The Tumbling Paddies are a band who spend more time together than most of us do with our own families. The six lads, all hailing from Co Fermanagh, have been performing together for 11 years and it’s just as well they get on, because they are constantly on the road travelling from gig to gig.
The six-piece band blends folk, trad and pop, and each of the members brings their own energy and flavour to the group. Gareth Maguire is the lead singer, Ciaran Owens sings backing vocals and plays banjo and guitar, Martin Tracy plays the accordion while Lee Jones is on acoustic guitar and electric guitar. You’ll find Oisin McManus on the piano or the bass and singing backing vocals while John McCann is the drummer.
Irish Country Living catches up with two of the farmers-turned-band members, Martin Tracy (accordionist) and John McCann (drummer) some weeks after their return from touring North America. A lot of the Irish diaspora attended their gigs, which is something they love to see.
“We love playing for people at home, but it’s great to play to all those who have moved out as well and are living overseas for work,” says Martin. “We can meet our own friends that have emigrated to the likes of Australia as well, and we’d catch up with them when we’re out there.”
It doesn’t take long in our conversation for the ‘f’ word to come up. Not farming (although more on that later) but Fermanagh. Listen to any of their music and it’s easy to tell the lads are incredibly proud of, and wed to, their home county, which features prominently in their songs.
Their new single Take Me Home which was released this summer, is about arriving home to Fermanagh after long periods of time away. “We wrote that song after we came back from Australia in March,” explains Martin. “We love to be away but there’s nothing better than getting home. You just can’t beat it.”
The Tumbling Paddies performing in Chepstow Castle Wales.
Where it all began...
When the lads first met in 2014, they never dreamed that they would be touring the world. Their shared love of trad brought them together. “Believe it or not, none of our parents play music across the six of us,” says Martin. “It was just a genuine interest and with a lot of practice and determination, we’ve got to where we are.
“We got to know each other over the years – meeting up for music sessions and then eventually forming the band,” John says. “We decided to start playing in pubs and just to give it a go.”
Their first-ever gig was in the Mountview Inn in Derrylin on the eve of Easter Sunday 2014, and for the five years that followed, they performed in local pubs and at wedding receptions. Then, the pandemic struck; which was actually the making of the band, according to John. It allowed the men to hone their craft.
“During Covid-19, we found our feet a wee bit. We started playing music and practising separately, which was a good thing.
“Obviously at that time, we weren’t able to meet up. All you could do was play music by yourself and listen,” John explains. “For me, personally, I would listen to a lot of musicians and drummers from all over the world. We all improved from these influences.
“We came together in 2021 again, and when everything started to open up, we released a few songs, and that was it. The crowd started coming in the door.”
“Things really took off,” Martin agrees. “We were releasing more of our own songs, and then we did a live album. Releasing songs, we were gaining popularity, which was great, and you could see the gigs getting bigger. The thing we love most is performing and it was just great that people were coming out to hear us.”
Around this time, the lads were still juggling performing with part-time work or college. It wasn’t until 2023 that the six went all in with The Tumbling Paddies, committing to the band as a full-time gig. “It was over a nine-month period that everyone was like, right, we’ve got to leave the jobs here and give this a good go,” says John. “It paid off but it was definitely a risk.”
Tumbling Paddies performing live.
Trad music is in a completely different space to when The Tumbling Paddies started out. “It’s more popular than ever,” John says. “The country scene was probably a lot bigger years ago when we were starting out, compared to the trad music. You had the whole country boom of 2012. Now the folk thing is coming through. It’s all ages coming to the gigs.”
When it is pointed out that Irish country music legends, Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan and Lisa McHugh reside in (you guessed it) Fermanagh, the boys laugh. “There must be something in the water down here,” jokes John.
Fermanagh isn’t the only word beginning with ‘f’ that animates them.
Second to their love of music has to be their love of farming, with both men actively involved in their family farms. John helps his father out on his 100ac suckler farm in Coa, a small townland north of Enniskillen.
