This one’s personal. Irish music legend Tommy Makem died yesterday of lung cancer here in New Hampshire, his adopted home for decades. He was 74. He, along with the Clancy Brothers, became household names with their Ed Sullivan Show appearances in the early Sixties. He also performed solo, never failing to bring down a house when he sang his powerful and highly-political Four Green Fields.
I knew Tommy from New York, where he had an Irish restaurant and where I was active in the Irish-American community. He was a gracious gentleman in the true, old-fashioned sense of the word. He was a loving family man, a lifelong teetotaler and a humble man who hadn’t forgotten his modest roots. And he was funny as hell; the man could tell a joke with the best.
My deepest sympathies to his family.
RTE, Irish Radio and Television, has more on Makem and here’s a photo tribute to him, with Four Green Fields on the audio track. I don’t know who uploaded this but I will echo the sentiment — Rest in peace, my friend.
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I wanted to let you know that on Saturday, August 11, The 2007 ICONS Festival will host a tribute to world-acclaimed Irish Singer Tommy Makem, who passed away earlier this week. The tribute will take place at 8:00 PM at the Abbey Stage on the festival grounds in Canton, Massachusetts.
Noted Irish musician and recording artist Mick Moloney and Irish Echo columnist Earle Hitchner will host the tribute which will feature performances from Irish singers Niamh Parsons, Jimmy Crowley, Heidi Talbot of the group Cherish the Ladies, and Cathy Jordan of the Sligo-based band Dervish.
If you are interested in attending the ICONS festival and the tribute, please visit our website at http://www.iconsfestival.com.