Tribute to Tommy Maguire Concert

The first ever teacher of formal traditional Irish music classes in London in the late 1960s (teaching for many years at the London Irish Centre, Camden and St Jude’s Social Club, Stonebridge Park) - North Leitrim man, Tommy Maguire was a fine whistler, lilter, céilí drummer and button accordion player who spent many years sharing his love of Irish music through his teaching of the children of Irish emigrants in this city. His music featured on various commercial recordings, including Topic Records Paddy in the Smoke. He played regularly with a number of the great Irish emigrant musicians from the 1960s, including esteemed fiddlers; Jimmy Power (Waterford), Michael Gorman (Sligo), Lucy Farr (Galway) and more. He was a member of the Four Courts Céilí Band alongside Jimmy Power and Paul Gross (fiddles), Tony Howley (flute), Michael Plunkett (whistle) and Reg Hall (piano) and often played with his family – John, Patsy and Margaret Maguire.

Tommy left a huge legacy in London - numerous young Irish musicians, some of whom went on to teach and some who passed the music on to the next generation in their own families.

This evening’s Tribute concert will feature a number of Tommy’s music students, as well as IMDL’s youth project ‘The Trad Gathering’ playing tunes from his repertoire.

Musicians include: Mary and Mick Linane (Tommy’s first students) and family, Tom (Dervish) and John Morrow, Siobhán O’Donoghue, Alan Morgan, Elaine Conwell, Karen Ryan (The London Lasses), Teresa and Gary Connolly (Auld Triangle Céilí Band), Patrick O’Sullivan (North London Céilí Band) and more.

If you knew Tommy, have any photos or stories, if you were one of Tommy’s students and would like to be involved on the night, please email Karen Ryan at: irishmusicinlondon@gmail.com

‘Tommy Maguire was born at Lacoon, Glenfarne in Co. Leitrim in 1921, and went to work straight from school at Fees motor garage in the village. Shortly before the War he moved to Belfast and then to Glasgow before making his way to London. His father, Johnny Matta John Maguire, was said to have been an exceptionally good fiddle player, and his uncle Mick was the trainer of the Glenfarne fife and drum band. Tommy could play a bit on the fiddle and flute and as a youngster played the drums in a local céilí band, though he is said to have picked up his ability on the button accordion later in London. His instrument was pitched in C#/D and, unlike most of the accordion players around at that time who had instruments in B/C his style didn’t reflect that of the current hero, Paddy O’Brien. Tommy’s partnership with Jimmy Power, and their subtle friendly rivalry, led to the formation of the Four Courts Céilí Band in 1962, with concert, club and dance hall engagements, a series of céilí dances at the newly-opened Irish Centre in Camden, some commercial records and a one-off live television appearance on Sunday Night at the London Palladium with Ted Kavanagh’s Irish Dancers. Tommy, however, had other ideas, and set about a new part-time occupation teaching Irish music to the children of his immigrant friends, and his allegiance moved from pub music to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Dozens of children, including three of his own, attended his Saturday afternoon classes on the fiddle, tin whistle, piano-accordion and drums at the Irish Centre and he had great successes in the All-Ireland junior competitions for a number of years.’ Reg Hall