Seán McGuire

The legendary Seán McGuire & Friends on his 70th birthday. Easter Monday 2005 will go down in my memory as the day we bade farewell to an Irish music legend. I refer, of course, to the great Belfast fiddle player Sean McGuire, who died at the age of 78. Leading musicians from all over Ireland and beyond gathered at his funeral in west Belfast to pay their last respects to this grand old man of music. A typically articulate tribute to him was spoken at the funeral Mass in St Luke's church, Twinbrook, by his old friend and musical associate, the equally legendary Co Galway accordionist Joe Burke. Burke, who had toured extensively with him nearly 40 years ago, recalled the impact which McGuire's early recordings had made on the Irish music scene on both sides of the Atlantic. "People were mesmerised by the brilliance of his technique and the skill of his playing," he said. "He introduced a new and fresh approach to traditional tunes and was a unique interpreter of the music. He was a born musician and a great communicator and, without question, his input and influence over the years has been enormous." In an engaging reference to McGuire's feisty personality, he added that "getting into an argument with Sean McGuire was an experience of a lifetime, not to be recommended". Joe rounded off his affectionate salute to his old pal by quoting two relevant lines from The Deserted Village by the Irish poet and playwright Oliver Goldsmith. "And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew/That one small head could carry all he knew". The same sentiment was expressed by his longtime accompanist, the Belfast keyboards player Patsy McCabe, who described him as "a Niagara Falls of music - it just poured out of him, non stop." Everyone has their personal memories of Sean, and I have many of them safely stored away. One in particular sums up for me what he was all about, both as a performer and a communicator. Some years ago he appeared at the annual Ballyshannon Folk Festival in Co Donegal where he took the place by storm with a dazzling display of virtuosity which was voted the performance of the weekend. Before the gig, two young fiddle playing sisters who I had met at local sessions had asked me if there was any chance of meeting the famous Sean McGuire. So I managed to get them backstage and, after he finished, with the crowd still roaring for more, I introduced them to him. He was still buzzing with post show adrenalin, but he greeted them as if they were friends he'd known all his life. To this day, every time I see them, they still talk wide-eyed about the night they met a legend, and no doubt some day their grand children will be hearing about it too. Yes, the Irish music community is much the poorer without this uniquely gifted, inspirational and innovative musician. Like the Tommy Sands song about him truly observes: "You never heard the likes of Sean McGuire."