Paddy Moloney, the Irish folk musician and leader of The Chieftains, has died at the age of 83.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
Moloney “made an enormous contribution to Irish traditional music, song and dance…Few people can lay claim to having the level of impact Paddy Moloney had on the vibrancy of traditional music throughout the world. What a wonderful musical legacy he has left us,” the Irish Traditional Music Archive said after announcing the multi-instrumentalist’s death.
Moloney founded the Chieftains with Sean Potts and Michael Tubridy in 1962. They collaborated with a number of international acts, like Luciano Pavarotti, after bringing both attention and acclaim to the genre, as evidenced by their six Grammy award wins. The group, and Moloney, also contributed to a number of film soundtracks and scores, including “Barry Lyndon” and “Gangs of New York.”
Born Aug. 1, 1938 in Dublin, Moloney started playing at a young age.
“I grew up in a family of musicians in this little cottage that seemed like a palace at the time,” Moloney told The Guardian in 2010. “We would sit around and tell stories and play music every night. Music became everything to me, even more important than eating.”
Moloney is survived by his wife, Rita O’Reilly, and children Aonghus, Padraig and Aedin.
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