March 18, 2018
I am mourning the loss of one of the great voices in Irish music, the sound of the uilleann pipes as played by Liam O’Flynn. I first met Liam at a festival at Ballysodare in Co. Sligo, Ireland, in 1980. I had gone there with Don Everly and the guitarist Phillip Donnelly to play as “The Dead Cowboy Campfire Trio.” That festival was “ruled” by the group Planxty, which consisted of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn. If you want to get an idea of what they sounded like at the time listen to the album “After The Break.” What really set them apart for me was the piping and whistle playing of Liam O’Flynn. Every time he entered a song or a tune it went up to another level. He had a sound that went straight to the heart. In person Liam was very contained, very much an introvert, but with a lovely quiet sense of humor. He was a man who was sure of himself and sure of his music.
This photo of Liam O’Flynn captures perfectly his focus and absorption in his music.
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Over the years I had many opportunities to hear Liam with Planxty and many other musicians. Certainly one of the most memorable performances, which I will always treasure took place at The Gate Theater in Dublin when he and the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney took the stage as “The Poet and The Piper” and went back and forth for more than an hour. Each man was at the height of his powers. There was not a word or a note out of place. This intertwining of words and music is at the heart of Irish culture, and I doubt if I will ever experience the like again. Fortunately, there is a recording of “The Poet and The Piper” still available.
I had the good fortune of being able to work with Liam on a television project called “Bringing It All Back Home,” the story of Irish music and its travels around the world produced by Phillip King and Donal Lunny. I was asked to organize some recording sessions in Nashville and one of the highlights was The Everly Brothers singing “Rose Connolly (Down In The Willow Garden)”. They were accompanied by Roy Huskey, Jr. on bass, Phillip Donnelly on acoustic guitar and Liam O’Flynn on pipes. Liam played an extraordinarily beautiful solo that still makes my hair stand on end whenever I hear it.
Another album by Liam is called “The Piper’s Call” (produced by my dear friend Arty McGlynn) which shows the extent of Liam’s reach into the greater world, with appearances by Mark Knopfler and the Galician piper Carlos Nunez.
Liam’s voice was true, it was deep, it was steeped in tradition. He was a great man.