Charlie Piggott (born 14 July 1948) is an Irish traditional musician, best known as a founding member of De Dannan and has toured extensively in Europe, Canada, and the US. He grew up playing music in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, where his first instrument was the button accordion. In the early 1970s Piggott played banjo in sessions at Galway's Cellar Bar with Frankie Gavin (

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

), Alec Finn (

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

) and Johnnie "Ringo" McDonagh (

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

). In 1973, the group Dé Dannan was formed from sessions at Tigh Hughes, An Spidéal,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. Piggott plays in the old style and many of his seminal recordings have caused him to be hailed as "one of the most influential Irish banjoists of the generation", but after damaging his index finger in an accident on tour he reverted to playing the melodeon. In 1976, he was a featured artist of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, at the Festival of American Folk Life, for the American bicentennial. Today he plays a Black Dot Hohner Double-Ray, tuned C#/D. Piggott has revived many rare traditional melodies and has a reputation for performing them in accordance with the ethos of older players who have passed the music on. He later founded the Lonely Stranded Band with Miriam Collins ( concertina) and Joe Corcoran (

, guitar & vocals) and their 1996 album met with great success. The new millennium saw him team up with the Sliabh Luachra fiddler Gerry Harrington to record a Cló Iar-Chonnacht release: "The New Road". Piggott is co-author, with Fintan Vallely and photographer Nutan Jacques Piraprez, of ''Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians''. Having worked for a long time as a professional musician in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

featuring regularly on television and radio, he still plays at traditional music festivals in the area. In 2019, Piggott released a solo album called 'The Days That Are Gone' and followed it in 2020 with 'The Trip We Took Over The Mountain', a duo album in collaboration with his son, the fiddle-player & singer Rowan Piggott.

Discography

*''De Danann'' (1975) *''Selected Jigs Reels and Songs'' (1977) *''The Mist Covered Mountain'' (1980) *''Star-Spangled Molly'' (1981) (see '' The De Dannan Collection'') *''Best of De Dannan'' (1981) *''The Lonely Stranded Band'' (1996) *''The New Road'' (2000) *''The Days That Are Gone'' (2019) *''The Trip We Took Over The Mountain'' (2020)

References

External links

* *> * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piggott, Charlie 1948 births Living people Irish male accordionists Irish male banjoists Irish male folk musicians Musicians from County Cork De Dannan members 20th-century Irish male musicians 20th-century Irish accordionists 20th-century Irish folk musicians 21st-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish accordionists 21st-century Irish folk musicians 20th-century Irish banjoists 21st-century Irish banjoists 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music