Biography
Unlike most performers who retreat into fatigue upon returning from the road, the Irish fiddler P Joe Hayes would head straight back to his Maghera farm and resume milking duties while still wearing his stage suit and tie. Rooted there throughout his life, he never relocated despite spending extended periods on tour comparable to those of any permanent emigrant. In 1979 he ran unsuccessfully for local council, yet his musical achievements proved far more enduring: he helped establish a group that remained active for over five decades and could be heard on Irish radio both in 1947 and in 1997.
Born Patrick Joe Hayes, he was known simply as “P” without a trailing period. His mother, concertina player Margaret Hogan, encouraged him to begin fiddle lessons at eleven under the guidance of nearby instructor Pat Canny, whose earlier tutelage of his own son had already produced the noted fiddler Paddy Canny. Both households frequently played the gramophone recordings of Michael Coleman. Hayes and Paddy Canny soon performed together at house dances in Killenea, Feaka, and Tulla, and in 1946 they formed the Tulla Ceili Band. The ensemble became one of the longest-running in any genre, distinguished by its collective decision-making process; although Hayes assumed nominal leadership in 1950, all choices remained joint. The band functioned as an incubator for numerous Irish musicians and later benefited from the resurgence of step dancing in the 1970s and the global interest sparked by Riverdance two decades afterward. It issued six albums, completed seven American tours, and made more than a dozen visits to England. In 1958 the musicians appeared at Carnegie Hall, where press accounts noted that Hayes seemed as relaxed as if he were in his own barn; nine years later the city of Chicago presented the group with its keys. Around that time Hayes’s son Martin joined the lineup.
Among the band’s notable recordings, the 1958 album Echoes of Erin was reportedly captured in a single four-hour session and appeared on the Dublin label, as did the 1960 release Irish Champion Fiddlers, which featured Hayes and Canny alongside flutist Peader O’Loughlin and pianist Bridie Lafferty. The latter album, long favored by enthusiasts, was reissued by Shanachie in 2001. In 1990 Hayes and his son recorded the duet The Shores of Lough Graney, and the elder fiddler also accompanied singer Mary McNamara. He later contended with both Parkinson’s and Addison’s disease.
Born Patrick Joe Hayes, he was known simply as “P” without a trailing period. His mother, concertina player Margaret Hogan, encouraged him to begin fiddle lessons at eleven under the guidance of nearby instructor Pat Canny, whose earlier tutelage of his own son had already produced the noted fiddler Paddy Canny. Both households frequently played the gramophone recordings of Michael Coleman. Hayes and Paddy Canny soon performed together at house dances in Killenea, Feaka, and Tulla, and in 1946 they formed the Tulla Ceili Band. The ensemble became one of the longest-running in any genre, distinguished by its collective decision-making process; although Hayes assumed nominal leadership in 1950, all choices remained joint. The band functioned as an incubator for numerous Irish musicians and later benefited from the resurgence of step dancing in the 1970s and the global interest sparked by Riverdance two decades afterward. It issued six albums, completed seven American tours, and made more than a dozen visits to England. In 1958 the musicians appeared at Carnegie Hall, where press accounts noted that Hayes seemed as relaxed as if he were in his own barn; nine years later the city of Chicago presented the group with its keys. Around that time Hayes’s son Martin joined the lineup.
Among the band’s notable recordings, the 1958 album Echoes of Erin was reportedly captured in a single four-hour session and appeared on the Dublin label, as did the 1960 release Irish Champion Fiddlers, which featured Hayes and Canny alongside flutist Peader O’Loughlin and pianist Bridie Lafferty. The latter album, long favored by enthusiasts, was reissued by Shanachie in 2001. In 1990 Hayes and his son recorded the duet The Shores of Lough Graney, and the elder fiddler also accompanied singer Mary McNamara. He later contended with both Parkinson’s and Addison’s disease.