were together, they emerged as one of the exciting bands in Celtic history. Although much of their repertoire was rooted in the traditional music of Ireland, their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity set off ripples that continue to be felt.
The genesis of
the Bothy Band was sparked in 1975 when bouzouki player
Dónal Lunny left
Planxty to form his own record company, Mulligan. One of his first projects brought him together with uillean piper
Paddy Keenan, flute and whistle player
Matt Molloy, fiddler
Paddy Glackin, and accordion player
Tony MacMahon. The group was soon joined by siblings
Mícháel Ó Domhnaill on acoustic guitar and
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on clavinet and vocals. Hailing from a musical family, with their aunt having contributed 286 songs to the Dublin University folklore collection, the two had previously performed, along with their sister
Maighread, in the traditional Irish group
Skara Brae. Initially calling themselves Seachtar, which translates as "seven," the group reformed as
the Bothy Band after
MacMahon left to become a BBC producer. The band's debut came on February 2, 1975, when they performed at Trinity College in Dublin.
Despite their great legacy,
the Bothy Band only recorded three studio albums:
The Bothy Band,
Old Hag You Have Killed Me, and
Out of the Wind Into the Sun. A live album,
After Hours, released in 1979, was recorded at the Palace des Arts in Paris. In 1995, a second live album,
Live in Concert, was released that included tracks recorded in London by the BBC at the Pares Theater in July 1976 and the Kilburn National Theater in July 1978.
The Bothy Band featured a variety of fiddlers during their three-year tenure. Original fiddler
Glackin was replaced by Donegal-style fiddler
Tommy Peoples on the band's debut album and by heavily ornamented fiddler
Kevin Burke on the second release.
With the breakup of
the Bothy Band in 1979, the band's musicians continued to play influential musical roles.
Lunny returned for a while to
Planxty and then helped to form the Celtic rock band
Moving Hearts. He's continued to work as a record producer and has occasionally collaborated with former
Silly Wizard vocalist
Andy Stewart. Moving to the United States,
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill formed the short-lived band
Touchstone and, later, joined with her brother to form both
Relativity and
Nightnoise.
Matt Molloy and
Kevin Burke continue to work together in
Patrick Street.
–
Craig Harris, Rovi