“Over the summer and during the month of August, there wasn’t a big pile of farming done because we were so busy touring. We were all over the world in America and England. It was flat to the mat.”
That’s, in part, why they are happy to stay put in Ireland for the entire month of September.
“For me, it’s about getting back to the farm,” says Martin, who runs a suckler and sheep enterprise on his 120ac farm in Boho, a village situated in the western edge of the county.
Martin took over the farm from his grandfather and says “it’s great to get home and to do a few days’ work on the farm and be mowing for silage or looking after calves. I suppose it just keeps you grounded as well.”
He does bring in help though when he is away. “When we were in America, I had a few calves calving and I was checking the cameras every half hour just to make sure they were okay,” he laughs.
“I was farming before I was in the band,” Martin continues. “I’ve been farming for the best part of 15 years.
Martin Tracy and John McCann are both part-time farmers. When they're not playing in the band, they're on the farm.
Performing at Ploughing
Martin and John are performing over the three days of Ploughing. It is the band’s fourth year performing there – and they love it.
“The Ploughing is a great place to promote our music – both to our fans and to people who had never heard of us before,” says John. “In the early days, we were fairly unknown to the public. We were playing to 20,000 people over the week, and we didn’t even realise that it was building our audience so much. It has been a great place for us – especially in the early stages of our career, a real building block.”
“The atmosphere is just amazing,” Martin continues.
“Over the three days of the Ploughing, each day gets better and everyone’s there for a good time.”
The Tumbling Paddies are performing in Catering Block A in Danny Byrnes Bar, or – when they’re not playing, you to spot them at some of the machinery or tractor stands.
“We get in there and go around the different stands, and it gives us a chance to see everything,” says Martin.
“I’ll be looking around at tractors and at tankers and stuff, and I’d be walking around having a look to see if there’s anything of interest that I could bring back to the farm.”
See thetumblingpaddiesofficial.com
The Tumbling Paddies are a band who spend more time together than most of us do with our own families. The six lads, all hailing from Co Fermanagh, have been performing together for 11 years and it’s just as well they get on, because they are constantly on the road travelling from gig to gig.
The six-piece band blends folk, trad and pop, and each of the members brings their own energy and flavour to the group. Gareth Maguire is the lead singer, Ciaran Owens sings backing vocals and plays banjo and guitar, Martin Tracy plays the accordion while Lee Jones is on acoustic guitar and electric guitar. You’ll find Oisin McManus on the piano or the bass and singing backing vocals while John McCann is the drummer.
Irish Country Living catches up with two of the farmers-turned-band members, Martin Tracy (accordionist) and John McCann (drummer) some weeks after their return from touring North America. A lot of the Irish diaspora attended their gigs, which is something they love to see.
“We love playing for people at home, but it’s great to play to all those who have moved out as well and are living overseas for work,” says Martin. “We can meet our own friends that have emigrated to the likes of Australia as well, and we’d catch up with them when we’re out there.”
It doesn’t take long in our conversation for the ‘f’ word to come up. Not farming (although more on that later) but Fermanagh. Listen to any of their music and it’s easy to tell the lads are incredibly proud of, and wed to, their home county, which features prominently in their songs.
Their new single Take Me Home which was released this summer, is about arriving home to Fermanagh after long periods of time away. “We wrote that song after we came back from Australia in March,” explains Martin. “We love to be away but there’s nothing better than getting home. You just can’t beat it.”
The Tumbling Paddies performing in Chepstow Castle Wales.
Where it all began...
When the lads first met in 2014, they never dreamed that they would be touring the world. Their shared love of trad brought them together. “Believe it or not, none of our parents play music across the six of us,” says Martin. “It was just a genuine interest and with a lot of practice and determination, we’ve got to where we are.
“We got to know each other over the years – meeting up for music sessions and then eventually forming the band,” John says. “We decided to start playing in pubs and just to give it a go.”
