The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalising it in Ireland, contributing to an Irish folk boom with groups like the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.
The Clancy Brothers | |
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The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the 1960s (left-to-right: Tommy Makem, Paddy Clancy, Tom Clancy and Liam Clancy) | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, The Clancy Brothers and Louis Killen, The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell, The Clancy Brothers and Eddie Dillon |
| Origin | County Tipperary, Ireland and County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Traditional Irish, Folk, Celtic |
| Years active | 1956–1998 |
| Labels | Tradition Records, Columbia Records, Audio Fidelity Records, Vanguard Records, Blackbird Records, Shanachie Records, Helvic Records |
| Past members | Liam Clancy (deceased) Paddy Clancy (deceased) Tom Clancy (deceased) Tommy Makem (deceased) Bobby Clancy (deceased) Louis Killen (deceased) Robbie O'Connell Finbarr Clancy Eddie Dillon |
The Clancy Brothers, Paddy Clancy, Tom Clancy, and Liam Clancy, are known best for their work with Tommy Makem, recording almost two dozen albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Makem left in 1969, the first of many changes in the group's membership. The most notable subsequent member to join was the fourth Clancy brother, Bobby. The group continued in various formations until Paddy Clancy's death in 1998.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem significantly influenced the young Bob Dylan and other artists, including Christy Moore and Paul Brady. The group was famous for its often lively arrangements of old Irish ballads, rebel and drinking songs, sea shanties, and other traditional music.