Piper Paddy Keenan in Concert

Irish Music Awards 2010 ‘Top Uilleann Piper’ and 2011 ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ winner, Paddy Keenan has been compared to both Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane – quite a feat for a traditional musician.

Paddy was a founding member of the legendary group The Bothy Band, and his virtuosity on the pipes combined with the ferocity of his playing made him, in the opinion of many, its driving force.

Paddy’s flowing, open-fingered style of playing the uilleann pipes can be traced directly from the style of such great Travelling pipers as Johnny Doran; both Paddy’s father and grandfather played in the same style. Although often compared to Doran, Paddy was 19 or 20 when he first heard a tape of Doran’s playing and his own style is a direct result of his father’s tutelage and influence.