Biography
Born around 1912 in Ballinakill, County Galway, Eire, the respected Irish fiddler Lucy Farr remained an active participant in the Rakes across twenty-five years. In an era when Irish traditional music drew far less notice than it receives today, she performed regularly alongside folk artists such as Bob Davenport, Margaret Barry, Bobby Casey, Jimmy Power and Julia Clifford. A founding member of the Comhaltas Ceoltiri Eireann organisation, she also served seven years as its vice-chairman and thereby advanced the cause of Irish music and arts traditions. She first took up the instrument at age twelve during Saturday night "house dances" at her father's residence, after which she devoted herself chiefly to ceilidhs and pub sessions rather than concert platforms, notwithstanding her considerable technique. Seeking only personal satisfaction from her playing and no financial reward, she supplied four tracks to the 1967 compilation Paddy In The Smoke. That anthology later prompted Globestyle's 1994 album In The Smoke, which incorporated a further composition of hers, "The Mother Reel". Her melodies have been widely praised and preserved, notably within Pete Cooper's fiddling reference All Around The World. Arty McGlynn and Nollaig Casey recorded their interpretation of Farr's "Music On The Wind" on their 1989 release. An album titled Heart And Home was made in 1992 to mark her eightieth birthday, confirming that her playing had lost none of its strength despite her advancing years.