Matt Molloy
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
musician, from a region known for producing talented flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
s. As a child, he began playing the flute
Irish flute
The term Irish Flute refers to a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favored by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design...
and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at only seventeen years old. Considered as one of the most brilliant Irish musicians, his style that adapts piping techniques to the flute has influenced many contemporary Irish flute players.
During the 1970s, Molloy was a member of The Bothy Band
The Bothy Band
The Bothy Band was an Irish traditional band active during the late 1970s. It quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music...
and its successor, the re-founded Planxty
Planxty
Planxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
. He joined The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
in 1979, replacing Michael Tubridy
Michael Tubridy
Michael "Mick" Tubridy is an Irish musician and structural engineer.- Career :In 1962, he was a founder member of the traditional Irish music group, The Chieftains, with whom he played the tin whistle, Irish flute, and concertina. Michael remained a member of the group until 1979.He worked as a...
. Over the course of his career, Molloy has worked with the Irish Chamber Orchestra
Irish Chamber Orchestra
The Irish Chamber Orchestra is a Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick. The ICO primarily gives concerts at the University Concert Hall, Limerick and at the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin...
, Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, Tommy Peoples
Tommy Peoples
Tommy Peoples is an Irish fiddler.He was born near St. Johnston, a village in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. He has been a member of well known traditional Irish music groups, including 1691 and The Bothy Band as well as performing...
, Micheál Ó Súilleabháin
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin is an Irish musician. As a pianist, composer, recording artist and academic, he holds the Professorship of Music at the Irish World Music Centre of the University of Limerick...
and Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
.
Molloy owns a pub on Bridge Street in Westport
Westport, County Mayo
Westport is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated on the west coast at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean....
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
where there are regular Irish music sessions.
Discography
Solo Albums- Matt Molloy with Donal Lunny (1976)
- Molloy, Brady, Peoples (1978)
- Contentment Is Wealth (1985)
- Stony Steps (1987)
- The Heathery Breeze (1988)
- The Fire Aflame (1992)
- Music at Matt Molloy's (1993)
- Shadows on Stone (1996)
- The West Ocean String Quartet (with Matt Molloy):The Guiding Moon (2007)
- Pathway to the Well (2007) Matt Molloy, John Carty, Arty McGlynn