I wont be playing the Johnny Keenan festival this year unfortunately, due to personal conflict, but I will try to be there for Johnny, also I’m meeting up with some musician friends outside the town to disscuss the posibility of organizing a small annual traditional event in Johnny’s memory, that will be held in his birth place Dublin.  I will post the venue where we’re meeting ASAP.

Coming soon

A new web site concerning Pavee relations and the musical history of the keenan family.  Enjoy!
paddy






A New CD release is being planned for 2007

Visit Paddy's Rambles for a recent addition.

Dear Paddy!

Thank You so much for splendid, perfectly brilliant CDs!!! We were glad and proud discover for us and for our audience Your creation - sincere, clean and clear, touch Your highest culture and mastery. Thank You for joy of dealings with Your wonderful music! Much friendly love from Siberia 
 
Serge Tikhanoff
Radio Penguin.

From Steve Morse (Steve is the lead guitarist with the Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple).

"I just finished the coolest session of writing / arranging with an Irish bagpipe / Flute maestro named Paddy Keenan.  I'm dying to bring him up for a few tunes if he can ever break out from his bookings.  He was amazing and we played some music that had me really excited.  I can't believe how much energy he can wail with on those pipes. Definitely we're going to get together, the first probably being a collaboration that was arranged that night.  Some traditional Irish / Scottish tunes that Paddy taught me.  That tune will most likely be on a benifit CD for Earthlegacy to help the cause, I've also asked him to play on our SMB album and gave him some of the music to learn. ( Some melodies on 2 tunes )"
.
"Nice compliment, Coming from one of the most sensitive and soulfull lead guitarists I've heard to date" paddy

Paddy interviewed on the US's National Public Radio, NPR                     

          When I first heard of my nomination for the TG4 musician of the year award, it got me thinking.....

On the 7th  of March 03 Paidi O'Lionaird read my letter out to a full house, at the Black box Theater in Galway.  The concert was in aid of the foundation and received a tremendously positive response, from both the Traveller and Settled communities.

My Idea is to set up an educational trust fund for the Traveller community at home, in Ireland.  The benefits from the auction of the TG4 sculpture will go into this fund to provide an annual grant to any student from the Traveller community who shows promise in going ahead with furthering his or her education.  

This grant will help provide assistance to the student, to further studies at university, or extended education in academic, theater or musical fields.  The grant will come from the interest gained from the principle donated by those concerned people who realize that education will help unlock doors for both communities.  The grant will increase as the principle grows.  

Given the pride and integrity of the Pavee, a boost with education can only help in bringing together, not only the Traveller people themselves, but the two communities that have been in conflict with each other for many years through lack of communication and understanding.  

This foundation will be in honor of my mother Mary Bravender Keenan.  The Foundation will be known as, “The Long Grazing Acre Foundation.”  Most Travellers of the past and my generation should be familiar with this phrase, and will appreciate the forward thinking of this foundation!

Paddy J B Keenan.
7th March 2003.

coming soon www.TheLongGrazingAcre.com.

The Doran Weekend

Feb' 22nd 23rd 24th.  Co, Wicklow Ireland


While aimlessly driving through the hills of Vermont, I thought about this musical gathering back home in Ireland, which I was about to attend in the coming weeks.  It was two years since I had been at this magic weekend, a rare happening of two different communities coming together through music and friendship.
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Thanks to the Doran's, Cashes, Rowsome's, Rooney's and the people whoorganized this musical gathering and all of the people from both the travelling and settled communities for making it a successful weekend.

The weekend of 1999 was a fun, peaceful and joyous weekend. What better foundation than this to start some kind of intelligent relationship between the Pavee and Buffer.  1999 went over without negative incidents except for the editor of a local newspaper who refused to cover the weekend specifying that he didn't want to glorify "knackers" in his newspaper It seems to me that this person has a very different view of traveling people and would not have thought twice of coming down, if there was an incident to justify his belief.  It was a lovely feeling to walk out the door of thishotel on a Monday two years ago proud as a Pavee.  What I'm trying to say is that this could be seen as a beginning to more understanding of our different life styles and our needs, to survive.  Here we are another weekend and three years running.

I've been living in the US ten years now, and believe me, I find it hard
sometimes to be in the middle of two worlds and I'm not talking about
countries or continents.  I'm talking about being a half and half smack bang in the middle of the "Pavee-Buffer" world.  Genetically speaking that is. Having said this I can honestly say that at my hearth I'm 100 % me.

I got some photos from a young lad out West, a thirteen year old American piper named Tyler, who was delighted to be in the company of some of the most highly respected names in the piping world.  All of those pictures are friendly photos of the first weekend's event.  Even I didn't expect it to go without some kind of friction, nor did the only hotelier in the town who would take it on.  Photos of people getting together in honor of the souls of Johnny, Felix and Leo, offering up a fun weekend of music and memories.  This young person along with his family, shared in with the fun and took home with them fond memories, and shared these as a reminder of what we have here today.  Peace and harmony and lots of great music.  This is what the travellers bring with them and this is what the settled community offers now.  This is what Tyler sees and takes back to the US with him, a young man's
impression, absent of any stale prejudices of the past.  We should be very proud of this and use it to set an example of our intelligent integrity, to be able to sit back and smile despite the ugly thoughts that haunt and darken the heads of those unenlightened.  Friendly weekends like this will hopefully lead us back to the land that was taken from us, way back then. 

Wishes,
Paddy B. Keenan

.  And if all else fails we can jointly claim squatter's rights to part of
the nation!