Great Irish Traditional Musicians
Irish traditional music doesn’t have composers in the way classical music does. There’s no Irish Mozart whose name appears at the top of every score. Instead, the tradition has players — musicians whose individual brilliance, distinctive style, or sheer force of personality shaped how the music sounds today. Some of them are household names. Most are known only to people who love the music. All of them matter.
This guide covers the musicians who defined Irish traditional music, from the early recording pioneers of the 1920s to the contemporary players pushing the tradition forward right now. It’s organised roughly by era, because the story of trad is a story of influence: each generation listens to the last, absorbs what they hear, and makes something new from it.
At Radio Siamsa, we play every musician mentioned here — and hundreds more. Tune in on any given day and you’ll hear Michael Coleman’s 1920s recordings alongside albums released this year, the whole tradition laid out in a single stream.
The Recording Pioneers (1920s–1940s)
The story of modern Irish trad begins, improbably, in New York City. In the 1920s and 30s, Irish emigrant musicians in America began making commercial recordings on 78rpm discs. These recordings crossed the Atlantic and transformed the tradition back home, giving musicians in remote parts of Ireland their first chance to hear virtuoso playing from other regions.
Michael Coleman (1891–1945)
If one musician can be said to have created the modern Irish fiddle tradition, it’s Michael Coleman. A fiddler from Killavil in County Sligo, Coleman emigrated to New York in 1914 and began recording in the 1920s. His playing was a revelation: virtuosic, rhythmically free, richly ornamented, and full of a fluid grace that no one had heard on record before.
Coleman’s 78s were sent home to Ireland by emigrant families and passed from house to house. Musicians who had never left their parish could suddenly hear a Sligo master playing at the peak of his powers. The effect was seismic. Coleman’s style — the flowing bowing, the elaborate rolls and triplets, the sense of melody soaring above the rhythm — became the template for what many people still think of as “Irish fiddle music.” His influence is impossible to overstate.
Start with: The Heather Breeze, Bonnie Kate/Jenny’s Chickens, The Boys of the Lough.
James Morrison (1893–1947)
Morrison was Coleman’s great contemporary — another Sligo fiddler in New York, recording in the same era. Where Coleman was lyrical and flowing, Morrison was precise and driving, with a powerful rhythm and a clarity of tone that made every note ring. Morrison was also a superb organiser who hand-picked his own accompanists rather than accepting the studio pianists who butchered the backing on so many other recordings of the period.
Start with: The Lament for Staker Wallace, Reel Medley.
John McKenna (1880–1947)
McKenna, from Leitrim, was the great flute player of the New York recording era. His playing was robust and rhythmic, with a powerful tone and a directness that contrasted with the more ornamented fiddle styles of Coleman and Morrison. McKenna’s recordings established the flute as a major solo instrument in Irish music and influenced generations of players.
The Collectors and Keepers (1940s–1960s)
By the mid-20th century, Irish traditional music was in decline. Emigration had drained rural communities, and the music was increasingly seen as old-fashioned. But a handful of extraordinary figures worked to preserve and revive the tradition.
Séamus Ennis (1919–1982)
Ennis was a piper, singer, collector and broadcaster of almost superhuman range. Born in Finglas, Dublin, into a musical family, he became one of the finest uilleann pipers of his generation. But his importance goes far beyond playing. In the 1940s and 50s, Ennis worked as a collector for the Irish Folklore Commission and later for the BBC, travelling across Ireland recording musicians, singers and storytellers. He gathered thousands of tunes and songs that might otherwise have been lost.
As a piper, Ennis was matchless — technically brilliant, deeply musical, and capable of performances of extraordinary emotional power. His slow airs are some of the most moving music in the tradition. He was also a natural broadcaster whose radio programmes helped bring trad to a wider Irish audience.
Start with: The Return from Fingal, The Foxchase, any of his slow air recordings.
Willie Clancy (1918–1973)
Clancy, from Miltown Malbay in County Clare, was a piper whose influence is felt every year at the Willie Clancy Summer School, the world’s largest traditional music education event, held in his honour since 1973. Clancy’s piping was earthy, rhythmic and deeply rooted in the Clare tradition. He was also a fine flute and whistle player and a warm, generous personality who embodied the communal spirit of the music.
