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.
The Wexford Carol
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
To whom God's angels did appear,
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
"Arise and go", the angles said.
'To Bethlehem, be not afraid,
For there you'll find this happy morn,
A princely babe, sweet Jesus born.
There were three wise men from afar
Directed by a glorious star,
And on they wandered night and day
Until they came where Jesus lay,
And when they came unto that place
Where our beloved Messiah was,
They humbly laid at his feet,
Their gifts of gold and incense sweet.
The Wexford Carol is a traditional Irish Christmas carol that dates back to the 12th century. The song paints a picture of the Biblical Christmas story through the experiences of the shepherds and wise men who travel to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Christ. The opening verse describes the scene of the shepherds who are tending to their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep. Suddenly, they are visited by angels who announce the arrival of Jesus. Initially frightened, the angels urge the shepherds to go to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus, who is referred to as a "princely babe". The second verse speaks of the three wise men, who follow a star that leads them to Jesus. The wise men bring gifts of gold and incense as a sign of respect and honor for the Messiah.
Line by Line Meaning
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
The shepherds were in the vicinity of Bethlehem keeping their lambs and sheep.
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
The shepherds were responsible for looking after animals, including both lambs and fully grown sheep.
To whom God's angels did appear,
Angels appeared before the shepherds.
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
The appearance of the angels frightened the shepherds.
"Arise and go", the angels said.
The angels urged the shepherds to wake up and set out on a journey.
'To Bethlehem, be not afraid,
The shepherds were instructed to go to Bethlehem and not to be afraid.
For there you'll find this happy morn,
They were promised to find a joyous occasion upon arrival.
A princely babe, sweet Jesus born.
The newborn is a prince, and his name is Jesus.
There were three wise men from afar
Three wise men came from a distant place.
Directed by a glorious star,
They followed a brilliant star to guide them.
And on they wandered night and day
The wise men traveled day and night.
Until they came where Jesus lay,
They arrived at the place where Jesus was.
And when they came unto that place
Upon arrival, they did something significant.
Where our beloved Messiah was,
They reached the location where the holy savior was born.
They humbly laid at his feet,
They put down their offerings in a modest way.
Their gifts of gold and incense sweet.
The wise men presented precious gifts of gold and fragrant incense.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TRADITIONAL, MICHAEL PRICE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist