Paddy Reilly

Patrick 'Paddy' Reilly (b. October 18, 1939 in Dublin) is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. He is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry" and "The Town I Loved So Well".^[1] Reilly released his version of The Fields of Athenry in 1983; it was the most successful version of this song, remaining in the Irish charts for 72 weeks.^[2]

For years a solo performer, he joined The Dubliners in 1996 as a replacement for long-time member Ronnie Drew. He left the group after 9 years to move to New York (where he owns a number of pubs) in 2005 and was replaced by Patsy Watchorn.^[3]

He owned a number of bars in New York, including Paddy Reilly's on 29th Street and 2nd Avenue. (Paddy sold "Paddy Reilly's" to his former partner, Steve Duggan. According to Duggan, as of April 1, 2013, the building and Bar have been sold to another individual.) Paddy now lives in Naples, Florida, and frequents O'Donoghue's Bar & Grill on Marco Island, along with Paddy Murphy's, 5th Avenue, Naples.

Discography

Solo albums

After his debut album The Life of Paddy Reilly (1971) he recorded: Paddy Reilly At Home (1972); The Town I Loved So Well (1975); Green Shamrock Shore (1980); The Fields of Athenry (1982);Live Paddy Reilly (1983); The Old Refrain (1984); Greatest Hits Live (1985); Paddy Reilly's Ireland (1986); Paddy Reilly Now (1988); Sings the Songs of Ewan MacColl (1990);Gold and Silver Days (1991) and Come Back Paddy Reilly (2003)

With The Dubliners

• Further Along (1996)
• Alive Alive-O (1997)
• 40 Years (2002)
• Live from the Gaiety (2002)

References