February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Yet in the 23-year history of the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowships, the most prestigious prizes given by the U.S. government to a living resident folk or traditional artist, Andy McGann is conspicuous by his absence.
With his death from cancer last July 13 at age 75, that NEA oversight has become permanent. But it has also become a reason for the Irish Echo to select Andy McGann as the best traditional musician of 2004. It is the greatest accolade bestowed by this newspaper on a traditional performer, and no one is more deserving of recognition at the highest possible level than Andy McGann.
His fiddling blended stunning skill with fluid tempo, exquisite detail, and irresistible lift, all hallmarks of his mentor, legendary Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman (1891-1945). McGann, however, was no Coleman clone. He had his own distinctive, spellbinding style of playing.
“Andy’s music was elegant and complex with a warm, pure tone and precise technique,” said Paul Brady, who accompanied him on guitar for two recordings in the 1970s.
“His intonation, with a little bit of vibrato, and the subtleties in his fiddling were just wonderful,” Clare-born fiddler S