Paddy Cronin (6 July 1925 – 15 March 2014) was an Irish

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 ...

r. Cronin was born in Ré Buí near Gneeveguilla,

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

.TG4 – Irish language television channel – Teilifis Gaeilge – Music – Gradam Ceoil TG4
/ref> He was taught

by Padraig O'Keeffe. In 1949, Seamus Ennis recorded him on acetate disc for Radió Éireann. Later that year (1949), after making these recordings, he left

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and emigrated to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in the

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. During the 1950s, he continued to record, becoming very well known through the seven 78rpm discs he made for the Boston record label, Copley. While in Boston he also adopted the Sligo style of fellow fiddlers, Michael Coleman and James Morrison. In the early 1970s he went on to record an LP, "Music In The Glen", for the Fleetwood label, followed by "The House In The Glen" for Talcon. 1n 1975, Paddy released ''The Rakish Paddy'' LP with Fiddler Records of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, and in 1977 released ''Kerry's Own Paddy Cronin'' with Outlet records of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. In 1991, Cronin returned to Ireland with his wife, Connie and settled in

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

. Upon his return to Ireland he featured in local music festivals and sessions. In 2007, Cronin was awarded the prestigious Gradam Ceoil, or Lifetime Achievement Award, by the Irish Gaelic-language television station

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

, in honour of his contribution to Irish Traditional Music over six decades.

References

External links

Paddy Cronin; Kerry's Own (1977)
Ceol Alainn {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Paddy 2014 deaths 1925 births Irish male fiddlers Musicians from County Kerry People from Gneeveguilla 20th-century Irish male musicians 20th-century Irish fiddlers 21st-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish fiddlers