Pádraig O’Keeffe (1887–1963)
O’Keeffe was the master of the Sliabh Luachra fiddle tradition — the fierce, rhythmic, dance-driven style of the Kerry/Cork borderlands. A schoolteacher by profession, he taught music to generations of local players, including Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford, who would carry the Sliabh Luachra sound to a wider audience. O’Keeffe’s own playing, captured on a handful of recordings, is raw, powerful and utterly compelling.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and Séan Ó Riada
Two forces helped rescue the tradition from obscurity. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCE), founded in 1951, organised competitions, classes and festivals that gave trad a new institutional framework. And Séan Ó Riada (1931–1971), a classically trained composer, formed Ceoltóirí Chualann in 1961 — an ensemble that reimagined how trad could be presented on stage. Ó Riada arranged traditional music for small ensembles with a sophistication nobody had attempted before, and several members of Ceoltóirí Chualann went on to form The Chieftains.
The Revival and the Golden Age (1960s–1980s)
From the 1960s onward, Irish trad experienced a renaissance. New audiences discovered the music, new bands formed, and a generation of extraordinary musicians brought trad to international attention.
Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains
Paddy Moloney (1938–2021) founded The Chieftains in 1962 and led them for nearly sixty years. A virtuoso uilleann piper and tin whistle player, Moloney was also a brilliant arranger and tireless ambassador for Irish music. The Chieftains brought trad to audiences who had never heard it — collaborating with everyone from Van Morrison to the Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti to Ry Cooder. They won six Grammy Awards and were named Ireland’s Musical Ambassadors by the Irish government. Moloney’s genius was in making trad accessible without dumbing it down.
Start with: The Chieftains 4 (1973), Bonaparte’s Retreat (1976), The Long Black Veil (1995).
Planxty
If The Chieftains took trad to the world, Planxty reinvented how it felt at home. Formed in 1972 by Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn, Planxty combined traditional instruments and songs with a contemporary energy that was electrifying. Lunny’s bouzouki playing introduced a new harmonic dimension. O’Flynn’s uilleann piping was sublime. Irvine brought a global folk consciousness. And Moore’s voice and charisma made the whole thing feel urgent and alive.
Planxty’s self-titled debut album (1973) is one of the most influential records in Irish music history. They proved that trad could be young, exciting and relevant — and they inspired everything that came after.
Start with: Planxty (1973), The Well Below the Valley (1973), Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (1974).
The Bothy Band
The Bothy Band existed for only four years (1974–1979) and released just three studio albums, but their influence was immense. The lineup was extraordinary: Matt Molloy on flute, Paddy Glackin (later replaced by Kevin Burke) on fiddle, Dónal Lunny on bouzouki, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on clavinet and vocals, and Micheál Ó Domhnaill on guitar. They played with a ferocious energy and tightness that made trad sound like the most exciting music on earth.
Start with: The Bothy Band (1975), Old Hag You Have Killed Me (1976).
De Dannan
De Dannan, formed in Galway in 1975, were driven by the fiddle pyrotechnics of Frankie Gavin and the distinctive bouzouki playing of Alec Finn. They became known for their dynamic live performances and for launching the careers of singers Dolores Keane, Mary Black and Eleanor Shanley. Gavin’s fiddle playing — fast, technically dazzling, with a jazzy edge — was unlike anything else in trad.
Start with: De Dannan (1975), The Mist Covered Mountain (1980).
Dónal Lunny
Lunny deserves a section of his own. He’s been in Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts and dozens of other projects, and his influence on how Irish traditional music sounds today is arguably greater than any other single person. He introduced the bouzouki to Irish music (or rather, transformed it from a curiosity into a standard instrument). He pioneered new approaches to arrangement and accompaniment. He produced albums for countless other artists. If there’s a thread connecting the modern trad scene, Lunny is it.
