The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) is committed to providing free, universal access to the rich cultural tradition of Irish music, song and dance. If you’re able, we’d love for you to consider a donation. Any level of support will help us preserve and grow this tradition for future generations.
1944-2022
This project is co-funded by Ireland’s Department of Culture, Communications & Sport and Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade as part of America 250.
Limerick native Mick Moloney played a singularly important role in the preservation and revival of Irish traditional music in America. A veteran of the popular 1960s/70s folk group The Johnstons, Mick had already achieved prominence as a singer, guitarist and virtuoso mandolin and tenor banjo player when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1973 for graduate studies in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. An assignment to assemble American-based Irish musicians for the Smithsonian Institution’s Bicentennial festival in 1976 introduced him to the wealth of traditional music talent in the USA, and Mick became a key player in a burgeoning musical revival. He became the foremost authority on the history of Irish music in America, led the all-star band The Green Fields of America, mentored the group Cherish the Ladies and served as a producer and/or performer on over 100 recordings. He won a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts – the U.S.’ highest honour for a traditional musician – and at his death was a Global Distinguished Professor of Music and Irish Studies at New York University.