TOMMIE POTTS 1912-1988

Legendary fiddler Tommie Potts was born into a musically rich family in the Coombe, in Dublin’s Liberties, in 1912. His father John Potts was an acclaimed uilleann piper, his brother Eddie a talented piper and fiddle player, and his sister Teresa played piano and accordion.

Technically gifted as a fiddle player, with an inquisitive artistic mind, he perfected a unique idiosyncratic style. In what he termed ‘developing’ traditional tunes, and through his own compositions, he sometimes introduced classical and jazz motifs, breaching the structural, melodic and rhythmic conventions of traditional music. In his hands, pieces that began as communal dance tunes became highly individualistic and powerfully beautiful musical expressions. His experiences as a young fireman, narrowly escaping in the Pearse Street fire tragedy of 1936, had a lasting impact on him as a person and an artist and his music carried a deeply melancholic strain. As an outlier and deeply spiritual man, he was a reluctant performer and honed his extraordinary gift in the parlour of his home in Dublin.

While his music was completely unique, he retained a strong connection with the tradition itself, particularly Co. Clare, which still shaped how he played. He enjoyed a strong personal and musical bond with many of the giants of Clare traditional music such as Willie Clancy, Peter O’Loughlin, Seán Reid, P.J.Hayes, Paddy Canny, Joe Ryan, John Kelly and Tony MacMahon.

His iconic album, The Liffey Banks, released by Claddagh in 1972, was greeted with public acclaim, along with a certain ambivalence, and criticism in some quarters. Séamus Ennis wrote: “To my mind he is a way above some of our heads and has achieved something very worthwhile.”

As an artistic of serious integrity, Tommie Potts was often an isolated figure within the tradition, but his musical legacy was championed by Micheál Ó Súilleabháin and Tony MacMahon, and he continues to influence the music of some leading contemporary players like Martin Hayes, Paddy Glackin, Noel Hill, Liam O’ Connor, Jesse Smith and Aoife Ní Bhriain.

In 2012 RTÉ published a CD, Tommie Potts: Traditional Fiddle Music from Dublin, containing some of Tommie’s recordings made for RTÉ and from a number of private collections.