The Solo Masters
Alongside the great bands, Irish trad has produced extraordinary solo players whose individual recordings are landmarks of the tradition.
Martin Hayes
The East Clare fiddler whose playing is unlike anything else in trad. Where most session fiddlers play fast and ornamented, Hayes plays slowly, sparsely, with a meditative intensity that strips the music back to its emotional essence. His partnership with the late guitarist Dennis Cahill produced some of the most beautiful recorded Irish music. His ensemble The Gloaming brought trad into dialogue with contemporary classical and jazz music, and his album The Lonesome Touch (1997) is a desert-island record.
Start with: Martin Hayes (1993), The Lonesome Touch (1997), any live recording.
Mary Bergin
Bergin’s 1979 recording Feadóga Stáin revolutionised the tin whistle’s place in the tradition. Before Bergin, the whistle was often seen as a beginner’s instrument. Her playing — dazzlingly fast, intricately ornamented, with a light, floating quality — proved it was capable of artistry at the highest level.
Matt Molloy
Molloy, from Roscommon, is widely regarded as the finest Irish flute player alive. A member of both The Bothy Band and The Chieftains, his playing combines a powerful, breathy tone with astonishing speed and fluidity. He also owns Matt Molloy’s pub in Westport, one of the most famous session pubs in Ireland.
Sharon Shannon
Shannon, from Clare, plays button accordion with a joyful energy that is utterly infectious. Her debut album (1991) became one of the best-selling trad records in Irish history. She’s collaborated with everyone from Bono to Sinead O’Connor, and her willingness to mix trad with reggae, Cajun and other genres has won the music audiences who might never have discovered it otherwise.
Start with: Sharon Shannon (1991), Each Little Thing (1997).
Liam O’Flynn
O’Flynn (1945–2018) was one of the great uilleann pipers of the 20th century. A founding member of Planxty, his piping was technically immaculate and deeply expressive. His solo album The Given Note is one of the finest piping recordings ever made. He later collaborated with Seámus Heaney, performing music alongside the Nobel laureate’s poetry readings — a pairing that captured the deep connections between Irish music and Irish language.
Paddy Keenan
Keenan, from a Traveller family with deep roots in the piping tradition, plays with a raw, uninhibited power that is the antithesis of O’Flynn’s polish. His piping is wild, rhythmically unpredictable and thrilling. A founding member of The Bothy Band’s original lineup before Molloy replaced him, Keenan’s solo work is essential listening for anyone who wants to hear what the pipes can do when the brakes come off.
Noel Hill
Hill is widely considered the greatest concertina player in Irish music. His recordings from the 1980s onward established a new standard for the instrument — technically brilliant, deeply musical, and fiercely loyal to the Clare tradition. His influence on younger concertina players is immense.
The Contemporary Scene
Irish trad is in the healthiest state it’s ever been. More people play the music now than at any time in history, and a generation of young musicians is carrying the tradition forward with skill, imagination and respect.
Lúnasa
Formed in the late 1990s, Lúnasa are an instrumental group whose tight arrangements and virtuosic playing set a new standard for trad ensembles. Their lineup has featured some of the finest musicians of their generation, including flute player Kevin Crawford and fiddler Seán Smyth. They’ve toured in over 30 countries and their albums are a masterclass in how to arrange traditional tunes for a band without losing the essence of the music.
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
Ó Raghallaigh is a fiddler and hardanger d’amore player whose work sits at the boundary between trad and contemporary music. His playing is exploratory, atmospheric and emotionally charged. His collaborations with piper Mick O’Brien and concertina player Cormac Begley have produced some of the most adventurous Irish music of recent years.
John Francis Flynn
Flynn is a Dublin singer and flute player who has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in Irish music. His debut album I Would Not Live Always (2021) won two RTÉ Folk Awards. His singing is raw, powerful and deeply connected to Dublin’s ballad tradition, and he represents a new generation that is as comfortable in a traditional session as on a festival stage.
Cormac Begley
Begley, from West Kerry, plays a family of concertinas ranging from soprano to bass. His solo recordings explore the instrument’s full range in ways nobody has attempted before, and his playing has a physical power and emotional directness that is remarkable.
