The Irish Traditional Music Archive is deeply saddened by the death of the iconic uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, one of the most celebrated traditional musicians of all time.

Born into a travelling family in Trim, Co. Meath and raised in Dublin, Paddy was the third generation in his family to take up the uilleann pipes. Taught by his father from the age of 10, he played his first major concert at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, when he was 14. He later played with the rest of his family in a group called The Pavees.

Paddy was a founding member of the legendary group The Bothy Band in 1975, and his virtuosity on the pipes combined with the ferocity of his playing made him a key contributor to the band’s revolutionary sound. Paddy’s contributions to traditional Irish music were honoured in 2002, when he received the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Ceoltóir na Bliana / Musician of the Year award and later in 2011 by the Irish Music Association, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

One of the most popular uilleann pipers of all time, Paddy’s style influenced practitioners all over the world, and his solo and collaborative recordings remain sought after today. He performed for the Irish Traditional Music Archive at the Drawing from the Well concert tribute to his Bothy Band colleague Tommy Peoples in 2023. Leaba i measc na laoch go raibh aige.