The Best of Irish Folk Music: Celtic Edition

From the well-known to the obscure, this is a comprehensive collection of the best Irish folk music that will have you tapping your toes and feeling Celtic pride.

Introduction to Irish Folk Music

Irish folk music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. It is typically played with a variety of instruments, including the fiddle, banjo, accordion, concertina, bodhrán and tin whistle. Irish folk music has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, with many modern bands and artists performing traditional songs and tunes.

The Best of Irish Folk Music: Celtic Edition is a compilation album featuring some of the most popular Irish folk bands and artists. This album includes hits like “Danny Boy” by The Dubliners, “The Wild Rover” by The Pogues, “Whiskey in the Jar” by The Dubliners, and many more. If you’re a fan of Irish folk music, or if you’re looking to get introduced to this genre, this album is the perfect place to start.

The Celtic Revival

Throughout the 1800s, Irish music was mainly played and sung in rural areas and was not widely known outside of Ireland. This changed in the late 1800s with the Celtic Revival, a movement that saw the reintroduction of traditional Irish music and culture. The Revival began in Ireland but quickly spread to other parts of the world, including Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and North America. The Celtic Revival had a huge impact on the development of Irish folk music, and many of the most famous Irish folk songs were composed during this time.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were an Irish folk music group, popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They were influential in promoting Irish music and culture in the US, and their concerts were often sell-outs. The group consisted of Tom Clancy, Liam Clancy, Paddy Clancy and Tommy Makem.

The Clancys were from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, in Ireland; Tommy Makem was from Keady, County Armagh, also in Ireland. All four members of the group emigrated to the United States in the late 1940s/early 1950s. The group became known for their energetic stage performances, which often included storytelling and humor along with their music.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded numerous albums of traditional Irish folk songs and ballads; they also wrote some original songs themselves. Their best-known song is probably “The Rising of the Moon”, which has been recorded by many other artists over the years.

Among their other popular songs are “The banks of My Own Lovely Lee”, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, “Barbara Allen” and “4 Green Fields”. The group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 11 times between 1957 and 1962; they also appeared on numerous other TV shows over the years. They retired from performing in 1969 but Tom Clancy continued to tour as a solo act until his death in 1998.

The Dubliners

The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1962. The band has been influential in the development of Irish music and culture over the past five decades. The Dubliners have released over 30 albums and have toured extensively throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. The band is best known for their live performances and for their signature songs “The Wild Rover” and “Whiskey in the Jar”.

Planxty

Planxty is an Irish folk music band founded in the early 1970s, consisting of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, vocals), Andy Irvine (mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica, vocals), and Liam O’Flynn (uilleann pipes, tin whistle). Though often referred to as a supergroup, the band never achieved widespread commercial success outside Ireland. They did however release a string of well-received albums and singles.

The band’s first album was Planxty (1973), which was followed by Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (1974). Christye Moore left the band after the second album to pursue a solo career; he was replaced by Sylvian Holden. The third album was The Well Below the Valley (1975), which was awarded Album of the Year at the 1976 Montreux International Folk Festival. After Holden’s departure, guitarists Paul Brady and Matt Molloy joined the band; Molloy would go on to play with The Chieftains.

The fourth album was After the Break (1979), which saw Irvine and Lunny switching instruments; Irvine played bouzouki and Lunny played mandolin. This lineup released one further album: Words and Music (1986). Following its release, Brady and Molloy left to focus on their solo careers; they were replaced by Matt Kelleghan and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill respectively. The final lineup of Planxty reunited for one final album: The Woman I Loved So Well (1988). The band subsequently disbanded in 2005.

The Chieftains

The Chieftains are an Irish musical group founded in Dublin in November 1962. The group is noted for bringing traditional Irish music to a worldwide audience, in a career lasting over 50 years. The band has won six Grammy Awards and been nominated for numerous other awards. They have played music for Presidents of the United States and over a dozen other countries, as well as for such dignitaries as the Prince of Wales, Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II.

The Chieftains’ music is based on traditional Irish folk tunes, but they also experiment with other types of music from around the world. The group often incorporates elements of Scottish, Welsh and Breton folk music into their songs. They have also been known to play African, Middle Eastern and South American folk tunes on occasion. In recent years, the Chieftains have even ventured into pop music territory, collaborating with such artists as Sting, Van Morrison and Ry Cooder.

The Chieftains’ sound is based on the traditional Irish instrumentation of uilleann pipes, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion and bodhrán (a frame drum). They are also one of the few groups to make use of the Irish bouzouki (a type of mandolin), which adds a unique flair to their music. Over the years, various members of the band have come and gone, but founder Paddy Moloney has remained the constant driving force behind the group’s success.

The Pogues

The Pogues were an English band formed in London in 1982, as part of the post-punk folk revival movement. The band reached their peak of popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The group achieved several hit singles in the UK charts, including “The Irish Rover”, “Fairytale of New York”, and “Rainy Night in Soho”, as well as album success with If I Should Fall from Grace with God and Peace and Love. The Pogues were one of the most influential bands of their era.

The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross, London, in 1982 by Shane MacGowan, who brought together a group of musicians with a shared love of traditional Irish music and a punk rock attitude. The band’s musical style blended traditional Irish folk music with punk rock energy and instrumentation, featuring growling vocals, banjo, accordion,mandolin, tin whistle, fiddle, acoustic guitar and bodhrán. Although they are often lumped together with other Celtic punk bands such as The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, The Pogues have always considered themselves to be a traditional folk band first and foremost.

The band’s lineup changed several times over the years, but MacGowan remained the group’s frontman and primary songwriter throughout their career. In 1989, he was joined by Spider Stacy on tin whistle and backing vocals; Stacy would become one of the band’s most recognizable members thanks to his onstage charisma and habit of wearing a pirate’s eye patch. The Pogues released eight studio albums between 1984 and 1996; their final album, Pogue Mahone (1996), was recorded without MacGowan due to his alcoholism and drug addiction.

After the release of Pogue Mahone, MacGowan was fired from the band due to his unreliability; he was replaced by Elfin Bow singer Jem Finer. The group continued to tour and release new music without MacGowan; their final album was 2001’s Haven’t Met You Yet. In 2009, Stacy announced his departure from the band due to health problems; he died in 2020 after suffering a stroke. In 2014, Founding member James Fearnley left the band due to health problems; he was replaced by Steve Logan.

On 3 October 2020 saxophonist Andrew Ranken died from cancer at the age of 56.Other members who have died include guitarist Philip Chevron (died 2014), banjo player Paul Brady (died 2020)and drummer Dannie Carr (died 2020).

Conclusion

Celtic music has a long and rich history, and has been influential in the development of many other genres of music. The Best of Irish Folk Music: Celtic Edition is a great compilation of some of the best-known and loved Celtic tunes. If you’re a fan of Irish music, or just looking to broaden your musical horizons, this album is definitely worth checking out.