Other contemporary artists to explore
The Gloaming, Dervish, Altan, Téada, Flook, Kila, Danú, Goitse, Lankum, Ye Vagabonds, Radie Peat, Éadaoin, Alannah Thornburgh, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin.
The Singers
This guide has focused mainly on instrumentalists, because that’s where Radio Siamsa’s archive is deepest. But the vocal tradition is equally important, and a few names deserve mention here.
Joe Heaney (Seosamh Ó hÉanaí, 1919–1984): The greatest sean-nós singer of the 20th century. From Carna in Connemara, Heaney sang with an intensity and ornamentation that could silence a room. His recordings are the touchstone for traditional Irish singing.
Christy Moore: Not a traditional singer in the strict sense, but his interpretations of traditional songs have reached more people than any other Irish performer. A founding member of Planxty and Moving Hearts, Moore’s voice and guitar have been constants in Irish music for over fifty years.
Dolores Keane: From Caherlistrane in County Galway, Keane has one of the most beautiful voices in Irish music. Her interpretations of traditional songs, particularly with De Dannan, set a standard that few have matched.
Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill: A sean-nós singer of exceptional power and subtlety, part of the extraordinary Ní Dhomhnaill musical family.
Iarla Ó Lionáird: A Cúil Aodha singer whose work with the group The Gloaming brought sean-nós singing to new audiences and new contexts.
Read our guide to sean-nós singing.
Why These Musicians Matter
What connects every musician in this guide — from Coleman in 1920s New York to Flynn in 2020s Dublin — is that they’re all part of the same chain. Coleman recorded tunes he learned from players in Sligo who had learned them from the generation before. Martin Hayes learned his style from his father, P.J. Hayes, who had absorbed the East Clare tradition from musicians who were old when he was young. John Francis Flynn sings songs that have been in circulation for two hundred years.
The tradition is a conversation across time, and these musicians are its most eloquent voices. Listening to them isn’t just listening to great music — it’s hearing a living history, a chain of transmission that stretches back centuries and shows no sign of breaking.
Tune into Radio Siamsa and hear them all.
Read our complete guide to Irish traditional music
Explore our guide to Irish traditional music instruments
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the most famous Irish traditional musician?
Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains are probably the most widely known internationally, thanks to their Grammy Awards and global touring. Within the tradition itself, Michael Coleman is arguably the most influential single musician — his 1920s recordings essentially created the modern Irish fiddle style.
Who are the best Irish fiddle players?
The list is long and depends on your taste, but the names that come up most often are Michael Coleman, Martin Hayes, Tommy Peoples, Frankie Gavin, Kevin Burke, Paddy Glackin, Mairead Ní Mhaonaigh, Liz Carroll and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Each has a distinctive style shaped by their regional background and musical personality.
What was Planxty and why do they matter?
Planxty were an Irish folk band formed in 1972 by Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn. They reinvented how Irish traditional music could sound and feel, introducing the bouzouki, new arrangements and a contemporary energy that made trad exciting for a young audience. They are often called the most influential band in the history of Irish traditional music.
Is Irish traditional music still being made today?
Very much so. The contemporary scene is thriving, with artists like John Francis Flynn, Cormac Begley, Lankum, Ye Vagabonds and many others producing innovative new work rooted in the tradition. More people play Irish trad now than at any time in history.
What is the difference between Irish trad and Irish folk music?
The terms overlap, but “trad” typically refers to the instrumental dance music tradition (jigs, reels, hornpipes) and sean-nós singing, while “folk” can include singer-songwriter material, ballads and folk-rock that draws on but isn’t strictly part of the traditional repertoire. Artists like Christy Moore and The Dubliners sit at the intersection of both.
Where can I hear these musicians?
Radio Siamsa plays recordings from every musician mentioned in this guide, 24 hours a day. Our archive spans from Michael Coleman’s 1920s 78rpm recordings to contemporary releases. The app shows the tune title and artist for every track, so when you hear something that catches your ear, you’ll know exactly who’s playing.
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