Andy McGann (1928-2004) was an Irish-American fiddle player and a celebrated exponent of Sligo-style fiddling. He was born in New York to immigrant parents from County Sligo, living first in west Harlem before moving as a child to Mott Haven in the Bronx. McGann received violin instruction from Catherine Brennan Grant, a teacher grounded in both classical and Irish traditional music, and played in parochial school orchestras. He also got informal instruction and encouragement from County Sligo fiddle great Michael Coleman, who was a friend of the family. At a very young age, McGann found a place among the elite of New York's Sligo-style fiddle players, including Coleman,

Paddy Killoran Patrick J. Killoran (1903–1965) was an Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison and Michael Coleman, as one of the finest exponents of the south Sligo fiddle style in the "gol ...

, Martin Wynne, Louis Quinn and James "Lad" O'Beirne. In the 1950s, McGann formed a partnership with Longford-born fiddler Paddy Reynolds. With Reynolds and others, McGann played with The New York Céilí Band, an all-star group that traveled to Ireland in 1960 to compete at the All-Ireland

fleadh cheoil The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an Irish music festival run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), a non-profit organisation. The festival includes live music events as well as competition. Each year a single town or cit ...

in Boyle, County

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

. McGann's first studio recording was the 1965 LP ''A Tribute to Michael Coleman'' with button accordionist Joe Burke and piano accompanist Felix Dolan. When Shanachie Records was established in the 1970s, McGann released a solo recording and a duet album with Paddy Reynolds - both with guitar backing from

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

- as well as ''The Funny Reel'', a reunion LP with Burke and Dolan.

Discography

*1965 ''A Tribute to Michael Coleman'' (Shaskeen) *1976 ''Andy Mcgann & Paddy Reynolds'' (Shanachie) *1977 ''It's a Hard Road to Travel'' (Shanachie) *1979 ''The Funny Reel - Traditional Music of Ireland'' (Shanachie)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGann, Andy 1928 births 2004 deaths People from Harlem Deaths from cancer in New York (state) American fiddlers Irish fiddlers American people of Irish descent 20th-century American violinists