Paddy Reilly

For other people named Paddy Reilly, see Paddy Reilly (disambiguation).

Paddy Reilly
Birth namePatrick Reilly
Born (1939-10-18) 18 October 1939 (age 85)
Rathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland[1]
GenresCeltic
Folk
OccupationsSinger
Years active1966–2005

Patrick Reilly (born 18 October 1939) is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry", "Rose of Allendale" and "The Town I Loved So Well". Reilly released his version of "The Fields of Athenry" as a single in 1983; it was the most successful version of this song, remaining in the Irish charts for 72 weeks.[2] He achieved number 1 in Ireland with the Liam Reilly (no relation) written song "Flight of Earls" in 1988.[3]

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 nine years to move to New York City (where he owns a number of pubs) in 2005 and was replaced by Patsy Watchorn.[4] After living in New York for several years he moved back to Ireland.

  1. ^ "PADDY REILLY CELEBRATES TURNING '80'". Ireland's Own. 25 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Facts and Figures – Longest in the Charts". The Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  3. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Flight of Earls". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 May 2022
  4. ^ http://cgi.ebay.ie/The-Paddy-Reilly-Songbook-Fields-of-Athenry-sheet-music_W0QQitemZ380145940850QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item588276b972&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 [dead link‍]