Paddy Keenan & Tommy O'Sullivan

Paddy Keenan

"...the Jimi Hendrix of pipes." - - Donal Lunny

Paddy was born in Trim, Co. Meath, to John Keenan, Sr. of Westmeath and the former Mary Bravender of Co. Cavan. The Keenans were a Travelling family steeped in traditional music; both Paddy's father and grandfather were uilleann pipers. Paddy himself took up the pipes at the age of ten, playing his first major concert at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, when he was 14. He later played with the rest of his family in a group called The Pavees.

At 17, having fallen in love with the blues, he left Ireland for England and Europe, where he played blues and rock. After returning to Ireland, Paddy began playing around Dublin with singer/keyboardist Triona Ni Dhomhnaill, singer/guitarist Micheal O Dhomhnaill, Paddy Glackin, Matt Mollov, Tony MacMahon and Donal Lunny under the name of "Seachtar," the Irish word for "seven." Micheal O' Dhomhnaill had recently returned from Scotland, where he happened across a photograph taken in the 1890s of a group of tattered musicians. "The Bothy Band," it was titled, in reference to the migrant Irish laborers who worked in England and Scotland and were housed in stone huts known as "bothies." Micheal suggested that the band take this name, and the others agreed. Thus was born one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, The Bothy Band.

The Bothy Band forever changed the face of Irish traditional music, merging a driving rhythm section with traditional Irish tunes in ways that had never been heard before. Paddy was one of the band's founding members, and his virtuosity on the pipes combined with the ferocity of his playing made him, in the opinion of many, its driving force. Because of his genius for improvisation and counter-melody, he has been compared to jazz great John Coltrane.

Paddy plays at several festivals and weekends, including Gaelic Roots I and II at Boston College; the Eigse na Laoi at University College, Cork; Green Linnet's Irish Music Party of the Year; the Washington Irish Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, including a concert performance there in 1995 with accordion player James Keane and guitarist John Doyle--which was videotaped and has been broadcast worldwide. He has played the Stonehill College Festival in Boston and the Philadelphia Ceili Group's Irish Music and Dance Festival, as well as various concerts, benefits and tionals (piping festivals) around the US, in Canada and in Ireland, and even the occasional ceili.

Tommy O'Sullivan

"The eloquent tones of Tommy O'Sullivan's voice took flight in the night air, trailing the French collective mindset in it's dreamy wake." - Festival de St. Chartier--Mick Walsh (Irish Music Magazine 2001)

Tommy O Sullivan was born in London in 1961 to John L O Sullivan of Lispole, Co. Kerry and Mary Lynch of Garfinny, Dingle, Co. Kerry. His late father, John L, worked on the buildings and many of Tommy's easiest memories center round Saturday night's at home singing for Irish immigrant navies (a term used to describe those who worked on the building sites). Not surprisingly James Connolly and McAlpine's Fusiliers were among his repertoire by the age of six. Tommy began playing the guitar when his sister, Ann taught him his first few chords when he was ten. In 1972, the family moved home to West Kerry. Although The Dingle Peninsula has always been renowned for traditional music and song, at that time it was not bursting with guitarists in fact there were none. Despite this, Tommy's natural ability shone and he played his first gig in The Star Inn, Dingle in 1977 aged sixteen. From then on, Tommy continued singing and playing regular gigs during his school holidays. 

In the late eighties, while touring Sweden, Tommy fell in love with Scandinavia and moved to Copenhagen first working as a solo artist. He eventually joins Ashplant, a popular band who combined Irish and Danish music. Over the next few years, Tommy toured extensively with Ashplant and appeared at many leading European festivals. It was around this time, that he first met and played with Paddy Keenan.

In 1992, Tommy moved back to Kerry. Shortly afterwards, he made his first and only solo recording to date entitled Legacy to considerable critical acclaim. This was followed in 1995 by Sliabh Notes, with Donal Murphy (4 Men and a Dog) and Matt Cranitch (Na Fili, Any Old Time). Sliabh Notes quickly became a band name and due to the success of the album the trio toured all over Ireland. They followed this in 1999 with Gleanntan, which was widely applauded and saw them touring internationally most notably in the States where they have appeared at The Milwaukee Irish Festival for the past two years running. 

Tommy singing style is as versatile as it is unique. The diverse nature of his life is reflected through it's broad range; his personal interpretations of Roly Sally's classic Killing the Blues (The Long Grazing Acre) and the more traditional Kerry song Sweet Kingwilliamstown (Along Blackwater's Banks) stand side by side with equal splendor. His is often described as a percussive flatpicking guitarist but he also has a highly developed fingerpicking style which is the fabric of his high strung playing and song accompaniment.

His style has been further enhanced by his work with a multitude of musicians and groups including Mairtin O Connor, De Danann, Cathal Hayden, Alan Kelly, Derek Hickey, Seamus Begley, Steve Cooney, James Blennerhassett and Paddy Keenan. 

Paddy's 1997 release Na Keen Affair features contributions from Tommy and shortly after this, the duo embarked on their first tour of Ireland which was a sell out. More domestic and international touring and festival appearances followed and as their schedule became more intense, they decided to make their first duet album - The Long Grazing Acre, which is currently enjoying rave reviews and is due for release in Ireland in February 2002.

His first festival appearance in the States this year is in March at the North Texas Irish Festival, Dallas where he appears with both Sliabh Notes and Paddy Keenan.

Back to Performers Page