Richie Piggott

Irish Music Historian & Author

For the past twelve years, Richie has been researching and collecting the legacies of traditional musicians of the Irish diaspora in Chicago. He has now written and published a book, entitled Cry of a People Gone, covering Irish musicians in Chicago from 1920-2020.

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Use the search box or click on a button below to begin exploring the archive.

Manuscripts

Recordings

Videos

Storytelling

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Cry of a People Gone

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Piggott augments and extends O'Neill's documentation into the 21st century... an impressive amount of information... a rich, detailed view of the lives of people who came from Ireland and made a life in Chicago...  Piggott's work is sure to become a classic in Irish musical history and preserves the legacy of those who loved, collected and played Irish music.
​– Irish Edition (Nov. 2022)

Latest News - June 2026

Tom Masterson
Hardiman’s Bar, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, 1965

During Tom Masterson’s holiday in Ireland in 1965, he spent some time in Galway and attended a session organized by Sean Reid on his behalf, in Hubert (Hubie) Hardiman’s Bar in Ballinasloe. This wonderful night of music, song and story was recorded by Tom Masterson to share with his fellow musicians back in Chicago and musicians included Aggie Whyte, Tommy Hardiman, Sean Reid, Paddy Fahey, Seamus Ryan, Sonny Murray, John Joe Cullinan, Johnny Hindes, Pat Corbett, Paddy O’Donoghue and Sean McDonagh.

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Richie Piggott
Chicago

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