Tommy Makem

Below is a poem written by Tommy Makem for Tom Rowe's funeral mass.
Recently at the Milwaukee Irish Festival Tom Rowe's son Dave read these words at a tribute to the man who wrote them. Tommy Makem died on August 1st, 2007 leaving a void in the hearts of many.
Tommy you will always be on my mind and forever in my heart.


TOM SONG
(for Tom Rowe)
by Tommy Makem
Feb. 2nd, 2004


Following the rim
Of life's circle, Tom,
We saw your light
Shining bright and crisp
As a frosty moon.


Long before
The sound of your song
Tuned our ears and hearts,
And set our senses spinning
In their own circles,
We saw your body pulse
With the rhythm
Of the earth;
Throb with the power
Of the grey green deeps;
Lift with the spirit
Of the west wind;
And then soar
Like a lark at dawn.


Your song bore us
To other places
And other times,
Buoying the heart,
Balming the soul;
Renewing our hope,
Celebrating our joy.


In a saddened
Tawdry world
We were bettered by your coming,
Blessed by your presence,
Lessened by your going.


We are comforted
In our knowing
That your song
Has no end.
We hear it
In the wind's singing;
In the earth's heartbeat;
In the symphony
Of the wild sea's crash
On the rocky shore;
Its whisper
On silver shingle.


We see you
In the seabirds dance,
Circling and surging
In a brilliant ballet
Of other-worldly grace.
Charon the boatman
Will recognize
Your brightness,
And give you
Pride of place
As you row the Stix
And raise the song
On another voyage.


So, sing sweetly Tom,
Down the fleeting years,
Echo and re-echo
To glad our open
Hearts and ears
Waiting here
On another shore.
Sing sweetly again,
And know that we
Hear and cherish
Your unending song
Circling, circling,
Circling... ....

Ciaran O’Reilly, producing director of
the Irish Repertory Theatre, remembers
clearly the first time he ever saw
Tommy Makem, who died two weeks
ago at his home in Dover, New Hampshire,
at age 74.
“It was when we were still doing our
annual benefits in Broadway theaters
on Monday nights,” he recalls. “He got
out of the cab on 45th Street, with that
huge, long-handled banjo hanging
around his neck, sort of tuning it as he
walked. I said, ‘Welcome, Mr. Makem.’
and he replied, ‘I’m Tommy. Mr,
Makem is my father.’”
Makem’s unselfconscious modesty
seems to have touched everyone with
whom he ever worked or otherwise
came into contact.
“I knew all his music by heart before
I ever met him,” O’Reilly remembers.
“After he did that first benefit, he was
always there for us.”
Charlotte Moore, the Rep’s Artistic
Director, remembers her feelings when
Makem came to do his one-man show,
“Invasions and Legacies” at the theater
on West 22nd Street. The show incorporated
a long epic poem he’d written,
tracing Irish history back to mythological
times.
“He was incredibly proud of his Irish
heritage,” O’Reilly says, “even though
he’d lived in America for more than
fifty years. The poem goes way back to Fir
Bolg times, to Ireland’s most ancient
days.”
The poem remains unpublished, and
Moore believes her copy is the only one
bearing Makem’s hand-written notes.
“He’d hate me for saying this,” she says,
“but there was something about him, a
quality he had, which made him seem
both noble and heroic. When he worked
with us, I followed him around like a dog,
trying to get to know him better. I was his
for life.”
Makem was, of course, best known as
part of the Irish folk group billed as “The
Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem,” in
which he played banjo and tin whistle and
sang with three brothers. Liam, Tom and
Paddy, from the town of Carrick-on-Suir
in County Tipperary.
Born in Keady, County Armagh,
Northern Ireland, on November 4, 1932,
Makem was a “Pioneer,” which meant
that, at the time of his Confirmation, he
had signed a pledge that he would never
touch alcohol. He wore a Pioneer lapel pin
all through his life.
“Being a Pioneer can’t always have been
easy,” O’Reilly says, “not with the
Clancy Brothers around.”
The Clancy Brothers all had dreams of
becoming actors, as did Makem, with
Tom Clancy being the only one who
made much of a mark in the theater or
television.
Meanwhile, music took over their
lives more and more, until, by the late
1950s, they were performing concerts
and recording more or less full time.
The group stayed together until 1969,
the year in which Makem. Left, under
amicable terms, to embark on a solo
career. In l975, Makem united with
Liam, the youngest Clancy, to form a
duo that endured until l988.
Makem’s wife, the former Mary
Shanahan, died in 2001. The Makems
had a daughter, Catherine Makem-
Boucher and three sons, Conor and
Shane, of Dover, and Rory, of Amesbury,
Massachustts. The Makem boys
are all performers, and sometimes
appear together as a group. The eldest
Makem son, Conor, who often worked
with his father, announced the death,
which he told the press was due to
“complications of lung cancer.”
The singer knew for some time that he
was ill, and made no particular secret
of it.
“He faced it bravely,” Ciaran O’Reilly
remembers, “and he tried a few
forms of alternative medicine, but
mainly, he tried to conquer the diseased
through sheer willpower.”
At Irish Repertory galas, musical legend Makem was just ‘Tommy’
Tommy Makem was a regular performer at the Irish Rep’s gala benefits.

