Makem was born and raised in Keady, County Armagh (the "Hub of the Universe" as Makem always said), in Northern Ireland. His mother, Sarah Makem, was an important source of traditional Irish music, who was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton, Jean Ritchie, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. His father, Peter Makem, was a fiddler who also played the bass drum in a local pipe band named "Oliver Plunkett", after a martyr of the Cromwell age. His brother and sister were folk musicians also. Young Tommy Makem, from the age of 8, was member of the St. Patrick's church choir for 15 years where he sang Gregorian chant and motets. He didn't learn to read music but he made it in his "own way".
He started to work at 14 as a clerk in a garage and later he worked for a while as a barman at Mone's Bar, a local pub and as a local correspondent for The Armagh Observer.
He emigrated to the United States in 1955, carrying his few possessions and a set of bagpipes (from his time in a pipe band). Arriving in Dover, New Hampshire, he worked at Kidder Press, where in 1956 his hand was accidentally crushed by a press.[4] With his arm in a sling, he left Dover for New York to pursue an acting career.
The Clancys and Makem were signed to Columbia Records in 1961. The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival, Makem and Joan Baez were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene. During the 1960s, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall, and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. The group performed for President Kennedy. They also played in smaller venues such as the Gate of Horn in Chicago. They appeared jointly in the UK Albums Chart in April 1966, when Isn't It Grand Boys reached number 22.
Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. In 1975, he and Liam Clancy were both booked to play a folk festival in Cleveland, Ohio, and were persuaded to do a set together. Thereafter they often performed as Makem and Clancy, recording several albums together. At a concert in 1977, Tommy noticed an audience member having a good time and exclaimed, "What have you been smoking? Good whatever you have, pass it around to the rest of them we'll all get goin'!" He once again went solo in 1988. Throughout the 70's and 80's Makem performed both solo and with Liam Clancy on The Irish Rovers various television shows, which were filming both in Canada and Ireland.
In the 1980-90s, Makem was a principal in a well-known Irish music venue in New York City, "Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion." This East 57th Street club was a prominent and well-loved performance spot for a wide range of musicians. Among the performers and visitors were Paddy Reilly, Joe Burke, and Ronnie Gilbert. Makem was a regular performer, often solo and often as part of Makem & Clancy, particularly in the late fall and holiday season. The club was also used for warm-up performances in the weeks before the 1984 reunion concert of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem at Lincoln Center. In addition, the after-party for Bob Dylan's legendary 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1992 was held at the Irish Pavilion.
In 1997 he wrote a book, Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New York. His career includes various other acting, video, composition, and writing credits. He also established the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh in 2000.
Makem was married to Mary Shanahan, a native of Chicago, for 37 years, and had four children - daughter Katie Makem-Boucher, and sons Shane, Conor and Rory. They also had two grandchildren, Molly (Dickerman) Makem and Robert Boucher. Mary died in 2001.
Makem's three sons (who perform as "The Makem Brothers") and nephews Tom & Jimmy Sweeney continue the family folk music tradition.
Makem died in Dover, New Hampshire on August 1, 2007, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He continued to record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "He was my brother in every way" He is buried next to his wife at New Saint Mary Cemetery in Dover.
Makem was a prolific composer/songwriter. His performances were always full of his compositions, many of which became standards in the repertoire. Some, notably "Four Green Fields", became so well known that they were sometimes described as anonymous folk songs. During the fall of the Iron Curtain, Makem often proudly told the story that his song "The Winds Are Singing Freedom" had become a sort of folk anthem among Eastern Europeans seeing a new future opening before them.
Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields", "Gentle Annie", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing Freedom", "The Town of Ballybay", "Winds of the Morning", "Mary Mack", and "Farewell to Carlingford". Even though many people mistakenly believe that Makem wrote "Red is the Rose", it is a traditional Irish folk song.
Makem had a gripping stage presence – the result of years of public performance, a charismatic personality, and a bard's voice. An army of friends and fans attended his frequent concerts, many recognizing each other at far-flung venues. Performances frequently included the following familiar elements:
Original Makem compositions; the first set often began with "The Rambles of Spring"
The standard repertoire of folk and Irish music, both well-known and little-known (but never "Danny Boy", "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", "Toorah Loorah Looral", or other forbidden requests)
Oddball songs, such as "Bridie Murphy and the Kamikaze Pilot" (Colm Gallagher) or "William Bloat" (Raymond Calvert)
Poetic recitations, often as introductions to songs; a frequent source was William Butler Yeats. (Thus "Gentle Annie" usually began with "When You Are Old and Grey", and Four Green Fields usually began with Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies".)
Jokes, often silly, made funnier through repetition:
"If your nose is running and your feet smell, you're upside down."
