Pádraig Carr (1946 – 2006)

(16th March 1946 – 5th July 2006)

Pádraig Carr

Pádraig, the youngest child of Mick and Mary Carr, played the melodeon for as long as he could remember. As a young man he played at sessions at Rosie’s of Inver and also at dances in Mín an Aoire School. Against his father’s wishes, he purchased a guitar in the mid 1960s, and played contemporary music with a band from Cill Charthaigh. However, he always returned back to his first love, the accordion. After emigrating to the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, Pádraig played with many groups including ‘The Sundowners’. He enjoyed playing for birthdays and christenings and performed annually at the Cheltenham races. While in the UK, Pádraig amassed a repertoire of tunes from all over Ireland, as well as exotic pieces such as ‘The Cuckoo Waltz’. Most of all, he looked forward to returning home for the annual Mick Carr traditional music festival in Mín an Aoire every June bank holiday weekend. He died a young man at the age of sixty after a long battle with cancer.

‘Stirling Castle’, strathspey, performed by Pádraig (accordion) & Mick Carr (fiddle)