35 Facts About Liam Clancy

Liam Clancy was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary.

Liam Clancy was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars.

In 1976, as part of the duo Makem and Liam Clancy, he had a number one hit in Ireland with the anti-war song "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda".

Liam Clancy was born at Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland on 2 September 1935, the ninth and youngest surviving child of Robert Joseph Clancy and Joanna McGrath.

Liam Clancy later acquired the nickname 'Liam' from Cyril Cusack as 'William' was "too English".

Liam Clancy displayed an artistic disposition at an early age, while growing up in Carrick-on-Suir.

Liam Clancy received a Christian Brothers education before taking a job as an insurance man in Dublin.

Still in his teens, Liam Clancy explored writing and painting, though he was particularly drawn to the theatre.

Liam Clancy encountered Diane Hamilton Guggenheim when she came to his hometown to visit his mother, and set off on a tour of Ireland alongside her.

Liam Clancy later moved to New York City and referred to Greenwich Village as "the island for people escaped from repressed backgrounds".

Liam Clancy began singing with his brothers, Paddy and Tom Clancy, at fund-raising events for the Cherry Lane Theatre and the Guthrie benefits.

Liam Clancy played guitar in addition to singing and recorded several solo albums.

Liam Clancy was a close friend of Bob Dylan when they both were going out with two sisters in New York.

Liam Clancy performed live for United States President John F Kennedy.

Liam Clancy was the last surviving member of the original Clancy Brothers.

Tom Liam Clancy died on 7 November 1990, Patrick Liam Clancy died on 11 November 1998, and Tommy Makem died on 1 August 2007.

Bobby Liam Clancy, who had joined the group in 1969, died on 6 September 2002.

Liam Clancy had a hit with "The Dutchman" at this time, and he presented his own television show in Calgary, appearing on the CBC concert series Summer Evening in 1976.

Liam Clancy performed alongside his Fayreweather Band and the Phil Coulter Orchestra.

In later life, Liam Clancy maintained a solo career accompanied by musicians Paul Grant and Kevin Evans, whilst engaging in other pursuits.

Liam Clancy lived in Ring, County Waterford at this stage.

Liam Clancy subsequently converted his large garage into a recording studio.

Liam Clancy received an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick in 2001.

In 2001, Liam Clancy published a memoir titled The Mountain of the Women.

Liam Clancy was in No Direction Home, the 2005 Bob Dylan documentary directed by Martin Scorsese.

In 2006, Clancy was profiled in a two-hour documentary titled The Legend of Liam Clancy, produced by Anna Rodgers and John Murray with Crossing the Line Films, and screened on the Irish channel RTE.

Liam Clancy was an ardent proponent of political views and often outspoken on matters of social injustice until his death.

Liam Clancy criticised both Gulf Wars and the grim, harsh economic climate which gripped Ireland during his last months.

Liam Clancy told The Irish Times in September 2009 that he was on his "last legs".

Liam Clancy was unable to perform a full-length show on the closing night of a two-night sold-out run but put in a 40-minute appearance nonetheless.

Liam Clancy died from pulmonary fibrosis on 4 December 2009, in Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, Ireland.

Liam Clancy was buried in the new cemetery in An Rinn, County Waterford, where he spent the last years of his life, owning a successful recording studio.

Liam Clancy was survived by his wife, Kim, and their four children: Eben, Siobhan, Fiona and Donal, as well as three previous children: Sean, Andrew and Anya.

Liam Clancy had intended to give another interview at the time but succumbed to the disease.

Radio disc jockeys in New York paid tribute to the man who, according to the New York Daily News, "played a major role in defining how Americans heard Irish popular music over the last half century", with one DJ saying The Liam Clancy Brothers had "broke down a wall that was long overdue".