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The Chieftains were formed in 1962 when Garech Browne, owner of Claddagh Records, invited uilleann piper Paddy Moloney to form a group to record a once off album. The original members of the group were Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes and tin whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Potts (tin whistle), Michael Tubridy (flute) and David Fallon (bodhrán). The Chieftains the group’s first album was published by Claddagh Records in 1963. Seán Keane (fiddle) joined the band shortly after the release of their first album and in 1966 Peadar Mercier replaced David Fallon on bodhrán. The group went on to release two albums The Chieftains 2 (1969) and The Chieftains 3 (1971) with this line-up of musicians. Derek Bell met The Chieftains in 1972 and began his performance and recording career with the group in that year. The group continued to tour and record and three more albums followed The Chieftains 4 (1973), the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon (1975) and The Chieftains 5 (1975). In 1975 the group turned professional after a very successful concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London. In the early years of their professional career, from 1975 to 1977, The Chieftains were managed by impresario Jo Lustig who organised a number of international tours to the United Kingdom, North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Peadar Mercier retired from the group in 1976 and was replaced by Kevin Conneff who sang and played the bodhrán. The Chieftains’ sixth album, Bonaparte’s retreat (1976) was released in the same year and was the first to feature Conneff’s bodhrán playing. It was also the first time singing featured on a Chieftains album with a guest appearance by a then seventeen year old Dolores Keane. Two more albums followed in 1977 and 1978, The Chieftains 7 (1977) and The Chieftains 8 (1978). In 1979 both Michael Tubridy and Seán Potts decided to leave the band due to the strains of international travel. Tubridy went back to his job as an engineer and Potts to his job in the post office. Tubridy was replaced by flute player Matt Molloy in 1979 and this addition to the band was to be the final change in line-up until the death of Derek Bell in 2002. The first Chieftains album to feature this new line up was Boil the breakfast early: Chieftains 9 which was released in 1979.

The Chieftains continued to record extensively throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the new millennium with nine albums released in the 1980s, fourteen in the 1990s and between the years 2000 and 2012 another seven albums were released.

The Chieftains have performed all over the world and for many famous individuals including American presidents, royalty and Pope John Paul II. They have also collaborated with numerous musical personalities including Van Morrison, Sinéad O’Connor, The Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti and many more. In 1983 The Chieftains famously toured China and were one of the first Western groups to perform on the Great Wall. This tour also saw them collaborate with Chinese musicians and resulted in their 1984 recording The Chieftains in China.

The Chieftains have received major recording and entertainment awards over the years. Their first award was a Canadian Genie in 1983 for film music for The grey fox . They were nominated for thirteen Grammy awards in total and won six during their most prolific recording period - two in 1993 for An Irish evening and Another country , one in 1994 for The Celtic harp , one in 1996 for Have I told you lately , one in 1997 for Santiago and one in 1998 for Long journey home .

Breandán Breathnach was born in The Liberties area of Dublin on 1 April 1912. His father Pádraig Walsh, was the last of the Dublin silk weavers and his mother Julia Parker died when Breandán was young.

From an early age he acquired an interest in the Irish language and Irish music from his father and Uncle Joe. He began playing music on the highland pipes, at an early age, and eventually took up his uncle’s uilleann pipes, this change of instrument brought him in contact with John Potts and the Potts family. Originally from Wexford, the Potts, who now lived in The Coombe, were steeped in the piping traditions of the previous century. This friendship began his lifelong love and passion for the uilleann pipes. Among some of Breathnach’s early uilleann pipe teachers were Billy Andrews, Brother Gildas (Ó Sé, Pádraig, ? 1881-1960) and Leo Rowsome (Rowsome, Leo, 1903-1970). Breandán was educated by the Christian Brothers in Synge Street and entered the Civil Service in 1930 where he served in the Departments of Posts and Telegraphs, Finance, Education and Agriculture.

Breathnach devoted his spare time to the study of Irish music. He actively sought out musicians in 1950s Dublin and noted down tunes they were playing. Since his marriage to Lena Donnellan from Mullagh, Co. Clare in 1943, he had also been in contact with Clare musicians like Willie Clancy (Clancy, Willie, 1918-1973) and Seán Reid (Reid, Seán, 1907-1978). As a result of this collecting work, he published his first collection of Irish music Ceol rince na hÉireann in 1963. Lifelong research of manuscript, printed and recording sources for Irish music lead to four more publications in this series. Ceol rince na hÉireann II & III were published in 1976 and 1985. After his death in 1985, two more volumes, edited by Jackie Small, were published in 1996 and 1999.

In 1964 Breathnach was seconded from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Education to undertake the task of making a complete collection of Irish traditional dance music. In 1972 Breathnach succeeded in establishing a national archive of Irish folk music within this department and in 1974 the archive transferred to the Department of Irish Folklore in University College, Dublin where he became Director of Irish Folk Music. He retired from UCD in 1977. The foundation of the Irish Traditional Music Archive was the Breandán Breathnach Collection, which was donated by his family after his death.

Breathnach was involved with many Irish music organisations, including Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, where he served for a period as Assistant Secretary. He was a founder-member of Na Píobairí Uilleann, along with Seán Reid and others, and was the organisation’s chairman from 1968 until his death in 1985. He was involved with the Willie Clancy Summer School, a founder-member in 1971 of the Folk Music Society of Ireland and also co-edited its journal Irish folk music studies Éigse cheol tíre. He lectured in Irish music in Trinity College Dublin and was a member of the Arts Council.

He contributed to many publications including the Encyclopedia of Ireland (1966), the New Grove dictionary of music and musicians (1981). As well as the previously mentioned Ceol rince series. He published a handbook on Irish music entitled Folk music and dances of Ireland in 1971 and Ceol agus Rince na hÉireann was published posthumously in 1989. In 1963 he began publishing Ceol: a journal of Irish music which continued to be produced by him for twenty two years. He edited and contributed to An Píobaire, the bulletin of Na Píobairí Uilleann from 1969 until his death in 1985.