Richie PiggottIrish 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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Cry of a People Gone
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. |
Latest NewsRecording of Paddy Cronin, Chicago 1952Paddy Cronin, fiddle player from Re Bui near Gneaveguille Co. Kerry, a student of Padraig O’Keeffe, immigrated to Boston in 1949. He moved on, with his young wife Connie, to Chicago in early 1951 where they spent three years before returning to live in Boston. During his stay in Chicago, Paddy spent many evenings in the company of Jimmy and Eleanor Neary playing at house sessions and in many of the local music venues throughout the city. Jimmy Neary particularly liked the fiddle playing of Paddy and asked him if he would put down on tape a few tunes, which Paddy agreed to. The tunes were recorded in Paddy’s apartment in 1952, and John Neary (nephew of Jimmy) presented me with that reel-to-reel recording not long before he passed away in 2022 at the age of 89. John knew Paddy was my personal favorite of all the Sliabh Luachra musicians and with this gift, he wanted me to preserve and share his music. Paddy’s playing is superb on this recording with tunes rooted to his homeplace and others popularized by Sligo musicians such as Morrison and Coleman. On some of the tracks, the sound of a very young child can occasionally be heard babbling along with the tune, as Paddy & Connie’s first two children were born during their stay in Chicago. I hope this music will add to your enjoyment of the upcoming holiday period with family and friends. My thanks to Nicki McAuliffe, Aidan Connolly and Jackie Small for tune name identification and further comments on the tunes by Jackie. I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all my subscribers, collaborators, donors and friends who have supported me throughout the year. This Archive is certainly not a one-man show, and I can only do this with all your continued help and encouragement.
Happy Holidays and my very best wishes to you all for 2025! Richie Piggott, Chicago |
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