The Reidy clan

Riada studied music at University College Cork and played the violin, piano, and organ. He composed many classical European-style orchestral pieces, and though they received little recognition, his classical endeavors (called "Nomos") were his first musical passion.

Around the time that Riada had his name formally changed from John Reidy to Sean Riada, his compositions, like his name, became increasingly traditional. Riada found inspiration in Irish folk music and combined it with classical techniques and ensembles. One of his strengths was music for theater and film (he was the music director of The Abbey for several years) as in the case of George Morrison's acclaimed documentary about the founding of the Republic of Ireland, Mise ire.

From the formidable starting block of Mise ire, Riada returned to Irish national radio with a series called "Our Musical Heritage." Riada's promotion and compositions began a restructuring of national opinion on traditional Irish tunes. Prior to the success and popularity of Riada's score for Mise ire, Irish music was held in generally low regard and most popular folk songs were sung in English.

Riada's formation of the traditional Irish band, Ceoltir Chualann, popularized Irish-language music. Ceoltir Chualann played in concert halls and attracted large crowds. It was one of the first modern popular Irish folk bands, and helped give rise to The Chieftains.

Credited with reintroducing the bodhran, which had not been widely used since the 16th century, Riada died prematurely in 1971, but he lives on as the father of the renaissance of traditional Irish music, and his extraordinary compositions continue to influence Irish folk groups and classical composers to this day.

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