Irish Music & Dance Fans Mourn the Loss of Chieftains' Paddy Moloney

In the early 1950s, trad music had lost a lot of its popularity in Ireland and was virtually unheard of in other parts of the world. The young generation of Irish were more interested in learning pop music and learning instruments like the guitar and saxophone. Fortunately for the world of Irish Dance and trad music, Paddy Moloney, saw things differently. Paddy, at the time was honing his skills on Uilleann pipes and the tin whistle and was playing with several groups, working to develop his own unique sound in the trad music world.

By 1962, Paddy and his close friend Dave Fallon brought other respected trad musicians together to do a one-time album called The Chieftains. Since that time the Chieftains have become Ireland’s most famous trad music band, taking them to all corners of the world sharing trad music and Irish Dance with generations of fans.

The Chieftains are highly recognized for breathing new life and interest in trad Irish music on an International scale, but they don’t get enough recognition for their impact on the Irish Dance world. In fact, without the Chieftains there may have never been a Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and other big name shows!

Pictured: Sheila Ryan Davoren who in 1993 was dancing for the famous Donny Golden School, performing a gig with the Chieftains.

“Michael Flatley was with us for seven years before he went into that great Riverdance thing,” says Paddy Moloney when talking with IDM’s Publisher, Denise Keane, in New York. Paddy shares that Jean Butler also danced with the Chieftains for five years beginning at the age of 17. “I remember Carnegie Hall was one of her first concerts with us and Jean came on and was tremendous altogether. I never got the two of them together (Michael and Jean) which, of course, John McColgan and Moya Doherty (Riverdance) were able to do. But they do give us credit, in all respect, that The Chieftains helped spark the idea, that we were the guys that started it, the idea for Riverdance.”

The Chieftains over the years have provided hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Irish Dancers the opportunity to perform with them on stage. At each concert, you will find permanent dancers such as Cara Butler, who has been with the show for 20 years along with guest performers from local dance schools.

*Pictured - Cara Butler and Donny Golden along with other dancers from his dance school on stage with the Chieftains in 2017 

Paddy Moloney shares his appreciation for a famous dance teacher in New York, Donny Golden, who has danced in the show and provided a great number of recommendations for permanent dancers. “Cara Butler danced with us through the man I respect tremendously - Donny Golden, who introduced us to the likes of Michael Flatley along with Jean and Cara Butler.  Donny toured with us quite a bit and he has done so much for the Irish Dancing as well.”

Cara Butler concurs, “It all started with Donny Golden! The Chieftains were the driving force behind bringing traditional music to the world stage and Donny was the man directing Irish Dance to the front of that stage.”

When Paddy Moloney had the idea of introducing dancers into The Chieftains show, Donny Golden was the man he called. “I was lucky enough to be a Golden dancer,” shares Cara. “Like my sister before me I was introduced to a life unimagined in the Irish Dance world…. before Riverdance, before the Irish Dance exploded onto the world scene. Jean and I were blessed to have a teacher who is not only a master of technique, but a born performer himself.”

Cara shares with IDM that it has been an honor and a privilege to represent Irish Dancing all over the world with the greatest Irish band in the world. Her favorite part of her job is being able to give young dancers from a local school a night to remember. “One without the pressure of competition and the demand of perfection, an opportunity to be free and to dance from the heart. No judges. No wigs and everyone gets a recall and has fun! To me that is what it’s all about. You hear the music, your heart is racing, and you’ve got your best friend is right there next to you dancing to the best music on the planet. I mean what’s better than that?! I know that’s what got me hooked. It’s magic!”

What faces a dancer on the Chieftain stage? “Of course, it’s the big leagues so you must come prepared, explains Cara.” Interestingly, nothing is set finalized until the day of the show and even then, last minute changes can happen. “Welcome to showbiz kids! I’m always in touch before the show and then the day of I rehearse with the dancers after soundcheck when the band is having their dinner and go over everything with them on the stage. I want the dancers to be relaxed and know exactly where to go. I also want to see what they have put together.”

Pictured: Nashville Irish Step Dancers with the Chieftains in 2002

Cara shares that because she has been dancing for the Chieftains for so many years, this experience helps her in directing the “guest” dancers onstage at each show. “It’s very important to me to make sure all the dancers FEEL their best too. If they feel good, they will dance even better!”

Besides some dancers feeling nervous dancing in front of hundreds of people, the other challenge is staying in sync to the music because the Chieftains play their tunes very fast. Cara is known for brushing up the show and getting it, all done, resulting in a perfect performance day in and day out, all over the world!

Pictured: 2001 - Claddagh School Dancers in California show off on stage with the Chieftains. Paddy between the two dancers on right. 

Paddy’s admiration for Irish Dancing runs deep in his roots in the province of Leinster, Ireland. “My history goes back to the old style of set dancing in County Laois. My sister danced for the famous dance teacher Rory O’Connor and she won the slip jig at the All Ireland.” Rory O’Connor, a famous dance master was once described by the late Irish President, Eamon DeValera, as “one of Ireland’s greatest cultural ambassadors.”   

Also touring with the Chieftains are brothers from Canada, Jon and Nathan Pilatzke. Paddy shares that he met the brothers 16 years ago when they were playing with the symphony there. “There was a wrap party at an Irish pub and someone told me to go down and watch them. After, I was amazed by what I seen. They were amazing. It took me a year or so, but I nabbed them.” Both Nathan and Jon dance but Jon’s main role is as the master fiddle player. The brothers hail from the Ottawa Valley of Ontario, Canada and Nathan, nicknamed Crazy Legs, began dancing at the tender age of five.

Pictured:  Cara Butler and Nathan dancing - Jon Pilatzke on the fiddle, while Paddy & other band members play a tune photo credit  Masataka Ishida 

For Paddy the years of touring never seem to get old. He loves what he does along with all the other band members who he considers family. He is inspired to keep touring with the Chieftains for as long as he can. “It’s so incredible the young people, I wouldn’t want to be in competition anymore! We did a workshop in Tokyo in 2017 and it was 125 people between music and dance. The standard today is so high; it’s fantastic and good to see it all happen.”

Paddy finishes with this thought, “The penny has dropped about this great folk art of Irish music, dance and poetry. The country is exploding altogether in the arts.”

While many people have had significant impact on the Irish Music and Irish Dance scene, Paddy Maloney is a talent and visionary who is at the top of the charts for what he has done to spread the beauty of the Irish culture to millions of new fans across the world! 

Note from Irish Dancing Magazine - Visit the Chieftains' website for updates on the band at www.thechieftains.com 

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