President Michael D Higgins has led the tributes to legendary trad guitarist Dennis Cahill, who died four days after he celebrated his 68th birthday.
One of Ireland’s most acclaimed guitarists in traditional Irish music had celebrated his birthday on Bloomsday, June 16.
Friend and fellow musician Jimmy Keane announced Cahill's death on his website on Tuesday.
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"Our dearest Dennis passed away peacefully on Monday evening, with his beloved Mary by his side as she has throughout his journey," he writes.
"Just moments before — we were comforting Dennis while The Lament for Limerick from Dennis’ album with Martin was on in the background — and as the track advanced to My Love is in America, Mary turned off the player, leaned over to hug and kiss Dennis one last time – and then he was gone…
"Too heartbroken to write any more… Play a tune today. Sing a song. Tell a corny joke. Sip a whiskey. Cherish a memory…
"My loving condolences to Mary, Cliodhna, the Cahill family, and all of Dennis’ many friends… Love you Dennis and rest gently in peace…"
In a statement, President Higgins said: “It is with great sadness that those with a love of traditional Irish music across Ireland, his native Chicago and around the world will have heard of the death of Dennis Cahill.
“Dennis brought a unique and innovative style to his guitar playing, while being deeply respectful of the essence of traditional Irish music. He will, of course, be best remembered for his collaborations with Martin Hayes both as a duo and within the group The Gloaming. Together they explored new musical territory and helped create a phenomenal interest in traditional music among a whole new generation of people both within Ireland and across the world.
“I had the pleasure of hearing Dennis perform on many occasions and will always remember in particular the performance by The Gloaming as part of the concert ‘Ceiliúradh’, held in the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2014 as part of my State Visit.
“On behalf of Sabina and myself, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Dennis’s wife Mary, to his family and to all his friends and colleagues across the world.
“Tá oidhreacht luachmhar cheoil fágtha ag Dennis do na glúinte atá le teacht. Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam uasal.”
Cahill is well-known for his long-time musical partnership with Martin Hayes and, alongside the Irish fiddler, was a founding member of the supergroup The Gloaming.
On their Facebook page, they simply captioned a black and white picture of Dennis: “16 June 1954 – 20 June 2022. R.I.P. We love you Dennis.”
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin is among those who have paid tribute to Cahill online following the sad news.
"I'm very sorry to hear that Dennis Cahill has passed away," she wrote. "His unique guitar playing had a huge impact on the Irish music tradition; he has left a beautiful catalogue of music behind him. My thoughts are with his family and friends. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam."
Born in Chicago, Illinois, to parents from Co. Kerry, Cahill studied at Chicago Music College. He met Hayes in Chicago in the '80s, with the two going on to form the band Midnight Court.
He was regarded as one of the most respected and innovative guitar players in the world of traditional Irish music, developing his own unique style of playing and performing his music around the world.
Dennis and Martin collaborated or played with artists including Sting, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Grammy-winning bluegrass and country star Ricky Skaggs, newgrass artists Darol Anger and Mike Marshall, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Together they played in venues in Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Scandinavia, Canada, the U.K., and Ireland as well as stops in Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, Poland, and Mexico.
In 2011 they were the featured performers at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama, the Vice-President, and the President of Ireland.
With The Gloaming, they performed in Brussels in 2013 to celebrate Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union, and in 2014 at London's Royal Albert Hall for the historic first state visit by the Irish President.
Martin and Cahill had previously opened up about their friendship together.
Cahill previously told Hot Press: “I think we both agree on when it works in the studio. We’d both be listening to something and we’d know if it was a case of there being something not there.”
Hayes said: “I’m a bit impatient and obsessive-compulsive. So I’m likely to go more nuts in the studio than Dennis is. I find the studio can be a very depressing place at times. I don’t always look forward to going in there. But by the same token, I just judge things by gut feeling, you know.
“And in terms of our own working relationship, basically we know each other very well. And somehow we’re fortunate enough to be able to tolerate each other's quirks. But you have to have a pretty close kind of friendship if you’re gonna fly around the world and hop in a rental car in Sydney and then do the same in California a week later. We hang out a lot, but we try to give each other as much space as possible, too.”