Tommy Makem

August 15-21, 2007 / Page 14
EchoOpinion
I was in Boston in late July, and of
course any excursion to that city requires a
personal inspection of the Irish bar-music
scene. I can’t say I carried out this assignment
with the enthusiasm of former years
(age, kids, aversion to headaches - you
know the drill), but I certainly observed
enough to go home happy. Well, happy
and nostalgic. On the trip home — via the
T, you’ll be happy to know - I found
myself thinking about my favorite such
place in New York, and how much I
missed it. And I tried to remember how
long it has been since Tommy Makem’s
Irish Pavillion closed its doors.
The next morning, I read in the Boston
Globe - on Page 1 - that Tommy was dead.
Many of you have your own memories
of Tommy, and most of you no doubt have
read the recollections of others who knew
him in last week’s issue of this newspaper.
You know by now that Tommy Makem
and the Clancy Brothers revolutionized
the Irish and Irish-American music scene;
that they had dreams of being actors long
before they sang together; and that their
influence over Irish and Irish-American
culture continues to be profound, even
with three of the four gone.
My own memories are of Tommy during
his solo years, after he and Liam Clancy
broke up their act in 1988. I came late to the
Makem and Clancys show - late by about,
oh, two decades. While I had heard of
them while growing up in the 1960s, I can’t
say I actually heard them, and even if I did,
I’m not sure they would have made much
of an impression. The 1960s, as we now
know, were not exactly a heyday for Irish
America. Interest in Irish culture, especially
among the young, assimilated Irish-
Americans of the suburbs, was probably at
its lowest level ever. It was a time when
Daniel Patrick Moynihan noted, in
“Beyond the Melting Pot,” that Irish-
American organizations seemed like relics
of another era.
So there were no Clancy Brothers and
Tommy Makem LPs in my collection. It
wasn’t until the 1980s, after their reunion
in Carnegie Hall, that I actually listened to
them.
It was, of course, a revelation. A little
late, I admit, but a revelation all the same.
These men were not simply singers, not
simply musicians - they were storytellers,
and they were telling stories about love
and war and debauchery and drinking
and politics and even gluttony. In other
words, they were telling stories I could
relate to.
At around the same time, in the mid-
1980s, I discovered Tommy’s place on East
57th and Lexington Avenue. I had just
moved to Manhattan from the wilds of
Staten Island, a journey not dissimilar to
the one that brought Tommy and the Clancys
from Ireland to the Ed Sullivan show.
Tommy Makem’s Irish Pavilion immediately
became a home away from home,
and when I got a job within walking distance
of the Pavilion (a coincidence,
believe it or not), it sometimes felt like
home itself.
Tommy played there about once a
month, and while I saw him at festivals
and in other venues during the late 80’s
and into the 1990s, I decided there was no
better place to see him than on East 57th
Street. The small stage and intimate setting
seemed to bring out the details of the
songs and stories that I missed in larger
concerts. And, of course, there was nothing
quite like seeing and hearing him sing
“Four Green Fields” when you were seated
15 feet away.
When, in the late 1980s, I wished to
reacquaint myself with a young lady I had
met a few years earlier but was far too
awkward to actually ask out, I brought her
to Tommy Makem’s. When we became
engaged about a year later, I brought her
back, introduced her to Tommy during a
break in his show, and he led off the next
segment with a song for her, “Eileen
Aroon.” Unaccompanied, his great baritone
sang words I wished I could have
said at that moment, on that occasion:
Who in the song so sweet,
Eileen aroon!
Who in the dance so sweet,
Eileen aroon!
Dear were her charms to me,
Dearer her laughter free,
Dearest her constancy,
Eileen aroon!
I had never heard him sing that lovely
song on stage, and I’ve never forgotten
the generosity and humanity of that gesture.
We became fixtures at Tommy’s annual
Christmas shows, which ran long into
the night and which left you believing
that hope and charity and good will just
might have a shot after all. My kids made
it to Tommy’s place before it closed, but
they never saw the Christmas show. Their
loss, and mine.
I’m in no position to pass judgment on
Tommy’s place in American music,
although it has to be high. I’m not qualified
to tell you what made his music so
important. I don’t know much about
what innovations he and the Clancys
brought to folk music in general and Irish
music in particular.
But I do know, based on a few wonderful
conversations with Tommy, that he was a
generous and noble soul, a great storyteller,
a wonderful host and an ambassador
of good will.
I also suspect he’d be embarrassed by
all the attention his death has received.
But that was part of his charm, too.
I had just moved to Manhattan from the wilds of Staten Island, a
journey not dissimilar to the one that brought Tommy and the
Clancys from Ireland to the Ed Sullivan show. Tommy Makem’s Irish
Pavilion immediately became a home away from home and when I got
a job within walking distance of the Pavilion (a coincidence, believe it
or not), it sometimes felt like home itself.
EchoPerspectives

Tommy Makem, "Bard of Armagh," Dies at Age 74

photo: Rhonda M
THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Tommy Makem, "Bard of Armagh," Dies at Age 74

By Earle Hitchner

letters@irishecho.com

[Published on August 8, 2007, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright (c) Irish Echo 2007. All rights reserved.]

Singer, songwriter, storyteller, banjo, whistle, piccolo, guitar, and bodhran player, actor, author, publican, and tireless champion of Ireland's culture and history, Tommy Makem, the 74-year-old "Bard of Armagh," lost his 16-month battle with lung cancer on Aug. 1 in Dover, N.H. He resided there for much of his life since immigrating from his hometown of Keady in South Armagh to the United States in Dec. 1955.
In America, Tommy Makem earned the additional moniker "Godfather of Irish Music" in recognition of his extraordinary and enduring impact that began in an epic musical partnership with three singing brothers from Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary: Paddy, Tom, and Liam Clancy. Through their best-selling recordings, sold-out concerts, and popular TV and radio appearances, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem would help to transform both the performance and the perception of Irish music, and in the process become a household name first in America, then in Ireland, and subsequently across the globe.

Early Years in Ireland
The younger son of Peter and Sarah (nee Boyle) Makem, Tommy Makem was born on Nov. 4, 1932, in the market and mill town of Keady, where he grew up in a house filled with music. For a time his father was a scutcher, or flax beater, but music was Peter Makem's passion, playing fiddle, bagpipes, tin whistle, and drums. His wife Sarah possessed an astonishing repertoire of more than 500 songs, many of which Tommy learned directly from her.
He also learned a number of songs from Mary Toner, who lived across the street from Mone's Bar, where Tommy worked after leaving a job as garage clerk. One of the songs Toner taught him was "The Cobbler," later a performance staple of his, complete with aping the actions of repairing a shoe. While holding down day jobs, Tommy pursued acting and music, including a stint with a showband called the Clippertones.
When American song collector Diane Hamilton and 19-year-old Liam Clancy visited Sarah Makem in 1955 to record her at home in Keady, he and Sarah's 22-year-old son, Tommy, struck up an immediate friendship. Those two left Ireland for America within a month of each other: Liam heading for New York, Tommy for New Hampshire, where many family members had previously gone to work in its mills and factories.

A Career-Changing Accident
In Dover, a heavy piece of printing press machinery smashed Tommy Makem's left hand. Impaired and unemployed for a time, he visited New York City, where he met Paddy and Tom Clancy and afterward reconnected with Liam Clancy. All four became absorbed in acting.
"Tommy and I were once cast in the unlikely roles of two priests in 'Shadow and Substance,' a play by Paul Vincent Carroll," Liam Clancy recalled with a laugh from his home in Ring, County Waterford. "We got forty bucks a week."
But beginning in 1956, music became ascendant when the Clancys and Makem recorded "The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion" for Tradition Records, a cottage label managed by Paddy Clancy. The cover of that album and their next one in 1959, "Come Fill Your Glass With Us: Irish Songs of Drinking and Blackguarding," listed the performers individually.
The name of "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem" was not chosen by them but for them. Impatient with their dithering over what to be called (at one point "the Chieftains" was considered), the owner of Chicago's Gate of Horn nightclub put those blunt six words on the marquee at the onset of the quartet's six-week engagement. The name stuck.
As their fame grew, so did their gigs, and talent scouts for "The Ed Sullivan Show" caught the quartet in concert at Manhattan's trendy Blue Angel club. In January 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, originally slated for four minutes, performed for about 16 minutes on TV's most popular variety show after a headlining act called in sick.
Before millions of TV viewers, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were a sensation, singing "Brennan on the Moor" and other Irish songs with a boldness, gusto, and pride not previously witnessed by the wider American public. The cream-colored, cable-knit Aran sweaters they wore projected their native identity as Irishmen and professional identity as an Irish singing group. Their genuineness was unmistakable and unavoidable, with no hint of a shamrocks-and-shillelaghs performance style ingrained in many non-Irish audiences' minds. It was a heady, head-raising period in Irish America: JFK in the White House, the Clancys and Makem on "Ed Sullivan."
Signed shortly thereafter to a Columbia Records contract providing a princely advance of $100,000, the quartet now officially called the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem made their initial Columbia album in 1961, "A Spontaneous Performance Recording," which received a Grammy nomination. Several more highly successful Columbia recordings followed, including "Home Boys Home," a 1968 LP that featured for the first time Makem's own stirring song "Four Green Fields." In its lyrics, "the fine old woman" represented Ireland, and her "four green fields" represented the four provinces of Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster, the last "in bondage in strangers' hands" that "will bloom once again."

