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The Clancy
Brothers & Tommy Makem
Recording
Artists, Musicians
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem are
the most popular Irish folk group ever to come out of Ireland.
They have been important in the revitalization of Irish folk
music in America and in Ireland. They were also an integral
part of the folk revival during the 1950's and 1960's.
The Clancy Clan, and there are many, were
all singers from Robert & Joan to their nine kids; Patrick,
Tom, Liam, Bobby, Peg and four other sisters, and many offspring.
Their family home is Carrick-on-Suir, in County Tipperary,
settled in a valley with Comeragh Mountain on one side, and
Slievenamon (Mountain of Women) on the other, and all overseen
by Ormonde Castle.
The first brothers that come to the States
were  Pat
and Tom who came over in 1948. Patrick, the oldest brother,
was in the Irish Republican Army and also served in the RAF
during World War II was also an actor and producer. They both
had acting experience and hoped to make it as actors. They
went to Cleveland first and worked there for a while before
settling in New York.
In New York Pat & Tom worked at various
jobs, always aspiring to be actors, eventually producing and
acting in very successful productions of "Othello"
and in Sean O'Casey's "The Plough and the Stars."
Other plays were not so successful and in order to pay the
theatre rent, they decided to put on midnight concerts in
the theater. Folk music interest was emerging and people who
are now legendary, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, Jean Ritchie, Jack
Elliott and Bob Dylan all took part in these midnight shows.
These performances encouraged them to develop their Irish
song repertoire and the popularity of the Irish songs gave
Paddy the idea of putting out an LP on his own label, which
he formed in 1956 called Tradition Records.
Liam, the youngest brother, had met Tommy
Makem in Ireland while working with Diane Hamilton who came
to Ireland to collect traditional songs, both emigrated to
the States in 1955. They also became involved in acting but
discovered they could make a better living singing at clubs.
Paddy and Tom joined in whatever they could and the group,
while not yet classed as a group, began to build popularity.
Tommy Makem, came into the world in Keady,
County Armagh. His mother was Sarah Makem who is now renown
for her intimate knowledge of songs. At the age of five Tommy
made his first public appearance singing "The Little
Beggarman." At eight he joined the St. Patrick's choir
and continued with them for fifteen years. The Makems are
also related to the Sweeney's from the folk group Barley Bree.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem first
were billed as such in 1956 when they performed at the Gate
of Horn Club in Chicago and they became more widely known
performing at fund-raising concerts for the Cherry Lane Theatre
and at the Woody Guthrie benefits. They first recorded together
in 1959, producing their LP "The Rising of the Moon"
on Pat's Tradition Records. At this time the band began touring
in the United States, especially in Chicago and New York and
became well known for their performances in the Village Vanguard,
the Village Gate and Gerde's Folk City. At a very elegant
uptown club, The Blue Angel, they were spotted for their first
major exposure to a large American audience which came when
they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in 1961 and it
lead to widespread acclaim all over the United States. They
eventually played the Ed Sullivan Show and the Arthur Godfrey
Show numerous times.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem played
all over the world for over eight years and in 1969 they all
went their separate ways and did solo work. In 1975 Tommy
Makem and Liam Clancy did a show together and decided to make
it a duo. Makem & Clancy played together for 13 years
until 1988 when, once again, they went on with solo careers.
The Clancy Brothers have also toured with various members
and recently they've toured with Robbie O'Connell, (Liam's
nephew) and Donal Clancy, Liam's son. Three brothers, Pat,
Tom and Bobby have all passed on, but their families continue
their musical legacy.
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