Patrick Leo Maguire (1903 – 17 December 1985) was an
Irish singer, songwriter, and radio broadcaster.
Born in
Dublin's inner city, Maguire trained as a baritone under Vincent O'Brien,
John McCormack's voice teacher. For many years he performed with the Dublin Operatic Society.
[''The Irish Times'', "Death of Mr. Leo Maguire", (p.7), 18 December 1985]
Maguire was a prolific composer, writing over 100 songs. These include "Come to the Céile", "The Old Killarney Hat", "If You'll Only Come Across the Seas to Ireland", "The Dublin Saunter" (which he wrote for
Noel Purcell) and "Eileen McManus" (recorded by
Daniel O'Donnell).
His most famous song is "
The Whistling Gypsy".
In 1954
Rose Brennan
Rose Brennan (born 1 January 1931) is an Irish singer. She is best known for a long spell with the Joe Loss orchestra in the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life
Rose Brennan was born in Cabra West, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. At age sixteen she started ...
was awarded third place by the
New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
for the best recording of the year for her cover of "The Whistling Gypsy". It was also a hit in Ireland and later in the United States. Maguire also wrote parodies and humorous songs under the name Sylvester Gaffney.
In parallel with his musical career, Maguire worked as a broadcaster on
Radio Éireann. The programme with which he is most closely associated is the ''Walton's Programme''. This was a weekly sponsored show during which Maguire played recordings of popular Irish ballads. He finished each show with the catchphrase "if you feel like singing, do sing an Irish song."
The programme was broadcast for almost 30 years until its cancellation in January 1981.
[''The Irish Times'', "An exercise in ooh-and-aah nostalgia", (p.1), 5 January 1981]
References
External links
Short profile on Glenside Records site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Leo
1903 births
1985 deaths
Irish baritones
Irish male songwriters
RTÉ Radio 1 presenters
20th-century Irish male singers