Going Solo
Toward the end of the 1960s, Tommy Makem wanted to embark on a solo career, and after giving a year's notice, he amicably departed the quartet in 1969. His success continued as a soloist until he encountered Liam Clancy at a 1975 Cleveland festival, where the two did a set together. That sparked another run of success.
"Tommy and I really got our creative juices going again, and we went into a studio in Calgary to record our first album as a duo," Liam Clancy remembered. "We did Eric Bogle's 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda,' and it went straight to the top of the charts in Ireland. We began a new career together that lasted 13 years."
The duo of Makem and Clancy flourished until 1988 when each returned to a solo career.
"In many ways Tommy and I were closer than my brothers and I," Liam Clancy said. "Basically Tommy and I spent 50 years together. There was never a harsh word between us, never a fight. Our paths diverged more by happenstance. I'd get interested in something, and he'd get interested in something else."
Fifteen years after the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem separated, the original quartet got together in 1984 for a documentary on them that would culminate in a highly anticipated, sold-out reunion concert in Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall on May 20.
"We always had this incredible vibe of good will from audiences toward us," Liam Clancy noted.
The triumph of that night led to more reunion concerts that year and next before the history-making quartet of Paddy, Tom, and Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem disbanded for a last time.
Resuming his solo career in 1988, Tommy Makem never slowed down. For 16 years before it closed on June 30, 1998, he owned Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion, a restaurant-pub on Manhattan's East 57th Street. He also released many more solo albums, wrote and performed a one-man theatrical show called "Invasions and Legacies" in 1999, hosted several public television specials for WMHT in Schenectady, N.Y., as well as Irish travel videos for PBS, and toured extensively right until lung cancer in its final stage made him too frail to perform after May of this year.

Honors and Tributes
A true man of letters, he wrote "Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland" in 1997 for St. Martin's Press and received three honorary doctorates between 1998 and 2007. Two years ago, he was honored in Ireland with an official postage stamp of himself with the Clancy Brothers.
A key part of what made Tommy Makem so inspiring as an artist was his unabashed love of the best in Irish culture. In his distinctive baritone, he sang Irish songs that mattered to him, and his admiration for Irish poetry poured forth in his stirring recitation of Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies" that often preceded his singing of "Four Green Fields." Other songs he composed, such as "Rambles of Spring," "The Winds Are Singing Freedom," and "Farewell to Carlingford," will no doubt retain their appeal as well.
Tommy Makem's music, wit, storytelling, conviction, theater-bred actions, and bardic enthusiasm for verse turned his concerts into events and him not just into a star but a friend embraced by audiences everywhere.
"Nobody can duplicate the kind of first-time freshness and excitement that Tommy brought to Irish music," Liam Clancy said. "His enthusiasm and zeal were admirable. He was an entertainer in the best sense of the term."
Limerick-born musician and scholar Mick Moloney echoed that sentiment: "Were it not for him [Tommy] and the Clancy Brothers, many of us Irish musicians and singers might never have been able to make a living doing what we love best. Tommy's talent, exuberance, and bigheartedness helped pave the way for all of us, and we will forever be in his debt."
In her own tribute, Irish President Mary McAleese said, "In life, Tommy brought happiness and joy to hundreds of thousands of fans the world over. Always the consummate musician, he was also a superb ambassador for the country, and one of whom we will always be proud."
Pride, rooted in love of country rather than self-love, is part of the enduring legacy of Tommy Makem. His mark on Irish music is inextinguishable.

In Sympathy
Predeceased in 2001 by his wife Mary (nee Shanahan), Tommy Makem is survived by sons Shane, Rory, and Conor, daughter Katie, grandchildren Molly and Robert, and several cousins. A funeral Mass for Tommy Makem will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 9 in St. Mary Church, 25 Third St., Dover, N.H., with burial to follow in St. Mary New Cemetery.
Condolences can be sent to P.O. Box 336, Dover, NH 03821, and expressions of sympathy and remembrance can also be posted on the message board at www.makem.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Tommy and Mary Makem Fund, c/o Attorney William H. Shaheen, P.O. Box 977, Dover, NH 03821.



[first sidebar]

Makem Magic Preserved
From the huge canon left by Tommy Makem, it's almost impossible to offer recommendations. But these six are a worthy start or fond reminder:
"The Story of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem" (Shanachie 201) is a video documentary, copyrighted in 1984 and directed by Derek Bailey, that features segments from the May 20, 1984, reunion concert at Lincoln Center as well as footage of Tommy Makem revisiting Keady and the three Clancy brothers revisiting Carrick-on-Suir, their former haunts in Greenwich Village, and interview clips of praise from Bob Dylan, Mary Travers, and Tom Paxton. Several screen images here are priceless.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's "In Person at Carnegie Hall" (Columbia, 1963; later reissued as 11-track CD) begins with "Johnson's Motor Car" and finishes with "The Parting Glass." It confirmed the new status of the quartet: if you can make it at Carnegie Hall, you can make it anywhere, and they did.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's "Home Boys Home" (Columbia, 1968), which marked the recording debut of Tommy Makem's "Four Green Fields," also featured "The Bard of Armagh."
"The Makem & Clancy Concert" (Shanachie, 1977), recorded at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, was a double-LP set that includes Tommy's "Rambles of Spring" and Liam's renditions of "The Dutchman" and "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda."
Tommy Makem's "Live at the Irish Pavilion" (Shanachie, 1993) is a solo recording that proves once more how charismatic and compelling he was as a performer.
"The Best of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem" (Sony Legacy, 2002) is a compilation CD for which I wrote the liner notes, but here I'm touting its 16 songs.
As a bonus treat, don't forget the segment featuring Tommy Makem, Paddy, Liam, and Bobby Clancy, and their nephew Robbie O'Connell during "Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration" (Sony CD and video, 1993) that took place in New York's Madison Square Garden on Oct. 16, 1992.



