Makem sang of Irish culture

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, August 2, 2007

DOVER, N.H. – Irish singer, songwriter and storyteller Tommy Makem, who teamed with the Clancy Brothers to become stars during the folk music boom, has died of cancer. He was 74.

Makem died Wednesday in Dover, where he lived for many years, his son Conor said Thursday. He had battled lung cancer.

The Irish-born Makem, who came to America in the 1950s to seek work as an actor, grew to international fame while performing with the band The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. The brothers, also from Ireland, were Tom, Liam and Paddy Clancy.

Armed with his banjo, tinwhistle, poetry, stagecraft and his baritone voice, Makem helped spread stories and songs of Irish culture.

He brought audiences to tears with “Four Green Fields,” about a woman whose sons died trying to prevent strangers from taking her fields. Other songs included “Gentle Annie” and “Red Is the Rose.”