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Poignant last interview with Liam Clancy in Irish America magazine

The luck of the Irish

TOM DEIGNAN,

Irish America Magazine April/May 2009

Published Friday, December 4, 2009, 3:32 PM

Updated Monday, December 7, 2009, 8:13 AM

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Liam Clancy

In 1975 Liam and Tommy Makem reunited to form Makem and Clancy, performing in numerous concerts and recording several albums as a duo, until 1988. The other three brothers united with their sister’s son Robbie O’Connell and went on to perform as The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O’Connell, spending several months in America each year.

In 1984, Makem & Clancy’s manager, Maurice Cassidy, brought the original foursome together for a concert at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City – the show sold out all 3,000 seats in a week.

In May of 1990, Tom Clancy died at the age of 66; his brother Paddy died eight years later. Tommy Makem passed away in 2007.

But the Clancy Brothers’ legacy is alive and well in the 21st century. Liam not only has the Carnegie Hall show to promote. He also has a new documentary film, The Life and Times of Liam Clancy, as well as a new album, The Wheels of Life.

He continues to tour the world, with no thoughts of retiring.

“You can’t retire from living,” says the 74-year-old with a laugh.

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Downunderyan | Dec 09, 2009, 06:21 AM EST

Ni bheidh a leithead ann aris/their likes will never be around again. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam uile/May each and every one of the Clancy's and Tommy Makem rest in peace. They were Riverdance before the Riverdance phenomenon of the 1990's. Their memory and achievements will live on through their corpus of recordings and performances.

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kennymcg | Dec 07, 2009, 06:41 PM EST

The Clancy Brothers are gone, but their tradition lives on! Anyone on Cape Cod in the states can have their fill at The Olde Inne in West Dennis on Dec. 17th. A Christmas Sojurn with Aiofe Clancy and Robbie O'Connell is on tap. They will not only sing some of those great songs, but tell stories of their father and uncles. Great craic, and great Guinness at my local.

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Dompedro | Dec 07, 2009, 06:12 PM EST

it's a little of your life gone, even if the only one of the group I ever even spoke to was Makem, a few years before his death at our festival here in Denver ..... and it was during a period when our festival committee was very concerned about political correctness, not wanting to offend anyone by actions such as pipe bands flying tiny Irish flags from their pipes and being very concerned about Noraid and pictures of Michael Collins, nine o'clock Sunday evening, sun going down and Makem singing "The Dark Rosaleen" for his final gesture --- not sure the naysayers got it bought my first Clancy Bros and Tommy record in the winter of 1956 - '57 -- "The Rising of the Moon" -- from Pete Seeger who was out on a college tour (ever listened to the music background?) - gave it to my Dad

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carrickcourt | Dec 07, 2009, 09:16 AM EST

Liam, we will miss you. The last of the Clancy lads will be remembered fondly by this family. My dad Jack acted with Liam's brother Tom Clancy at the Cleveland (Ohio) Playhouse in the late 1940's. My dad recalls the play he was in with Tom required Irish "accents", which Tom and my dad Jack (first generation Irish-American) helped their fellow actors with. There is another connection with the lads Clancy. There is album jacket for the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem showing them in front of a shop in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary. The name on the store is my family name, which is very English. We could not understand why the lads were photographed in front of this shop until we learned that the lads got their Aran sweaters (jumpers) from this shop.

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kickstar | Dec 06, 2009, 04:34 AM EST

Two Great Irish Artistes dead back to back Liam Clancy and now Richard Todd.

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kickstar | Dec 06, 2009, 04:32 AM EST

Two great Irish Artistes dead back to back Liam Clancy and Richard Todd.

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