Charlie Piggott (born 14 July 1948) is an Irish traditional musician, best known as a founding member of

De Dannan De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...

and has toured extensively in Europe, Canada, and the US. He grew up playing music in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, where his first instrument was the

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

. In the early 1970s Piggott played banjo in sessions at Galway's Cellar Bar with Frankie Gavin (

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Alec Finn Alexander J. Phinn (4 June 1944 – 16 November 2018), known professionally as Alec Finn, was a British-born traditional musician who is famous for his unique style of accompaniment on the bouzouki. He was best known for founding De Dannan in 197 ...

(

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

) and Johnnie "Ringo" McDonagh (

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

). In 1973, the group Dé Dannan was formed from sessions at Tigh Hughes,

An Spidéal Spiddal ( ga, An Spidéal , meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) a ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

. Piggott plays in the old style and many of his seminal recordings have caused him to be hailed as "one of the most influential Irish banjoists of the generation", but after damaging his index finger in an accident on tour he reverted to playing the melodeon. In 1976, he was a featured artist of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, at the Festival of American Folk Life, for the American bicentennial. Today he plays a Black Dot Hohner Double-Ray, tuned C#/D. Piggott has revived many rare traditional melodies and has a reputation for performing them in accordance with the ethos of older players who have passed the music on. He later founded the Lonely Stranded Band with Miriam Collins (

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

) and Joe Corcoran (

, guitar & vocals) and their 1996 album met with great success. The new millennium saw him team up with the

Sliabh Luachra Sliabh Luachra (), sometimes anglicised Slieve Logher, is an upland region in Munster, Ireland. It is on the borders of counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, and bounded to the south by the River Blackwater. It includes the Mullaghareirk Mounta ...

fiddler Gerry Harrington to record a Cló Iar-Chonnacht release: "The New Road". Piggott is co-author, with Fintan Vallely and photographer Nutan Jacques Piraprez, of ''Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians''. Having worked for a long time as a professional musician in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

featuring regularly on television and radio, he still plays at traditional music festivals in the area. In 2019, Piggott released a solo album called 'The Days That Are Gone' and followed it in 2020 with 'The Trip We Took Over The Mountain', a duo album in collaboration with his son, the fiddle-player & singer Rowan Piggott.

Discography

*''De Danann'' (1975) *''Selected Jigs Reels and Songs'' (1977) *''The Mist Covered Mountain'' (1980) *''Star-Spangled Molly'' (1981) (see ''

The De Dannan Collection The De Dannan Collection is an album by Irish traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types o ...

'') *''Best of De Dannan'' (1981) *''The Lonely Stranded Band'' (1996) *''The New Road'' (2000) *''The Days That Are Gone'' (2019) *''The Trip We Took Over The Mountain'' (2020)

References

External links

* *> * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piggott, Charlie 1948 births Living people Irish accordionists Irish banjoists Irish folk musicians Musicians from County Cork De Dannan members 21st-century accordionists