[second sidebar]

Tommy Makem at Celtic Colours
In October 2004, I attended the eighth annual Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, where I saw Tommy Makem perform with Halifax duo Kevin Evans and Brian Doherty inside Holy Redeemer Church in Whitney Pier.
The setting didn't inhibit Tommy in the slightest. He elicited a loud, positive cheer from the audience when he said, "I'd like to dedicate this song to Dick Cheney," and then launched into a song he wrote, "The Liar." He wedded Gordon Bok's "Sabin the Wood Fitter" with "Fiddler's Green," sang "The Moonshiner" and "Lord of the Dance," beginning and ending the latter with a passage from "Carolan's Concerto" on tin whistle, and encored with his signature "Four Green Fields."
Backstage afterward, Tommy told me that he had last performed at Celtic Colours four years earlier. "It's grown tremendously since then," he said. "Cape Breton has been a favorite of mine for many years. The Clancy Brothers and I often performed in Sydney. I think Ireland could learn a thing or two from Cape Breton about supporting culture."
His dedication to preserving and promoting Ireland's rich musical heritage never wavered.




[Brief text below appeared on the front cover of the August 8, 2007, IRISH ECHO newspaper. The separate, full-length article above appeared inside on centerspread pages 24-25.]


Musical Legend Tommy Makem Succumbs to Cancer

By Earle Hitchner

letters@irishecho.com

[Published on August 8, 2007, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright (c) Irish Echo 2007. All rights reserved.]

One of Ireland's most beloved singers and songwriters, whose "Four Green Fields" is so well known that it's often mistaken for a traditional ballad, Tommy Makem, 74, passed away on Aug. 1 in Dover, N.H., after waging more than a yearlong battle with lung cancer.
Sometimes called the "Bard of Armagh" and the "Godfather of Irish Music," Makem from Keady, Armagh, linked up with Paddy, Tom, and Liam Clancy from Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary, to form a vocal quartet in the mid-1950s who would eventually spark a global resurgence of interest in Irish folk music. What made that accomplishment by the quartet so remarkable is that they started out together right here in New York City, not in Ireland.
In a subsequent duo with Liam Clancy and finally as a solo performer, Tommy Makem continued to make memorable music in a career that will move audiences and influence other artists long after his death.
FOR A FULL ARTICLE ABOUT THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF THE LATE TOMMY MAKEM, TURN TO PAGES 24-25.


Printed text and photos together (front cover and pages 15 and 24-25) can also be seen in the online digital edition of the IRISH ECHO at

http://editions.pagesuite.co.uk//Openpagesuite.aspx?pubid=1486&pubname=Demo

DOVER — As news of iconic Irish folk musician Tommy Makem's death spread throughout the world Thursday, tributes, messages of condolences, and fond remembrances poured out.

During more than 50 years of music-making, Makem, who lived in Dover for most of those years, built up a fan base of millions and touched the hearts of just about anyone who saw him perform or had the privilege of meeting the man they called the "Godfather" of Irish Music and the "Bard of Armagh".

Though his spirit lives on everywhere, in Dover there are plans to keep Makem's memory alive in a tangible way.

Even before Makem's death, a small group had begun meeting to discuss the possibility of placing a memorial to him within the city. Former Mayors Wil Boc and Jack Buckley, musician and friend of Makem's Eugene Byrne, Makem's son Shane, and Tommy Hardiman had hoped to get the statue up before Makem's passing.

Makem died Wednesday night following a yearlong struggle with lung cancer.

"His impact on Dover has been monumental," said Boc Thursday. "He is an international star and a local here. I think Tommy was able to do both things. He was able to play on the international stage but he was a hometown Dover boy at heart who gave his heart and soul to the community."

Before spending the later parts of his life as a successful solo artist, Makem, a banjo player and baritone vocalist, played with the traditional Irish folk group The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Many credit the group with popularizing Irish much in the United States, and they gained worldwide acclaim, largely during the 1960s folk revival.

Though he was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2006, Makem continued to play shows and on July 4 received an honorary doctoral degree — his third — from the University of Ulster. His last performance took place in May of this year in Chicago.

Boc and cohorts plan to incorporate as a nonprofit called "The Bard Foundation" and expand their scope to include raising money for a memorial scholarship fund. So far they are not taking any donations for the statue project, but estimate the cost will be between $60,000 and $70,000. Locations are still being staked out, but some potential spots include Immigrants Park on Main Street, Henry Law Park, or somewhere along the waterfront.

There are also plans to erect a similar statue in Makem's hometown of Keady, located in the County Armagh, in Ireland. Makem emigrated to the United States in 1955.

"It would be a memorial to Tommy, one of our first citizens here in Dover, but it would also commemorate the rest of the immigrants that came to this country," said Byrne, a fellow Irishman.

Right now, supporters may make a donation in lieu of flowers to the recently established Tommy and Mary Makem Fund, c/o Shaheen and Gordon Law Firm, 140 Washington St., Dover, N.H. 03820, or to the charity of one's choice. Makem's wife, Mary, who was a community fixture for many years, died in 2001.

Despite Makem's worldwide acclaim, many in Dover and surrounding communities were unaware that such an esteemed figure was one of the Garrison City's own. Makem's humility and distaste for celebrity may have contributed to that, some say.

But his importance in musical history is undeniable.

"It's like people who live at the foot of Mount Washington, you take it for granted after awhile," Boc said. "As far as Irish music goes, he's the Mount Washington."

Makem's funeral mass is planned for 11 a.m. next Thursday at St. Mary Church, where he was a communicant. A three-day wake will be held at the Tasker Funeral Home, 621 Central Ave., during the following times: Monday, Aug. 6 from 7-9 p.m.; Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.; and Wednesday, Aug. 8 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

Because parking is limited, those from out of town who are planning to attend the funeral are being asked to park at Dover Middle School, 16 Daley Drive. Buses, donated by C&J Trailways, will take those people to the church, the grave site and back to the school.

Tommy remembered continued

What are your remembrances of Tommy Makem?



A special visit to Dover
Since first hearing him in 1984, I've listened to Tommy nearly every day. I went to every concert within a four-hour radius of my home in Illinois, and always went back to say hello. He was unfailing kind and gracious--the loveliest man I've ever known.

In 1990 on a family vacation, by sheer good luck, we were staying at a B & B in Dover the same night that Tommy was opening the Cocheco Arts Festival for the summer.

It had rained that afternoon, so the concert was moved to the high school. I will never forget my delight when Tommy, after the first song, looked down into the audience, and looking straight at me said, "We have people here from all over ...Illinois!... Somersworth..."

After the concert I stopped backstage for a couple of pictures and a chat. On my way out I admired Molly (about a month old?) in her mother's arms. Tommy had that special touch that made you feel you were the most important person there. He will always have a very special place in my heart.


Will Miss His Concerts
We used to go to all of his concerts for the Firemen at Dover High School and every year we added more to our group, who became great followers of Tommy. Schooner Fare, Eugene, Shaw Brothers, along with Tommy, gave such a great concert, always to a sell out crowd, and Mary Maken was such a great hostess that we all were so sad when they stopped the concerts there. Then we hoped when the Elks started their Irish Festival it would continue. We all tried to see Tommy at the Opera House and anywhere else that we could. OH, HOW HE WILL BE MISSED!!! He does have four great children that can continue his legend, BLESS YOU ALL.


