'Something special about the soul he had': Tommy Peoples recalled in TG4 documentary

Legendary Donegal fiddler Tommy Peoples has been remembered in a TG4 documentary about The Bothy Band.

A native of Kinnycally in St Johnston, Peoples became one of the foremost musicians of his time.

He was the fiddler for The Bothy Band on their first album. 

His unique fiddle style and compositions have marked him as one of the most important figures in the history of Irish traditional music.

He was awarded the first TG4 Traditional Musician of the Year Award in 1998 and in 2013 he received the Composer of the Year award, becoming the first to receive a second Gradam in the TG4 awards.

Peoples died in 2018 at the age of 69 and Michael D Higgins, the President of Ireland, paid tribute at the time, saying that he “enchanted audiences at home and abroad with his unique style of music”.

Peoples leaned his craft from family, with his grandfather, Jimmy Peoples, and a cousin, Joe Cassidy, real influences on his work.

The surviving members of The Bothy Band reunited last year for a documentary and a tour, which had to be cut short after founder member Donal Lunny needed to undergo surgery.

In the TG4 documentary, which was screened again over Christmas, Peoples’ standing was evident.

“There was so much of Irish history in his music,” Cathal Goan, a former RTE Director General, said. “So much of the suffering of Irish people through the generations came through in his music. 

“There was sorrow, anguish, delight and joy. There was a wildness. All of those things, the heart and soul of the country, were expressed in Tommy Peoples’ music.”

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The documentary also featured a daughter of Peoples, Siobhan, while Triona Ni Dhomhnaill, who worked with The Bothy Band, said of Peoples: “There was something special about the soul he had. He put his whole heart into the music.