Tommy Peoples [RIP]
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 7:25 am
News trickling down from Donegal ( here ) Tommy Peoples has died.
Extremely sad news, if not unexpected.
Only a few weeks ago at the Willie Clancy Summer School an extremely moving tribute was paid to the man. The world of Irish music flocked to the Hall in Miltown Malbay and spoke lovingly of him, expressed their appreciation and played music in his honour. SSWC and Cairdeas na bhFidiléirí, the Donegal fiddlers, in the person of Caoimhín MacAoidh, made a presentation (of a painting by artist Andrew Newland) to Tommy, who appeared appreciative of the events of that afternoon.
A one of a kind player of deeply emotional music.
So many memories too. He received the TG4 Musician of the year award during the late nineties, when it was quite new. I ran into him in the Tesco supermarket in Ennis the week of his nomination. He was beaming and full of confidence, as happy as ever I have seen him. Another time Kitty Hayes and myself were to play a concert in Quilty, it was one of those situations where the man organising it had twisted the arm of a good number of people to play. Tommy was on the bill as well. He was notorious for having terrible stage fright and he was upset, got on stage mumbling something about not wanting to be there and as soon as he started one of the pegs of the fiddle slipped. He retuned and started again. From the moment the bow touched the strings it was like he became a different person, locked in his own world oblivious of the room full of people (musicians, nearly all of them) and he played beautifully.
Some years before that he was given a weekly residency in Friel's in Miltown Malbay. The first night he was on every traditional musician from the wider area was there, nobody played, everybody was there to listen to him. Mind you, we were all there again the next week and play we did.
In 2015 he launched his book, I was shocked to see him at the launch during the Willie week that year. I knew he suffered from emphysema, but to see him ion a wheelchair on oxygen was a shock. Once a powerful man, he looked like a shadow of himself. Later that week I took a member of these forums to the house where Peoples was staying, and selling his books. He was there, happily chatting away to the musicians who came in to see him (there was a steady stream of people coming through the door). A gentle soul full of humanity.
[edited to add bits & pieces, and to weed out numerous typos]
Extremely sad news, if not unexpected.
Only a few weeks ago at the Willie Clancy Summer School an extremely moving tribute was paid to the man. The world of Irish music flocked to the Hall in Miltown Malbay and spoke lovingly of him, expressed their appreciation and played music in his honour. SSWC and Cairdeas na bhFidiléirí, the Donegal fiddlers, in the person of Caoimhín MacAoidh, made a presentation (of a painting by artist Andrew Newland) to Tommy, who appeared appreciative of the events of that afternoon.
A one of a kind player of deeply emotional music.
So many memories too. He received the TG4 Musician of the year award during the late nineties, when it was quite new. I ran into him in the Tesco supermarket in Ennis the week of his nomination. He was beaming and full of confidence, as happy as ever I have seen him. Another time Kitty Hayes and myself were to play a concert in Quilty, it was one of those situations where the man organising it had twisted the arm of a good number of people to play. Tommy was on the bill as well. He was notorious for having terrible stage fright and he was upset, got on stage mumbling something about not wanting to be there and as soon as he started one of the pegs of the fiddle slipped. He retuned and started again. From the moment the bow touched the strings it was like he became a different person, locked in his own world oblivious of the room full of people (musicians, nearly all of them) and he played beautifully.
Some years before that he was given a weekly residency in Friel's in Miltown Malbay. The first night he was on every traditional musician from the wider area was there, nobody played, everybody was there to listen to him. Mind you, we were all there again the next week and play we did.
In 2015 he launched his book, I was shocked to see him at the launch during the Willie week that year. I knew he suffered from emphysema, but to see him ion a wheelchair on oxygen was a shock. Once a powerful man, he looked like a shadow of himself. Later that week I took a member of these forums to the house where Peoples was staying, and selling his books. He was there, happily chatting away to the musicians who came in to see him (there was a steady stream of people coming through the door). A gentle soul full of humanity.
[edited to add bits & pieces, and to weed out numerous typos]