TOMMY MAKEM'S IRISH PAVILION - THANK YOU TOMMY
Dear Tommy,

Thank you, for Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion.
Thank you, for some of the best years of our lives.

We, "The Makem Crew" as we are proud to call ourselves, have been privileged to work for, and learn from, such a great human being.

Makem's was our home away from home for fourteen years, and a better home had no man.

You touched our lives and for that we are most grateful. You were the gentlest most unassuming person I have ever met.

I see you, sitting drining a cup of afternoon tea and having the chat. That same evening, I see you commanding a room ful of adoring fans.

Now you're leading God's Heavenly Choir
You singing low and the rest singing higher
I hope you find that telephone wire.....

Always the warrior to the end, you never once gave up the fight. "I've just turned a corner" you said, when last we spoke.

Till we meet again!

You're just around that corner
One day we will catch up
Then we'll laugh and sing together
And have "a little cup"

Annmarie and The Makem Crew


He saved my life
I was very depressed and drinking a lot in the mid 70's and I was just wishing to die ...I had bought an old Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem "record" 33&1/3 rpm I put on my Koss head sets and started to listen...now I had heard this Irish folk and Celtic stuff before and liked it an off shoot from the old folk singing days of the 60's.... but that day Tommy's voice came through and touched my soul I felt good for the first time in awhile.it was still several years before I found AA and sobriety.... but something in the sound of Irish music as sung by Tommy reached in and was able to tell me that you can feel good about something again.....I just feel awful about his death he was a dear friend that died.... a dear friend that will be missed..... I saw him in concert about 10 times over the next 35 years or so and talked to him on only two occasions ...but I was able to tell him last summer at the Cleveland Irish Music Festival how I felt and what he meant to me.....I believe he could be a saint he was for sure a real messenger for God in my life....... God truly used his voice,and his writing.....I have other musings about how his music effected other significant people in my life....PS most of us are Jewish by the way....




The Godfather of Irish Music
I have always enjoyed Tommy Makem's singing. I tried to make most of his concerts at the Rochester Opera House and when he played at Henry Law Park. I can remember him when I was a young child in Lynn, Mass. My father was a fireman and would always get the detail at City Hall so he could see Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy. My mom was a big fan of his also. She passed away 2 1/2 years ago and I know she and my dad will be happy to see the best Irish Legend ever walk through the doors of heaven! May God bless his family through this very difficult time. Just remember all the memories that can never die! That helps get through the sadness that comes with losing a loved one. Someday we will be reunited with those loved ones who have gone before us. My sympathy and prayers are with you.


The Bard of Armagh Has Simply Changed His Venue
I had the great honor of shaking Tommy Makem's hand on only 3 brief occasions over 40 years - at Carnegie Hall, in a private hame in Binghamton, NY, and, lastly, at the State Fairgrounds in Syracue, NY - but he has filled untold thousands of blissful listening hours for me through his concerts and recordings.

For the gift he was to our world I will always be grateful, and I have no doubt that an honored place has been set aside for him in the Heavenly Choir.


My Heritage Remembered
When I was a young lady many, many years ago, my Dad made it clear that I was third generation Irish and should be proud of it. I was and still am, which is where Mr. Makem comes in.

At about this time, I began looking into what made someone Irish, and music was such a large part of that composition. Then I heard the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem and I understood what it was to be Irish.

His clear tones, and lovely music will always be a part of who I am and for that I can only offer the simple words, Thank you.


Tommy Makem
I have been a fan of Tommy Makem's music for many years and the past two years have had the pleasure of being on the Irish Festival Cruise where he was a star performer. He brought a smile to every face and a few tears to our eyes. We will miss you Tommy and thank you for the music and the craic.


The Bard of Armagh, the world has lost a wonderful man.
I met Tommy Makem at The Irish 2000 Festival in Altamont,N.Y.,a kinder and gentle person you would be hard pressed to find.A man at the forefront of Irish Music here and around the world,a great family man and ambassador of Ireland.He was a Celebrity who would always have time for a chat or short story and would probably cringe at being called Celebrity.His presence,talent,and love of life will truly be missed.God Bless All.


Tommy Makem
I am honored to have had the pleasure of caring for Mr. Makem in our facility during his final days. Aside from being overwhelmingly talented, Mr. Makem was a very sweet and very stoic man whom many of us fell in love with immediately. The love and support his three sons and daughter gave him until the end was amazing. What a beautiful family he has left behind to carry on his legacy. Rest well, my sweet angel. Maureen


Knew Tommy over 30 years ago
I first met Tommy way, way back when I was Cubmaster for St. Joseph's Cub Scout Pack in Dover and he would bring his kids to the meetings. He was a friendly, down-to-earth guy at that time and remained the same despite the popularity and fame that followed. He will be sorely missed by many.


Tommy Will Be Greatly Missed.
I work at the Dover Post Office and as a Past
Window Clerk remember him coming in all the time with great jokes and such humor. My prayers are with his family and friends at this time as he will be greatly missed. God Bless.


Braveheart that was Tommy Makem
It was our great plivilage to have known Tommy and Mary and family for over 30 years.He and the Clancys made us proud of our heritage and shared the best of our Irishness with countries all over the world.He was a witty charming erudite man and faced his illness bravely and is not alone ahuge loss to his family but to all his fans and those lucky enough to have known him. "Ni beit a leithead ann aris" WE (will not see his likes again)


A true gentle man.
I first met Tommy when I was 8 years old and my Grandmother wanted me to meet someone who was from her Mother's area Keady, Armagh, Ireland.
Tommy and the Clancy Brothers performed at the City Hall on St. Patrick's Day.
I have met him in line while waiting to renew our registration and for someone who didn't know who I was, I felt as though I had personally known him for my entire life. He will be truly missed.


Tommy's Great Landing
I was 3 years old, when my mother put Tommy's records on the HiFi so I could take my nap in the afternoon. His melodies stayed with me throughout my life and inspired me to become a folk singer when I was 40!

Here is our Irish Band's Tribute to Tommy:

Tommy’s Great Landing

A plucking and frolicking brogue-bended rover
Came docking in Logan, and boiled the land over.
And brought me the dozens of Irish Great cousins
Who before his great landing were strangers to me.

He charmed up a band of sweet knights from the Suir
And began - like the lot of us - freckled and poor
And they brought me the stories of starving and glories
That before his great landing were strangers to me.

With a smile for the salt, but a sad poet’s bounty,
He greened my soul gentle, but screamed for the county
And sang me the wonders of green-Ulster thunder
That before his great landing were strangers to me.

In the decades America sputtered and worried
He woke up the humor and Irish we’d buried
And urged us refasten our ancestor passion
That before his great landing were strangers to me.

With a toe in Armaugh and a pillow in Dover,
He coughed and he toppled and sank in the clover,
He left me the visions and minstrel decisions
That before his great landing were strangers to me.

John J Cronin
"Trinity" 8/2/2007


Man of the World
Tommy Makem was truly a "Man of the World". Revered, respected, and admired by the high and the low of humanity. Quick with wit and song that would lift you up in spirit and endeavor. Ever ready to open his heart and home (along with wife Mary) whenever asked. He spread Celtic spirit,grace and harmony for the good of all. His good will continue to grow to the benefit of all. We will miss his physical presence while enjoying his having passed by.


