Pat Clarke (1887 – 1969) from Knockbride County Cavan was a noted fiddle player of his generation and appeared on 2RN live radio broadcasts in the 1920s and 1930s.
Recordings of his playing are in the ITMA and on Bill Stapleton’s Irish Recording Company [IRC] album titled “Taisce Luachmhar – The Fiddle Album” recorded in Moore Street Dublin in the late 1940s. Cairdeas na bhFidéirí released the album in 2021 and Pat features alongside such greats as Paddy Killoran, Tommy Potts, Aggie White and Sean McGuire.
Pat Clarke taught the famous Irish traditional music composer Ed Reavy his first steps on the fiddle before Reavy emigrated to America. Reavy later composed a tune in his honour titled “Pat Clarkes Reel” published as tune # 43 in “The Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy”.
Pat’s legacy lives on today through the fiddle playing of his great-granddaughters Ciannait and Edith Lawlor.
Pat’s daughter Kathleen, her husband Tommy Fay and their children Fionnuala, Niall, Siobhan and Tomás are delighted to donate the Pat Clarke memorial cup for the under-12 fiddle competition at the Dublin fleadh.