Mick Moloney, a renowned historian of Irish music, passed away last week. Moloney was instrumental in introducing modern audiences to Irish American music of the 19th Century, including tunes popular among immigrants during the Civil War and Reconstruction. An accomplished musician, he was a musician or producer on over one hundred albums.
Born in Limerick, Moloney taught at New York University and founded the Shamrock Orchestra at NYU. He performed both traditional Irish music and Irish American music composed for the popular audience and performed in Vaudeville and on Broadway. He has also trained and fostered many Irish musicians, including the first Irish American breakthrough women’s group, Cherish the Ladies.
Moloney also worked as a volunteer with abandoned HIV+ children in Thailand over the last two decades.
In addition to his other work, Moloney was known for his musical contributions to the Tenement Museum of Manhattan’s Lower East Side showcasing the songs of the impoverished Irish tenants of the oldest tenement in the city.
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