Carnegie Hall and Molly's First Holy Communion
My friends and I from New York first saw Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers at Carnegie Hall I believe it was 1962. There were about twenty four of us and it was our first time at Carnegie Hall!

Tommy was just incredible with his wonderful ability to tell old Irish Tales,sing like no other and play his pipe it was a night we recall quite often when we reminisce those special times in our lives.

I saw Tommy sing and play many times in New Hampshire to sold out audiences. You walked away smiling and humming a little tune he had sung.

When Tommy's Grand-daughter Molly received her first Communion at St. Mary's was another time I saw him as a loving Grand-father so very proud of his daughter Katie, for so many, many accomplishments but most importantly her gift of his precious Molly.

Many times I was priviledged to hear him sing with his three sons,Conor,Shane and Rory.

I felt him radiate his pride in the ability of his sons to follow in his footsteps and keep singing Irish songs and telling folk tales.

I hope they keep his tradition going for years to come.

Katie too shone in her own way acting and singing as well. Katie has a magnificient voice that I hope she continues to share with everyone as well.

You are home now Tommy with Mary and all your folks. You will be missed but your spirit,songs and gentle way will live on forever.
God bless,




May the road rise up to meet you.........
I grew up in a large Irish community and family in Boston. Tommy Makem and the Clancy brothers were a staple for Irish music in any house I knew. I had the opportunity to see them in concert at Symphony Hall in Boston.There were people dancing in the aisles with members of the group joining in. It was a wonderful experience. Their songs have been passed on to my children. My sons favorite is Johnson's Motor Car. He is 10. We have been lucky to have been exposed to music of my Family's heritage. Tommy's music will be forever with us until we meet again. God Bless to his family.


A Gentleman and a Scholar
A true gentleman and a scholar. I had the ultimate pleasure to travel with Tommy as his guitarist during part of the last 12 years. The opportunity to work with Tommy was an extreme honor and wonderful learning experience. The world is a better place to have had him for so many years and we will all miss him. Rest in peace, Tommy.




He was the greatest singer & human being I ever met
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE CLANCY'S & TOMMY MAKEM WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN MASSACHUSETTS.I WENT TO THEIR CONCERTS TWICE A YEAR IN BOSTON ,UNTIL I LEFT MASS. IN 1968.I HAVE ALL THEIR ALBUMS(ONE EVEN AUTOGRAPHED BY ALL FOUR)I AM OF IRISH DESENT& THEY JUST MADE ME MORE AWARE & PROUD!!TOMMY HAD THE BEST VOICE OF THEM ALL.YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP WHEN HE STARTED ON HIS SHOE AS PART OF "THE COBBLER".

I'M SURE I DROVE MY PARENTS NUTS WITH THEIR MUSIC,I PLAYED IT DAY & NIGHT!!TOMMY WILL BE SORELY MISSED BY ALL.THE WORLD IS A BIT DARKER WITHOUT HIM IN IT.BUT I HAVE SO MANY FOND MEMORIES OF HIM & THE CLANCY'S.HE ,TOM & PADDY WILL NO DOUBT PUT ON ONE HECK OF A SHOW FOR HEAVEN!!!GOD SPEED ,DEAR TOMMY!! I WILL MISS YOU!


World famous, but always humble
I went to Tommy Makem's Pavillion on West 57th Street to hear him many times. There was not a hint of celebrity about him. He spoke to anybody and everybody and not as if he was a star. He walked humbly with his Lord. He lifted the spirits of millions and was loved by all. May the angels lead him unto paradise......


Hail and Farewell from Seattle WA
Greetings and deep condolences to the family and friends of Tommy Makem from his fans and friends here in the Pacific Northwest! I hadn't seen Tommy since September 1989; but I had the good fortune to see almost all of his and Liam Clancy's duo performances in the Washington DC area (when I was growing up in Maryland); and was especially privileged to see him with the Clancy Brothers during their Reunion tour in Ireland, when I was studying in Dublin in the fall of 1984. Performers of Tommy's caliber come along in centuries; they don't just come out of the woodwork every day.

I continue to be amazed at my good fortune to have met him and Liam on several occasions after shows in DC and elsewhere. In particular, after one show at the Ireland's Four Provinces pub outside of DC in 1986, I discovered that Tommy also had an interest in Irish/Celtic archaeology and mythology. I was working and doing graduate study in archaeology at the time; and I found out that we both had visited some of the same prehistoric sites in Ireland, including Navan Fort and the Newgrange passage tomb in the Boyne Valley. On that, and several subsequent occasions, he talked with me at great length about Celtic archaeology and mythology, as well as music and songwriting; and I remember him saying something to the effect that he'd like to participate in an archaeological dig one day when he had the time. I had always been awed by his quality of performance and musicianship; now I was taken quite by surprise by what a regular, down-to-earth type he was in person.

I love and miss Tommy very deeply, and wish I had gotten to know him better than I did. His career may have spanned half a century; but it still seems to soon for him to depart. Slan go foill, a chara...


He played at our college
I'll never forget seeing Makem & Clancy at my small college in Millersville, Pa in 1977. They didn't play on a large stage or in the gymnasium, but in a small cozy room in the 2nd floor of our student union bldg. We enjoyed their wonderful music up close and personal, as we were only a few feet away from the band. I'm digging out my Makem & Clancy tapes. They brought the best of Ireland right to us.


One of the greatest
I first met Tommy in the early 70s in Montreal at The Hunters Horn.

I visited the club for 5 days and enjoyed the music and the fellowship which Tommy and the Clancy Bros offered. I have memories of Tommy which will last a lifetime. Last time I saw him was in St John's Newfoundland during the winter of 2006/7.

My condolonces to his family.

I will remember him forever.


Tommy Makem
I live back in Ireland now but I did live in Dover and remember how Tommy and a group of people got together and started the Seacoast Irish Society I was so glad since I didn't have any connection to any groups in Boston and goods we shared before return to Ireland will stay with me forever. His family have such warm hearts and I send them my best wishes at this time. Yvonne Lacey of Co. Wexford (


Come On Lads, Come On Lassies
I didn't know until a few years ago that Tommy Makem was still alive. I am a young folk musician and grew up listening to and singing the Makem / Clancy music and loving it, but I thought those guys had passed on. It was with such excitement that I saw Tommy for the first time in Milford, CT back in 2002.

My friends and I asked if we could take a picture with him, and I still remember him corralling us together like a school teacher or priest saying, "Come on lassies, come on lads, time for a picture." I saw him for the last time in Milford again this past March. You couldn't tell he was suffering.

He commanded our audience like a general and infused joy and comfort and peace in all of us. I have never had that experience with anyone else. I felt very close to him, althugh I only saw him a few times. I'm sure he's gone to a good place, and hopefully some day we will be able to sing with him again in a better world than this. In the meantime it's our job to do what he told us to at the end of his concert in Milford: "Sing. Sing every day. Sing whether you can sing or not!" God bless him.


