Seán Ó Sé (born 1936) is an Irish

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

singer and retired schoolteacher from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, who sings

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

songs in Irish and English. He was born in

Ballylickey Ballylickey or Ballylicky () is a village on the N71 national secondary road and Bantry Bay near Bantry, County Cork, Ireland. The Ouvane River flows into Bantry Bay at Ballylickey. Tourism There is a caravan park at Eagle Point. The Seaview ...

and educated at Coláiste Íosagáin, Ballyvourney and

St Patrick's College, Dublin St Patrick's College (), often known as St Pat's, was a third level institution in Ireland, the leading function of which was as the country's largest primary teacher training college, which had at one time up to 2,000 students. Founded in Drum ...

before working as a national school teacher in counties

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

and Cork, finishing his career as

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of St Mary's on the Hill in

Knocknaheeny Knocknaheeny () is a working class suburb of Cork city, Ireland. It is on a hill about 2 km north of the city centre. The area is mainly residential, consisting of many terraced council housing estates. Knocknaheeny contains Apple's Europe ...

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. He came to prominence as a singer in the 1960s with

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971) was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

's group

Ceoltóirí Chualann Ceoltóirí Chualann (pronounced ) was an Irish traditional band, led by Seán Ó Riada, which included many of the founding members of The Chieftains. Ceoltóirí is the Irish word for musicians, and Cualann is the name of an area just out ...

. He later toured internationally with

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...

. Ó Sé is most associated with the

comic song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

"" ("the angry goat"), of which a version written in 1940 by Dónall Ó Mulláin of Cúil Aodha became a surprise

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

in 1962 when Ó Sé recorded it for

Gael Linn Gael Linn () is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on the promotion of the Irish language and the arts. The organisation's funding includes government and lottery sources. History Gael Linn was founded in May 1953, followin ...

. From this song is his nickname "the Pucker" or ""; the latter used as the title of a 2013 biography broadcast on

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

References

External links

* Musicians from County Cork Heads of schools in Ireland 20th-century Irish-language singers 21st-century Irish-language singers Living people 1936 births Irish tenors {{Ireland-singer-stub

References

Further reading

External links