Seán ÓRiada

Imagine no Chieftains, no Planxty or Bothy Band, no Moving Hearts or Riverdance! This biography of Seán Ó Riada, who spearheaded the revival of Irish traditional music and moved it onto the international stage, shows it might not have happened without him. One of the few significant artists to remain in Ireland after the Second World War, he became an influential and intriguing character - composer, musician, raconteur, film-maker and academic. In this wide-ranging account of his life, his friend and colleague looks behind the mask to reveal the complex personality of a unique individual and paint a vivid picture of an ambivalent talent. In his short life, Ó Riada encountered a host of personalities and suffered personal, professional and financial crises. The result is a fund of anecdotes, many almost surreal. The book concludes with the highly amusing Charles Acton correspondence and the great critic's obituary for Ó Riada. * Also available: An Poc Ar Buile by Seán Ó Sé

Auteur

Tomás Ó Canainn (1930-2013), from Derry, lived in Cork for many years and was Dean of Engineering at University College Cork. When Seán died in 1971, Tomás succeeded him in the Music Department and combined two very diverse disciplines. Joint author of a biography in Irish of Ó Riada and musical editor of two of Ó Riada's publications, Tomás was also a founder member of Na Filí, a world-famous Irish traditional group.