Chieftains, the

Irish folk group. Long regarded as leading exponents of Irish traditional music, the Chieftains were formed in the early 1960s. Over the years, they have worked with a wide variety of musicians from different backgrounds, and remain a major concert attraction. Membership of the band has varied, but key players include Uillean piper Paddy Moloney (1938– ), harpist Derek Bell (1935– ), and flautist Matt Molloy (1947– ).

The original Chieftains met while playing as members of Seán Ó Riada's Ceoltóirí Cualann orchestra in the late 1950s. Though they began performing together on an amateur basis, their music was so well received that they turned professional in the early 1970s. They have recorded with such diverse artists as Mike Oldfield (1953– ), Van Morrison, and James Galway, and their music has been widely used on film soundtracks. The Chieftains influenced later Irish folk-rock bands such as Planxty, the Bothy Band, and De Danaan. They have attained spectacular international success with their later fusion recordings and since 1993 they have won many international awards, including several Grammy awards in 1994, 1996, and 1997.