Raising A Glass For An Irish Legend
Irish folk musician Tommy Makem passed away yesterday in New Hampshire at age 74, after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Makem, who played the tin whistle and the banjo in addition to singing, came to international fame in the late ’50s and early ’60s while performing with the Clancy Brothers; after splitting from the group in 1969, Makem performed solo for years, and his resume included the one-man show Invasions and Legacies, which was part “epic prose poem,” part concert.
The Irish culture blog An Spailpín Fánach has a lovely obituary for Makem, a musician who loomed large in my Irish-all-the-way household growing up; if you’re unfamiliar with Makem’s pretty beautiful baritione, check out this clip of Makem singing “The Butcher Boy” on an episode of The Pete Seeger Show.
Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem – The Butcher Boy [YouTube, via An Spailpín Fánach] World-acclaimed Irish singer, songwriter Tommy Makem dies in N.H. [AP via Boston Globe]
