The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
Fionnghuala
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi
'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail
A bh' air an dòrus an t-sàbhail
Gu rachadh e a shuirghe
Sèist: Chorus
'Si eilean nam bothan nam bothan
Eilean nam bothan nam bothan
Am bothan a bh' aig Fionnghuala
'Si eilean nam bothan nam bothan
Eilean nam bothan nam bothan
Eilean nam bothan nam bothan
Am bothan a bh' aig Fionnghuala
Bheirinn fead air fulmairean
Bheirinn fead air falmairean
Liuthannan beaga na mara
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
Bheirinn fead air fulmairean
Bheirinn fead air falmairean
Liuthannan beaga na mara
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
Thuirt an gobha fuirighidh mi
'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi
'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail
A bh' air an dòrus an t-sàbhail
Gu rachadh e a shuirghe
The lyrics of "Fionnghuala" tell the story of a conversation between a blacksmith and a group of fishermen. The blacksmith asks the fishermen to stay for a while and tells them he will go to fetch some provisions from a storehouse belonging to a woman called Fionnghuala. The fishermen agree to wait and then launch into a lively chorus about Fionnghuala's bothan or hut.
The song is a traditional Irish folk song, and the lyrics are in Scottish Gaelic. The chorus of the song is very catchy, and the verses are full of vivid imagery, such as the "little sea creatures" that the fishermen will catch and the "tar sands" they will scrape. There is also a sense of community in the song, as the fishermen agree to wait and enjoy each other's company while the blacksmith fetches the provisions.
Line by Line Meaning
Thuirt an gobha fuirighidh mi
The blacksmith said wait on me
'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi
The blacksmith said I must be gone
'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail
The blacksmith said to the doorkeeper
A bh' air an dòrus an t-sàbhail
Who was at the threshhold of the barn
Gu rachadh e a shuirghe
That he would visit her
Chorus
Chorus
'Si eilean nam bothan nam bothan
It is the island of the bothies
Eilean nam bothan nam bothan
The island of the bothies
Am bothan a bh' aig Fionnghuala
Where Fionnghuala was
'Si eilean nam bothan nam bothan
It is the island of the bothies
Eilean nam bothan nam bothan
The island of the bothies
Am bothan a bh' aig Fionnghuala
Where Fionnghuala was
Bheirinn fead air fulmairean
I would take a whistle to the seagulls
Bheirinn fead air falmairean
I would take a whistle to the seagulls
Liuthannan beaga na mara
The wee calf of the sea
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
We would chase them on the shore
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
So that the dark waves won't keep us
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
We would chase them on the shore
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
So that the dark waves won't keep us
Bheirinn fead air fulmairean
I would take a whistle to the seagulls
Bheirinn fead air falmairean
I would take a whistle to the seagulls
Liuthannan beaga na mara
The wee calf of the sea
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
We would chase them on the shore
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
So that the dark waves won't keep us
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo
This tune did not say
Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn
We would chase them on the shore
Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn
So that the dark waves won't keep us
Thuirt an gobha fuirighidh mi
The blacksmith said wait on me
'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi
The blacksmith said I must be gone
'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail
The blacksmith said to the doorkeeper
A bh' air an dòrus an t-sàbhail
Who was at the threshhold of the barn
Gu rachadh e a shuirghe
That he would visit her
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MICHAEL PHILIP MCGLYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist