TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN paid to renowned fiddle player Seán Keane, who was a longtime member of The Chieftains, has died at 76.
His younger brother James announced the death on Facebook yesterday evening, saying that the family have been devastated by the loss.
“The sadness is very real,” James wrote, “My wonderful, kind and brilliant fiddle playing big brother Seán passed unexpectedly at his home in Rathcoole, Co Dublin this morning.
Born in Drimnagh in 1946, Keane was a member of traditional group Ceoltóirí Chualann in the 1960s. The band was led by Seán Ó Riada and included many of the founding members of The Chieftains.
Keane joined The Chieftains in 1968 with who he would play for decades, most recently in Ballina for US president Joe Biden during his visit.
He popped up alongside various performers down the decades; 1982 saw him play fiddle with singer Kate Bush on her single Night of the Swallow.
President Michael D Higgins said that Keane’s passing would be mourned by “lovers of Irish music and traditional arts across the world”.
A statement from the president read:
“Seán’s incredible talent as a fiddle player brought so much joy to so many and was enjoyed and admired by audiences all over the world.”
“His virtuosity and skill was unique and has influenced so many musicians across the traditional arts. Indeed, Seán has been described as the ‘musician’s musician’. His generous legacy to traditional music and the arts will be remembered for generations to come.”
“May I express my deepest condolences to his children, Páraic, Deirdre and Darach and his grandchildren, to his extended family, to his friends in The Chieftains and to his wide circle of friends and musical colleagues.”
Claddagh Records chairman James Morrissey said Keane played with a “unique ease”.
“At the age of five, he learned the fiddle and later studied classical music at the Dublin College of Music.
“Seán’s musical career began when was in his teens, playing with the Castle Ceilí Band, which he had formed with his brother, James.
“His life changed when he entered the fiddle competition for Fleadh Ceoil and Sean O’Riada invited him to join Ceoltóirí Chualann. He joined The Chieftains in 1968. Seán recorded a 16 track solo album for Claddagh Records which was released in 1975, titled Gusty’s Frolicks.”
Morrissey remarked: “Seán was a wonderful musician. He was so talented and yet he played with a unique ease.”
The Irish Traditional Music Archive said Keane was able to combine powerful fiddle playing married to “technical virtuosity with an incredibly insightful and sensitive understanding” of Irish traditional music.
“He was a beacon for our traditional art,” it said in a statement.
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