Paddy Taylor

Paddy Taylor

Paddy Taylor is an Irish traditional flautist from West Limerick. He is born in 1912 and dies in 1976. He is born at Loughill in West Limerick and later settles in Chiswick, London, after his family moves there in the early 1950s.

Background and family

Taylor grows up in a musical family. His father is a singer who knows many local dance tunes and prompts Honora Taylor, Paddy’s mother, who is a well-known anglo-concertina player. His grandfather, Pay Hanley, is locally known as a flute player and also plays several other instruments. Taylor is also encouraged by his cousins Mike and Mortimer Taylor, both of whom play flute.

Career

Before the Second World War, Taylor plays with Frank Lee’s Tara Band and The Garryowen Band. He also starts the Tara Club above Burtons in Hammersmith Broadway. In London, he plays regularly for Irish dancing and takes part in broadcasts with well-known Irish pipers and fiddlers.

Later work

After the war, Taylor works for Mole Richardson, a television lighting engineering firm, for twenty years.