Willie Clancy was born on 24 December 1918 near Milltown Malbay, County Clare, into a musical family. Influenced by his parents and local piper Garret Barry, he began playing the whistle at age 5 and later the flute. He discovered the uilleann pipes in 1936 after hearing Johnny Doran and acquired his own set in 1938. Influenced by masters like Leo Rowsome and Séamus Ennis, Clancy won the Oireachtas competition in 1947. He moved to London to work as a carpenter but returned to Clare in 1957, where he made key recordings for Gael Linn. Clancy died in 1973, the same year the Willie Clancy Summer School was founded in his honour, becoming a major institution in Irish traditional music. His life and legacy were later celebrated in the 2009 TG4 documentary Cérbh É? Willie Clancy.
| Willie Clancy The Gold Ring |
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The Minstrel from Clare
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| Classic Celtic Music from Smithsonian Folkways |
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It Was Mighty! the Early Days of Irish Music in London
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The Drones and the Chanters - Irish Pipering
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Setting Sail
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The Sligo Champion
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Seoda Ceoil
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The Breeze from Erin
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The Voice of the People: Farewell, My Own Dear Native Land
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Ceol Agus Foinn Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
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The Voice of the People: Come Let Us Buy the Licence, Songs of courtship and marriage)
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| The Best of Irish Traditional Music |
| Traditional Music of Ireland, Vol. 2: Songs and Dances from Down, Kerry, and Clare |
| Bagpipes of Britain & Ireland |