Mick Moloney was born on November 15, 1944, in Limerick (Ireland).
At 14, Moloney started to play skiffle songs and used a guitar. However, he became interested in Irish folk music and switched to the tenor banjo, which is tuned like a fiddle. He attended sessions in County Clare, where he met many of the rising Irish folk musicians.
Later, in 1964 Moloney became a regular of the Dublin folk music scene. He was studying economics at University College in Dublin. During that time, the Clancy Brothers became very popular. In addition to banjo, Moloney also learned how to play the mandolin. Moloney and Donal Lunny, together with Brian Bolger formed a band named Emmet Folk Group. Simultaneously, Lunny and Moloney also played in another folk band called Parnell folk group.
Moloney left the Emmet folk group and opened his own folk club in Harcourt Street, Dublin. One of the acts he hired to perform was a family band called the Johnstons, featuring Luci, Adrienne, and Michael Johnston. Eventually, Moloney and his roommate Paul Brady joined the Johnstons. The successful band toured Europe and the United States and recorded seven albums.
In 1972, Moloney moved to London, where he became an activist supporting immigrants that were being evicted from their homes. He worked there for nearly two years and finally decided to move to the United States in 1973.
In the United States, Moloney became deeply immersed in the Irish folk music scene and continued his education. He got a PhD in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania and taught at New York University in the Irish Studies Program at Glucksman Ireland House.
Moloney recorded and produced over fifty albums of traditional music and acted as advisor for scores of festivals and concerts all over the United States. Additionally, Moloney hosted three nationally syndicated series on folk music for American Public Television; acted as a consultant and performer on the Irish Television special Bringing It All Back Home and was a participant, consultant and music arranger of the PBS documentary film, Out of Ireland.
In 1978, Mick Moloney founded the highly successful and influential Green Fields of America in Philadelphia. Green Fields of America was the first contemporary ensemble to bring together Irish vocal, instrumental and dance traditions, along with Irish-American social history.
Throughout the years, Green Fields of America had an evolving membership that included many of the finest Irish and Irish-American artists. The Green Fields of America released two albums, Live in Concert (Green Linnet, 1989) and The Greenfields of America (Compass, 2009).
In 1999, Moloney was awarded the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2002, Crown published Mick Moloney’s book Far from the Shamrock Shore. The book narrates the story of Irish immigration to the United States of America in words and lyrics, with an accompanying CD that illustrates the journey through song.
Moloney’s Compass Records release highlighting the songs of old New York, “McNally’s Row of Flats”, won the best traditional music album of the year award from The Irish Echo in 2006 and in 2007 was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air.
When not performing, producing, or teaching, Mick led a series of Cultural Tours to Celtic countries and regions of Europe like Ireland and Galicia and Asturias (Spain). His goal was to provide an authentic cultural journey that conventional tourists never experience. Moloney said about these experiences: “I love these trips; they are memorable journeys and the good company with compatible, good-humored and like-minded people is the best feature of all.“
Mick Moloney died in New York City on July 27, 2022.
Selected Discography
With the Johnstons
The Johnstons (Transatlantic 169, 1968)
Give a Damn (Transatlantic 184, 1969)
The Barleycorn (Transatlantic 185, 1969)
Bitter Green (Transatlantic 211, 1969)
The Johnstons Sampler (Transatlantic SAM16, 1970)
Colours of the Dawn (Transatlantic 231, 1971)
The Johnstons Anthology (Transatlantic 2012, 1978)
The (Transatlantic Years (Transatlantic/Demon CD13, 1993)
Solo Albums
We Have Met Together (Transatlantic 263, 1972)
Strings Attached (Green Linnet 1027, 1980)
Far from the Shamrock Shore (Shanachie, 2002)
McNally’s Row of Flats (Compass, 2006)
An Irish Christmas (Irish Arts Center, 2011)
With Eugene O’Donnell
Mick Moloney with Eugene O’Donnell (Green Linnet 1010, 1978)
Slow Airs and Set Dances (Green Linnet 1015, 1979)
Uncommon Bonds (Green Linnet 1053, 1980)
With Robbie O’Connell and Jimmy Keane
There Were Roses (Green Linnet 1057, 1986)
Kilkelly (Green Linnet 1072, 1987)
With The Green Fields of America
Green Fields of America: Live in Concert (Green Linnet, 1989)
The Green Fields of America (Compass, 2009)
With Eugene O’Donnell and Séamus Egan
Three Way Street (Green Linnet 1129, 1993)
Additional collaborations:
Since Maggie Dooley Learned the Hooley Hooley, with The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (2011)
The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia, with Liz Hanley (2013)
Divil of a Noise, with Donie Carroll (Ducksy Records, 2013)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.