Uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, one of the founding members of The Bothy Band, has died aged 76.

Born into a Traveller family and raised in Dublin, Keenan was the third generation in his family to take up the uilleann pipes.

Formed in 1975, Keenan played as part of The Bothy Band with musicians including Dónal Lunny, Matt Molloy, Paddy Glackin, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, until the their last performance in 1979.

Keenan had a long career after the The Bothy Band’s 1979 disbandment, both solo and playing with others.

His contributions to traditional Irish music were honoured in 2002 when he received the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Ceoltóir na Bliana / musician of the year award. In 2011 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Music Association.

In 2023, Keenan and his fellow Bothy Band musicians reunited for the making of a documentary, which led to the group playing an Irish tour in 2024.

“I never knew how influential we were until I started travelling around different countries,” Keenan said in an Irish Times interview in 2024.

“I’ve played on all seven continents, and everywhere I went, what I was hearing back was that The Bothy Band was just huge. So now what I’m seeing is that my generation is coming back to see the band, and they have their children and grandchildren coming to the gigs too, which is amazing. It’s crazy. They want to hear what their parents were talking about.”

Tributes poured in following the announcement of Keenan’s death.

“An inspirational musician, as a solo artist and a member of the Pavees and The Bothy Band he drew countless people to the pipes,” a statement from Na Píobairí Uilleann said.

“Paddy’s music was instantly recognisable: his deeply expressive chanter playing coupled with his supreme technique displayed his total mastery of the instrument. A unique musician who both represented the tradition and found his own remarkable voice.”

Paying tribute, The Irish Traditional Music Archive described the musician as “one of the most popular uilleann pipers of all time”.

A statement from the National Concert Hall said Keenan was “a transformative figure in traditional music and often referred to as the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the uilleann pipes’”.