Members of the Bobby Sands Trust were saddened to hear today of the death of Tony MacMahon (82), one of the best-known figures in traditional Irish music and a friend of the republican POWs, during earlier, grim times. In his time in RTÉ Tony, from Ennis, County Clare, had pioneered radio and television productions which championed the cause of native Irish arts and brought many of Ireland’s principled traditional musicians to new and younger audiences, programmes such as The Long Note, The Pure Drop and the Green Linnet.
The late Seamus Ennis said of him, ‘It is not wild imagination to suggest that this accordion is a natural extension of his body, nimbly directed by mind, heart and spirit. No sooner has a notion occurred to him than it is translated into music. This is a natural gift, not given to everyone, which his own intellect has enhanced.’
Tony also contributed to the compilation of essays in Hunger Strike–Reflections along with many other writers, poets and cultural practioners. Here is what he wrote…
