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Irish Music man Tommy Makem
 
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Irish Music man Tommy Makem Sceala Irish Craic Forum Irish Message |
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Irish Music man Tommy Makem
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One of Ireland's most Celebrated traditional musicians Tommy Makem has died at his home in New Hampshire in the US.
Tommy was aged 74, he died after a lengthy battle lung cancer.
Born and raised in Keady in Co Armagh, Tommy Makem was a traditional Irish musician and singer, best known as a member of the The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
Tommy Makem continued to record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "he was my brother in every way"
After moving to the US in the 1950s, he teamed up with the Clancy Brothers who were signed to Columbia Records.
He left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career but later joined Liam Clancy to become Makem and Clancy. He went solo again in 1988.
Short Biography of Tommy makem
Tommy Makem was an internationally celebrated folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller from Ireland, most known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the banjo and tin whistle and sang in a baritone. He was sometimes known as "The Bard of Armagh" (taken from a traditional song of the same name) and "The Godfather of Irish Music".
Born and raised in Keady, County Armagh, the north of Ireland. His mother, Sarah Makem, was also a successful folk singer, as well as an important source of traditional Irish music, who was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton, Jean Ritchie, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle.
After moving to the United States in 1955, he teamed up with the Clancy Brothers, who were signed to Columbia Records in 1961.
The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival, Makem and Joan Baez were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene. During the 1960s, the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show.
Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers in the US
Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. In 1975, he and Liam Clancy were both booked to play a folk festival in Cleveland, Ohio, and were persuaded to do a set together. Thereafter they performed as Makem and Clancy, recording several albums together. He once again went solo in 1988.
Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields", "Gentle Annie", "Red is the Rose", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing Freedom", and "Farewell to Carlingford," and "The Bard of Armagh."
The influential Republic Of Ireland Society of Boston awarded Tommy their acclaimed Gold medal for his contributions to Irish culture in April of 1957.
At their last dual appearance in 1988, Stonehill College in Massachussetts honored both Tommy and Liam with their prestigious Genesis Award for their promotion of Irish culture.
In 1997, St. Martin's Press in New York published "Tommy Makem's secret Ireland" . The University of New Hampshire honored Tommy with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in May of 1998.
On August 4th 1998 the Honorable Nancy L. Johnson of Connecticut placed Tommy officially in the Congessional record with her wonderful remarks and words of praise for him. She also quoted from one of the songs he had written called Peace and Justice and finished her remarks " Mr. Speaker, I sometimes wonder whether our society appreciates the importance of our artists, poets and songwriters. Tommy Makem's journey to our shore, his work for peace and the music he has made famous, remind us that our nation has been enriched indeed by the men and women who have come here from other lands."
With Tommy's abiding interest in Irish mythology, he wrote and performed a one man show called "Invasions and legacies" at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York in September 1999. The three week run was sold out completely."
The World Folk Music Association awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
His sons Shane, Conor and Rory (The Makem Brothers) and nephew Tom Sweeney continue the family folk music tradition.
Asked recently if he had any plans to retire, Tommy Makem replied "Yes, of course, I retire every night and in the morning when I awake I realise just how lucky and privileged I am to be able to continue doing the things I love to do."
Tommy Makem (November 4, 1932 – August 1, 2007)
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