Tommy Makem
When I was a child, I met a someone at a Sunday gathering. He was tall and thin, kind, soft spoken, and laughed well. This young man spent his time with me while the adults visited. He taught me how to play jacks. Though I was only five or so, this memory has stayed with me throughout my life. That kind young man was Tommy Makem.


Fare Thee Well to You My Own True Love--I am Going Far Away
An era has ended, the lads are almost all gone home. So I'll gently rise and I'll softly go, good night and joy be with you all. God Bless.


The Man Is Gone But His Spirit Will Never Leave!
I saw Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers for the first time at Brooklyn College in 1968. I went with a girlfriend and her family and thought we were going to see the Pope. They were extremely jubilant that they were performing in Brooklyn and they were actually going to see them. It didn't take me long to see why they were excited... they were outstanding and brought an electricity to the room that I had never experienced.

Tommy Makem will never die... anyone that has heard him will always hear him...

Schlante' Tommy!


A Star struck fan
Between the years of 1980 and 1990 I lived in the great city of Milwaukee WI. During the mid 80's I attended the Irish Fest and to my great delight Tommy was playing with Liam.

It was a very small crowd and the stages were very intimate. I was beside myself as I was able to sit but mere paces from the great Tommy Makem, I was in heaven.

After the show I went on stage and introduced myself and told him that I was from Dover and proceeded to tell Tommy that he was my biggest fan, of course meaning just the opposite. He gave me a smile and I quickly excused myself.

My sons have been sung to sleep with his songs and will know of the Dover Boy who was a great singer of Irish music.

God Bless you Tommy Makem, you will live on in our hearts and music forever more.


Fond Memories
I really enjoyed listening to Tommy's Irish Brogue and music. He will be missed. He was a great tribute to mankind.


A "Close Up View' of a real Gentleman
I am most fortunate to have had Tommy Makem as a neighbor for the last 15 years.

So many times, my son and I were treated to a delightful baritone ditty or story while walking through the neighborhood.

There was absolutely no difference in the warm, engaging 'public' persona Tommy showed on stage, and the kind neighbor who always made time to chat.

Todays 'celebrities' could certainly take a lesson from Tommy's character and integrity.

Tommy, we'll miss you, but your memory and music will live on forever!


Hot Evenings at he Cocheco Arts Festivals
It must have been in the mid 1990's, Tommy playing and singing "Dancing with Bears". All the little children dancing in circles, the crowd swaying back and forth and an atmosphere of pure silliness and enjoyment. My daughter was one of those little children. She is 25 now and living far away from Dover. When I told her Tommy passed away, she remembered "There's nothing on Earth Uncle Waldo won't do, so he can go waltzing ....Wa Wa Wa Walting...Waltzing with bears". I was surprised when she shed a tear. But THAT was the kind of impact Tommy Makem had on people. Creating happiness, smiles and life lasting memories.

My condolences to the Makem family.

Denis Riley
Loris, SC


Tommy Makem
I attended a number of his concerts over the years especially when he was teamed with Liam Clancy and saw him at Symphony Hall in Boston when the Clancy Brothers did a reunion tour back in the 80's. He brought so much pleasure to millions of fans.

If Tommy Maken had a signature song among his many, I would think it was "Four Green Fields."

God Bless Him.


A true gentleman
My wife had the opportunity to meet Tommy during his struggle with Cancer. She did not know who he was, during the conversation she asked what he did for work. He replied,,,well, I'm semi-retired. Then offhandedly she asked what he did before he retired. In a soft unassuming voice,He replied, "I was a folk singer", that is like asking Bruce Springsteen what has he been doing for the last 20 years and have him say. "I've been playing some music".....no pretense, no ego. A great man will be missed. Ill practice my tin whistle a bit slower tonight and pray...


Ireland's Tommy Maken
I was in Ireland for two weeks at the end of June and I was meeting some family members of a dear friend of mine and when they heard I was from Portsmouth NH, they immediately said: "doesn't Tommy Makem live in Dover NH" - I was happily proud to say, 'yes, indeed he does and NH considers him one of our own.' He was a special and lovely man. What a sad loss for his family and legions of friends and admirers. May he rest in peace.


Rest in peace
My prayers are with Tommy's family, friends and all of us who were so fortunate to know him. God speed my good friend


Grew up in Dover, met him in Ireland
I remember seeing him in concert various times in Dover and in Rochester but it wasn't until my mom and I took a trip to Ireland in 2005 that I met Tommy Makem in person. We were visiting the Newgrange mound and I saw him walking up the path. We went over to say hi to him and tell him we were from Dover and enjoyed his music. He was so kind and funny and took a picture with us. He told us things about Newgrange mound that the tour guides didn't even know! I'll never forget meeting him in Ireland after growing up across town from where he lived.


Tommy Makem
Thank you for the great memories,the Bard of Armagh.


You will be missed
Tommy was one of a kind who had all the qualities so many never achieve. You will be missed.


Great Irishman, Great entertainer
Over many decades I have enjoyed the works of Tommy Makem and remember vividly his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. My sons, musicians, 29 and 24 yrs of age who love traditional Irish music rekindled my interest and we saw live perfomances (in Toronto, ON) and most recently at the Irish Festival in Cleveland Ohio last summer. I was so impressed with his storytelling also. A real inspiration!


His music will live on in our household!
My husband, Dan, knew Tommy Makem very well. Tommy always took the time to teach my husband some of his music, even though he didn't sing professionally. My husband asked Tommy if he could change the name of his song, "Gentle Annie", to "Gentle Sandy" after me and he said he was honored and hoped that I enjoy it very much! Last year, I downloaded the words to Tommy Makem's songs and made a song book for my husband. I can guarantee that Tommy's music will live on in our household!


My postal encounter with Tommy Makem
I was standing in line in the Dover Post Office last winter. About eight persons behind me was a tall man, dressed in a long coat, a winter cap pulled down. All I could see was his face – at a distance. That looks like Tommy Makem, I thought. I gave several quick side glances as I waited, and he grinned back at my recognition.

I decided to wait for him in the lobby after my business at the P.O. window. As he came up to me, I extended my hand, saying I was a fan and I had seen him often on his long walks through town. I had seen two of his concerts in recent years.

Tommy was a gentleman, even with a slightly overawed fan. We chatted for a few seconds, then walked outside. I watched him get into his car. It was the last I saw of a true musical legend.


Tommy Makem will be missed
I was Tommy's recording engineer for many years. The news hit me hard because the last time I talked to him, he dismissed his illness, almost as a minor inconvenience. He assured me that he was feeling good. I am full of memories of working with him — some of the most memorable sessions I've ever had.


A sad day for Irish Eyes
What a sad day to hear of the passing of our master story teller, poet, and musician. My family waits season after season to sit in the park, singing with Tommy, hoping he sings one of our favorite songs just one more time. My heart reaches out to Tommy's family, near and far, but it sings in honor and prayer to our Irish "Owen Roe" (sp??) It is now your legend we will tell as Irish music blasts with might behind us. Godspeed Tommy, we will miss you!!


