The

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

Traditional Musician of the Year Award is given annually as part of

Gradam Ceoil TG4 TG4's Gradam Ceoil was set up in 1998 with the purpose of recognising the various musicians and organisations who are significant in the creation of Irish Traditional music and in developing both the music and other musicians in Ireland and arou ...

. The award is to recognise the role of

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

and to ensure the task of carrying forward the Irish tradition into the future. The following is a list of the recipients of the award. * 1998 –

Tommy Peoples Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition. Biography Peoples was born near St. Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, i ...

, County Donegal * 1999 –

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

, County Roscommon * 2000 –

Mary Bergin Mary Bergin (born ) is an Irish folk musician who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the tin whistle. She plays in both the Irish Traditional and Baroque styles. Biography Mary Bergin was born in Shankill, County Dublin, ...

, Dublin * 2001 – Máire Ní Chathasaigh, County Cork * 2002 –

Paddy Keenan Paddy Keenan (born 30 January 1950) is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes who first gained fame as a founding member of The Bothy Band. Since that group's dissolution in the late 1970s, Keenan has released a number of solo and collaborati ...

, County Meath * 2003 – John Carty, County Roscomman & London * 2004 – Seán Keane, Dublin * 2005 –

Jackie Daly Jackie Daly (born 22 June 1945, Kanturk, North Cork, Ireland) is an Irish button accordion and concertina player. He has been a member of a number of prominent Irish traditional-music bands, including De Dannan, Patrick Street, Arcady, and But ...

, County Cork * 2006 – James Kelly, Dublin * 2007 –

Liam O'Flynn Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lun ...

, County Kildare * 2008 – Martin Hayes, County Clare * 2009 – Charlie Harris, County Luimnigh * 2010 –

Seán McKiernan Seán McKiernan is an Irish traditional musician of Carna, County Galway who plays the uilleann pipes. He was named '' TG4 Traditional Musician of the Year'' at the ''Gradam Ceoil'' of 2010. He came from an Irish speaking family of Boston ...

, County Galway & Boston * 2011 – Noel Hill, County Clare * 2012 –

Bryan Rooney (musician) Brian Rooney may refer to: * Brian Rooney (actor) (born 1972), Australian actor * Brian Charles Rooney, American actor and singer * Brian L. Rooney (born 1970), American murderer * Brian Rooney (journalist), American television news correspondent, ...

, County Leitrim * 2013 –

Dermot Byrne Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the ...

, County Donegal * 2014 – Harry Bradley, County Antrim * 2015 –

Máirtín O'Connor Máirtín O'Connor is an Irish button accordionist from Galway, Ireland, who began playing at the age of nine, and whose career has seen him as a member of many traditional music groups that include Skylark, Midnight Well, De Dannan, and ...

, County Galway * 2016 – Kevin Burke, County Sligo * 2017 –

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponent ...

, County Donegal * 2018 – Frankie Gavin, County Galway * 2019 –

Catherine McEvoy Catherine McEvoy is an Irish musician who plays the Irish traditional flute. She received the TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available ...

, County Dublin * 2020 -

Laoise Kelly Laoise Kelly is a traditional Irish music composer and harpist. She won the 2020 Musician of the Year Award. Biography Laoise Kelly is from Westport, County Mayo. Kelly learned music from her father and began learning the harp from when she wa ...

, County Mayo

References

{{reflist Traditional music Irish music awards