Their first-ever gig was in the Mountview Inn in Derrylin on the eve of Easter Sunday 2014, and for the five years that followed, they performed in local pubs and at wedding receptions. Then, the pandemic struck; which was actually the making of the band, according to John. It allowed the men to hone their craft.
“During Covid-19, we found our feet a wee bit. We started playing music and practising separately, which was a good thing.
“Obviously at that time, we weren’t able to meet up. All you could do was play music by yourself and listen,” John explains. “For me, personally, I would listen to a lot of musicians and drummers from all over the world. We all improved from these influences.
“We came together in 2021 again, and when everything started to open up, we released a few songs, and that was it. The crowd started coming in the door.”
“Things really took off,” Martin agrees. “We were releasing more of our own songs, and then we did a live album. Releasing songs, we were gaining popularity, which was great, and you could see the gigs getting bigger. The thing we love most is performing and it was just great that people were coming out to hear us.”
Around this time, the lads were still juggling performing with part-time work or college. It wasn’t until 2023 that the six went all in with The Tumbling Paddies, committing to the band as a full-time gig. “It was over a nine-month period that everyone was like, right, we’ve got to leave the jobs here and give this a good go,” says John. “It paid off but it was definitely a risk.”
Tumbling Paddies performing live.
Trad music is in a completely different space to when The Tumbling Paddies started out. “It’s more popular than ever,” John says. “The country scene was probably a lot bigger years ago when we were starting out, compared to the trad music. You had the whole country boom of 2012. Now the folk thing is coming through. It’s all ages coming to the gigs.”
When it is pointed out that Irish country music legends, Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan and Lisa McHugh reside in (you guessed it) Fermanagh, the boys laugh. “There must be something in the water down here,” jokes John.
Fermanagh isn’t the only word beginning with ‘f’ that animates them.
Second to their love of music has to be their love of farming, with both men actively involved in their family farms. John helps his father out on his 100ac suckler farm in Coa, a small townland north of Enniskillen.
“Over the summer and during the month of August, there wasn’t a big pile of farming done because we were so busy touring. We were all over the world in America and England. It was flat to the mat.”
That’s, in part, why they are happy to stay put in Ireland for the entire month of September.
“For me, it’s about getting back to the farm,” says Martin, who runs a suckler and sheep enterprise on his 120ac farm in Boho, a village situated in the western edge of the county.
Martin took over the farm from his grandfather and says “it’s great to get home and to do a few days’ work on the farm and be mowing for silage or looking after calves. I suppose it just keeps you grounded as well.”
He does bring in help though when he is away. “When we were in America, I had a few calves calving and I was checking the cameras every half hour just to make sure they were okay,” he laughs.
“I was farming before I was in the band,” Martin continues. “I’ve been farming for the best part of 15 years.
Martin Tracy and John McCann are both part-time farmers. When they're not playing in the band, they're on the farm.
Performing at Ploughing
Martin and John are performing over the three days of Ploughing. It is the band’s fourth year performing there – and they love it.
“The Ploughing is a great place to promote our music – both to our fans and to people who had never heard of us before,” says John. “In the early days, we were fairly unknown to the public. We were playing to 20,000 people over the week, and we didn’t even realise that it was building our audience so much. It has been a great place for us – especially in the early stages of our career, a real building block.”
“The atmosphere is just amazing,” Martin continues.
“Over the three days of the Ploughing, each day gets better and everyone’s there for a good time.”
The Tumbling Paddies are performing in Catering Block A in Danny Byrnes Bar, or – when they’re not playing, you to spot them at some of the machinery or tractor stands.
“We get in there and go around the different stands, and it gives us a chance to see everything,” says Martin.
“I’ll be looking around at tractors and at tankers and stuff, and I’d be walking around having a look to see if there’s anything of interest that I could bring back to the farm.”
See thetumblingpaddiesofficial.com
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