Rarely: monologues, such as Marriott Edgar's "The Lion and Albert"
Exhortations, nearly always successful, for the audience to join in the singing
He received many awards and honours, including three honorary doctorates: one from the University of New Hampshire in 1998, one from the University of Limerick in 2001, and one from the University of Ulster in 2007; as well as the World Folk Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. With the Clancy Brothers he was listed among the top 100 Irish-Americans of the 20th century in 1999.[10]
A bridge over the Cocheco River on Washington Street in Makem's long-time home of Dover, New Hampshire, was named the Tommy and Mary Makem Memorial Bridge in 2010.
The Bard of Armagh
Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And scorn not the strains of his old, withered hands
But remember his fingers, they once could move sharper
To raise up the memory of his dear native land
At a fair or a wake, I could twist my shillelagh
Or trip through a jig with my brogues bound with straw
And all the pretty colleens around me assembled
Oh, how I long to muse on the days of my boyhood
But four score and three years have flitted since then
But they bring sweet reflections, as every young joy should
For, the merry hearted boys makes the best of old men
And when sergeant death, in his cold arms shall embrace me
And lull me to sleep with sweet Erin go bragh
By the side of my Kathleen, my young wife then place me
Then forget Phelim Brady, the bard of Armagh
The Bard of Armagh is a beautiful and reflective song that tells the story of an old Irish harper who wishes to be remembered for the beautiful melodies he once played in his youth. The harper speaks through the song, imploring the listeners to listen to his story and not to scorn him for his weathered hands. He speaks of his jovial youth, how he would dance jigs and play the harp at fairs and wakes, and how the pretty colleens would assemble around him, listening to every note he played.
He longs to reflect on the days of his boyhood, but the old man's memories have faded and are difficult to recall. Nonetheless, he cherishes the memories of his youth, as they bring him sweet reflections of his past. He believes that a merry-hearted boy makes the best of old men, and he wishes to be remembered in that light.
Finally, the harper talks about his impending death, and how he wishes to be placed next to his young wife, Kathleen, who has already passed away. He implores everyone to forget about him then, but to remember the beautiful songs of his youth, and to continue to play them in his memory.
Overall, The Bard of Armagh is a touching and sentimental song that pays homage to the rich cultural heritage of Ireland and the role of music in that history.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh list to the lay of a poor Irish harper
Listen to the music played by a struggling harpist from Ireland
And scorn not the strains of his old, withered hands
Do not ridicule the music played by his aged and worn hands
But remember his fingers, they once could move sharper
Recall how skilled he had been before his hands had aged
To raise up the memory of his dear native land
To keep alive the history of his beloved home country
At a fair or a wake, I could twist my shillelagh
At a festival or funeral, I could dance with my walking stick
Or trip through a jig with my brogues bound with straw
I could dance an Irish jig wearing shoes made of straw
And all the pretty colleens around me assembled
And all the beautiful young women gathered around me
Loved their bold Phelim Brady, the bard of Armagh
Adored the courageous lyricist of Armagh, Phelim Brady
Oh, how I long to muse on the days of my boyhood
Oh, how I yearn to reflect on my youth
But four score and three years have flitted since then
But eighty-three years have passed
But they bring sweet reflections, as every young joy should
But they evoke pleasant memories, as every happy childhood should
For, the merry hearted boys makes the best of old men
Because, cheerful young boys make for happy old men
And when sergeant death, in his cold arms shall embrace me
And when the cold hands of death take me away from this world
And lull me to sleep with sweet Erin go bragh
And put me to rest with the peaceful lullaby of 'Ireland Forever'
By the side of my Kathleen, my young wife then place me
Place me by the side of my beloved young wife, Kathleen
Then forget Phelim Brady, the bard of Armagh
Then let go of the memory of Phelim Brady, the poet from Armagh
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J BAIRD, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
james bradshaw
The saintly Tommy Maken the most blessed Clancy Brothers, the best boy band that this world ever witness, those boys could make more brilliant noise than a heavy metal rocking band with 6 trucks of equipment could
Gary C. Silber
I love and miss Tommy Makem. His voice moves me so much, especially his ballads. He lives on after his death through his music.
Glen
great programe
Terry Leyden
Was in the Congo serving with the UN in 1963 when I heard them for the time.
Mackin and the Clancy brothers were my no I.
Dutch Van der linde
Brings a tear to my eye how makem and the clancys aren't around anymore, but they still live on in their legacy and through their music, isn't it grand boys
Michael Collins
His legacy moves on
F
They had a plan
Eileen McGrath
So brilliant ❤
james bradshaw
Those boys are rocking in all over heaven, have a most brilliant time, playing gigs all over the place, plus every Saturday and Sunday evenings playing in Kingdom Hall, I have heard from a totally reliable source that Jesus never misses a concert at the weekends, with a Guinness in hand and wearing an Arren sweater, Jesus looks like one of the very greatest boy band that this world ever witness yes The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
Dave Palace
Was lucky to see Him live! He talked to people before the show and I got to talk to Him and get His autograph. A genuine and down to earth person! He will never be forgotten!