
- The Mountain Of The Women : Memoirs Of An Irish Troubadour - audiobook
- The Dutchman
- Irish Troubadour
- Liam Clancy's Favourites
- The Wheels of Life
Bobby Clancy
- So Early in the Morning - (1962) Tradition LP
- Good Times When Bobby Clancy Sings - (1974) Talbot LP
- Irish Folk Festival Live 1974 (Bobby appears on 4 songs) - (1974) Intercord LP/CD
- Make Me A Cup - (1999) ARK CD
- The Quiet Land - (2000) ARK CD
Robbie O'Connell
- Close To The Bone
- Humorous Songs - Live
- Love Of The Land
- Never Learned to Dance
- Recollections
Video Footage
- The Story Of The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
- The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Reunion Concert At The Ulster Hall Belfast
- Liam Clancy - In Close Up Vol. 1
- Liam Clancy - In Close Up Vol. 2
- The Clancy Brothers & Robbie O'Connell - Farewell To Ireland
External links
- Annual Clancy Brothers Festival
- The Clancy Brothers' Myspace page
- The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem - biography and discographies as the Balladeers -
- Review of In Person At Carnegie Hall
- http://www.irishmusicforever.com/bands/clancy-brothers