Paddy ‘Jacko’ McMahon, born in 1940 and raised in Kylemore, Co. Clare, was a proud member of one of the most musically rich families in the region. The son of Jacko ‘John Tom’ McMahon, a master of the concertina, flute, and whistle, Paddy grew up in a home where music was as natural as breathing. Alongside his siblings — Noreen, Mary, and Pauline — Paddy learned traditional music in the true Clare way: by ear, by example, and by heart.

While Paddy may have carried his music more quietly than some, it was always a central part of who he was — a steady and rhythmic connection to his father’s style and the McMahon family tradition, which stretched back generations through Joe, Mary, and Annie McMahon, all accomplished players in their own right.