Frankie Kennedy and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh

The death of Frankie Kennedy, from cancer, in late 1993, was a tragic loss for fans of Celtic and Irish music. One of Irish music's most charismatic instrumentalists, Kennedy had been the guiding force behind Altan, the tradition-based band that he formed with his wife, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. According to the Irish Times, "The news of (Kennedy's) death is simply unbearable. One can say all the usual things about a great traditional musician at his death, yet, though true, in Frankie's case, they would not even begin to capture the beauty of the man, radiantly evident even when ...