Richie Piggott

Richie Piggott is an Irish traditional music historian, originally from Cobh, Co Cork but living in Chicago, USA for the past thirty years. He hails from a family steeped in the Irish music tradition. His father, Johnny Piggott, was an accordion player from Dooks, near Glenbeigh, Co Kerry while his mother’s family, the Flannerys of Dingle, Co Kerry were intimately involved in the marching bands there. His brother, Charlie, was a founding member of the group De Dannan and continues to play Irish music professionally today.

Richie’s love of Irish music has led to lifelong collecting of Irish music books and music manuscripts and a deep interest in the history of Irish traditional musicians. He has contributed several historical recordings and manuscripts to the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) and to the Piper’s Club, Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU) in Dublin, Ireland, and he has delivered many presentations on his work throughout Ireland and the USA. In his podcast, Irish Music Memories, Richie shares interviews with many of the notable musicians, broadcasters, researchers and storytellers, who have shaped the Irish traditional music scene in Ireland and well beyond its borders. He is currently researching the history of the Irish traditional music of South Sligo / East Mayo with local musician and historian James Murray which will involve the release of CDs of musicians James Murray, Jimmy Murphy and John Frank Vesey.

Richie’s research on the history of the lives and music of Irish immigrants in Chicago and the surrounding area culminated in the publication of his book, Cry of a People Gone: Irish Musicians in Chicago, 1920–2020, documenting the untold stories of several generations of Irish musicians in the city, was published in 2022. This research led to his discovery and publication of previously unknown letters of the famous Irish music collector Capt. Francis O’Neill and, more recently, to the discovery of the composition Irish Rhapsody by Selena O’Neill. Selena, who collaborated with Francis O’Neill on the publication of his last four books of Irish music from 1910-1924, was an accomplished Irish musician but previously unknown as a music composer.

The world premiere of Irish Rhapsody will be performed at this year’s Masters of Tradition festival, performed by Aoife Ní Bhriain and Cormac McCarthy.