You will be missed our friend
We have lost a true friend, a talented man and Tommy you will be remembered always for your spirit, wit and the friend you were. We love you.


Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers ignited my love of Irish Music more than 45 years ago; a love that has never nor will ever die. A great man has died and we are lessened accordingly.


The greatest of gentlemen and a "gentle man"
I will never forget the first time I heard Tommy Makem sing!!! I remember the hairs standing up on my arms when he hit those notes and when I listened to his voice filled with passion. I knew then that he was a man who not only sang with passion and conviction, but one who lived his life the same way. I had the opportunity to meet Tommy and speak to him on several occasions over the years and he never, ever changed. The last time I saw Tommy was at a concert at The Birchmere and when he sang "Four Green Fields" I sat and cried, again!!! Tommy, I know you will be missed not only by your loving family but by the thousands and thousands who loved you so. I know you are in a better place and singing with the angels. God speed my friend, God speed.


A link to my dad
Tommy Makem was an Irishman in every sense of the word. He loved a good song, a good story and a captive audience for both. My dad, God be good to him, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but he could spin a tale. Maybe they'll meet up in Heaven and share a tale or two. Tommy, the angels will rejoice while the earth weeps. Prayers for all you leave behind until you are together again. Amen.

Makem’s Legend Will Live On

Irish Voice Entertainment


Makem’s Legend Will Live On
August 9, 2007

From the Hob with Paul Keating



EVERY Irish American who has ever listened to a note of Irish music probably has their defining moment when they realized what a hold the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had on them, conscious or otherwise. Mine came decades after they first blazed a trail on the scene destroying all notions of what Irish folk music was and would be. Like the Beatles, they impacted a generation of us Irish boomers who moved from radio to TV in the 1960s and made us proud to be Irish when these four lads splashed across the screen on The Ed Sullivan Show and launched a highly successful career on their 15 minutes of fame on the popular show that was the American Idol of its day, giving rise to so many wonderful performers.

But it took a reunion concert in 1984 at Lincoln Center by the Clancys and Makem to make me realize how much they touched us, informed us and entertained us as 3,000 devoted audience members sang virtually the entire program with Liam, Paddy, Tom and Tommy that night after a performing hiatus of 15 years as troupe.

Such was their legacy and one memory that sprang to mind when I heard of the passing of Tommy Makem last Wednesday, August 1 in New Hampshire.

The modern day “Bard of Armagh” Tommy Makem was 74 years old when he lost his battle with lung cancer in his adopted home of Dover, the mill town where he first arrived 52 years ago to see what America had to offer.

He wouldn’t be long for the mill work that his relatives had undertaken upon emigration, suffering a hand injury that curtailed that career path and led him to New York to see if there was any theater work that could be found that would suit his talents. He would meet up with Liam Clancy whom he first met in his native Keady, in South Armagh when Clancy accompanied folklorist Diane Hamilton there who was interested in the folk songs and collections of Makem’s mother, Sarah who had established her own reputation as a “song-catcher.”

Their friendship led to meeting with Liam’s older brothers Tom and Paddy in the then burgeoning Greenwich Village folk and literary scene of the 1950s and 1960s, and their theatrical pursuits quickly turned to folk music when they realized that there was more money in it at that time.

However, their thespian skills came in handy as they interpreted a wide body of Irish folk songs and delivered them in an animated fashion adorned in the hallmark Aran sweaters that made them the talk of the nation, especially after they successfully exploited some extra airtime made available when another booked act failed to show on that nationally televised Sunday night staple, The Ed Sullivan Show.

A similarly successful Carnegie Hall engagement furthered their recording and performing careers as they had a historic run that lasted over a decade until Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career and raise a family with his wife Mary.

Makem continued to work on his own, though he did reunite with Liam Clancy to form a duo for a number of years until 1988 when they went their separate ways once again.

Over the years, he gave ample evidence that he was a talented artist in his own right as he continued to be a popular presence on the festival and folk music scene with his ready mix of humor, poetry, banjo and tin whistle that rounded out his rich textured baritone.

He gained recognition as a talented composer of songs also with “The Rambles of Spring,” “Farewell to Carlingford” and “Gentle Annie” among the most popular and re-recorded by ardent followers of his music.

His most famous composition would be the deeply symbolic “Four Green Fields,” which again spoke of Ireland as the old mother whose land was divided, which served as a signature song for him and many others who suffered through the civil rights abuses and violence that afflicted Northern Ireland towards the end of the 20th century. It was and is a classic song that depicts the history of that corner of the island, and one will always remember the vibrato in his own voice that added poignancy to the poetic lyrics and imagery.

Makem’s work with the Clancys and on his own was highly prolific, and in recent years he took great pride and encouragement of his own sons, Shane, Conor and Rory who literally followed his performance footsteps as full-time entertainers, very much in the old fashioned folk idiom, though with more contemporary flourishes when they perform with the Spain brothers who add more instruments to the fray.

In the later stages of his career, Makem grew more reflective and thoughtful. He was involved in producing a few video documentaries of his native Ireland that sought to give more contexts to his musical and literary roots which have appeared on the Public Broadcasting System.

While his recordings and writings will assure him a lasting legacy on their own merits, there was another side of him that has sown very valuable seeds as well.

Makem was not only a consummate performer in concert, folk club and festivals, but he befriended so many performers and organizers along that route who found inspiration and camaraderie in this fellow traveler.

Coming from a rich oral tradition of poetry and song in South Armagh, including his own mother Sarah, he was very sympathetic to keeping the tradition alive and the work that went into it, so he often praised fellow musicians, concert and festival organizers who played a valuable part in keeping the music vibrant and relevant.

Some of that is captured vividly in John O’Brien Junior’s “Festival Legends: Songs and Stories” (www.songsandstories.net) published last year with some behind the scenes stories from Makem and also Liam Clancy among others.

Makem took great delight in the continued revival of Irish folk and traditional music, relishing in the success of groups like Cherish the Ladies and its rambunctious leader, Joanie Madden, who was a good friend as well.

Making his way in America while the Clancys returned to Ireland, Makem was more of trailblazer for many of the entertainers who followed over here on the festival and club circuit and has been duly recognized as the “Godfather of Irish Folk Musicians.”

In the week since he passed away, many tributes have surfaced online at various sites singing his praises or waxing nostalgic via You Tube, which is truly indicative of the vast impression he left on so many of us who saw or heard him perform over the 50 years in various settings.

We are fortunate that he left a rich legacy of recorded material, and it is safe to say that he will not be forgotten nor will his like be among us again. He just returned from his last visit to Ireland last month after being awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Ulster.

Tommy Makem will be laid to rest this Thursday, August 9 in Dover, New Hampshire alongside his wife Mary, who passed away in 2001. We send our condolences to his children, Katie, Shane, Conor and Rory.