Paddy Keenan

Paddy Keenan B.1950 Is An Irish Player Of The Uilleann Pipes. Keenan Was Born In Trim County Meath. His Father And Grandfather Were Both Uilleann Pipers And His Father Johnny Keenan Spent Many Nights Playing Along With Piper Johnny Doran. He Began Playing At The Age Of Nine And At The Age Of Fourteen He Played At The Gaiety Theatre Dublin. He Then Turned Towards Blues And Rock And Toured England And Europe When He Was Seventeen. Returning To Dublin Keenan Played Regularly With His Brothers And Father At Folk Clubs And Various Venues Around Ireland. In 1975 He Was Part Of A Band Called Seachtar From The Irish Word For 'seven People.' This Band Was The Genesis For The The Bothy Band Of Which Keenan Was A Mainstay From Its Inception To Its Demise In 1979. Keenan's First And Eponymous Solo Album Appeared In 1975 And He Also Duetted With Fiddler Paddy Glackin On The 1978 Album Doublin. He Subsequently Recorded A Second Solo Album For Gael-Linn Records Poirt An Phiobaire In 1983. After Rejecting The Chance To Join Moving Hearts In The Early 1980s Keenan's Musical Career Went Into Abeyance. However In The 1990s He Relocated To The U.S. Rediscovered His Musical Talents And Issued Na Keen Affair In 1997. He Subsequently Struck Up A Musical Relationship With The London-Born Kerry-Based Guitarist Tommy O'Sullivan. Together The Pair Issued The Long Grazing Acre In 2001. Keenan And O'Sullivan Continue To Tour Regularly And Widely. read less