Celebrated Irish concertina player Chris Droney passed away on September 9, 2020 after a brief illness. He was an acclaimed concertina player.
Chris Droney was born in Bellharbour (Bealaclugga) in Co. Clare, Ireland in 1924. Starting in 1956, Droney became a ten-time senior All-Ireland concertina champion. Droney traveled throughout Ireland and abroad playing music. He performed together with the Bell Harbour Céilí Band, the Kilfenora Céilí Band, the Ballinakill Céilí Band, Augrim Slopes and the Kincora Céilí Band during his career.
He also released several recordings, including Irish Dance Music (1962), The Flowing Tide (1975), The Fertile Rock (1995) and Down From Bell Harbour (2005).
He won various awards, including the TG4 Grádam Saoil award for lifetime achievement; a CCÉ Bardic Award, a Teastas award, the Clare Person of the Year Award in 2012 and the 2018 MÓRglór award.
In 2018, Orla Flanagan, glór director, said, “We are honored that Chris Droney has accepted the MÓRglór award for 2018, and with his family and friends, we will celebrate his extraordinary and lasting contribution to the Clare cultural landscape. Chris’s lifelong commitment to music, his fine musicianship and his generosity of spirit in sharing his expertise throughout his musical career has impacted generations of musicians.”
Droney’s son Francis and daughter Ann maintained the family tradition of winning All-Ireland titles on the concertina. Several of his grandchildren have also keep alive this legacy on the concertina and others on the fiddle.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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