Willie Clancy

Willie Clancy (December 24 1918 - January 1973) was an Irish uilleann piper.

Clancy was born into a musical family in Miltown Malbay, County Clare. His parents both sang and played concertina, and his father also played the flute. Clancy's father had been heavily influenced by local blind piper Garret Barry (d. 1900).

Willie started playing the whistle at age 5, and later took up the flute. He first saw a set of pipes in 1936 when he saw Johnny Doran playing locally. He obtained his first set of pipes two years later. His influences included Leo Rowsome, Séamus Ennis, John Potts, and Andy Conroy. Clancy won the Oireachtas competition in 1947.

Clancy married Dóirín Healy in 1962. The Willie Clancy Summer School was established in his honour in 1973.

Discography

*"The Minstrel from Clare" (Green Linnet)
*"The Pipering of Willie Clancy, Vol. 1" (Claddagh Records)
*"The Pipering of Willie Clancy, Vol. 2" (Claddagh Records)
*"The Drones and the Chanters Vol. 1"

References

*Mitchell, Pat, "Dance Music of Willie Clancy", Ossian Publications. ISBN 0-946005-72-9. Contains 152 of Clancy's tune settings.
*Vallely, Fintan (1999), "The Companion to Irish Traditional Music", New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-8802-5.