Mulranny grieves tragic death of famous musician

Martin Mulloy, pictured with his trusty banjo, was a musician of some note and was known to people all over the country through his work as a driver of the AIB Mobile Bank.

Mulranny grieves tragic death of well-known traditional musician


Anton McNulty

‘AN out and out gentleman’ was the description afforded to Mulranny musician, Martin Mulloy who died tragically on Saturday morning at Mulranny pier.
The news of Martin Mulloy’s death on Saturday at the age of 58 was met with shock and sadness in Mulranny and beyond as he was well known as a member of the legendary ballad group, ‘The Mulloy Brothers’. He died in a drowning accident at Mulranny pier on Saturday morning in what was described as a once in a million freak accident.
The youngest of the famed Mulloy Brothers - which also consisted of Tom, Mick and Pat, Martin was a talented musician and and played all over Ireland and also toured the UK, Europe and the US.
He was also a member of the Mulranny pipeband and was often seen playing at special occasions. As well as being known for his musical talents, Martin was also the driver of the AIB travelling van.
Local councillor, Michael Holmes told The Mayo News that the whole community was in deep shock following the news of his death. He described Martin as a gentleman and was always at the heart of anything good in the community.
“The whole community is in deep shock and Martin’s death has left a big gap in the village. He was a real community man and both he and his wife Maureen were involved in everything good in Mulranny over the last couple of years. As a member of The Mulloy Brothers, he brought a lot of joy and happiness to a lot of people and he had a good sense of humour.
“He was always available with the pipes and on the two occasions I was elected he piped me into Mulranny. If anyone brought any success to the area he was always there to pipe them in and was available to provide music at funerals and other functions. He helped both young and old and Martin was an out and out gentleman,” he said.
The drowning incident took place on Saturday morning as Martin was going out fishing in his boat. It is believed that his foot may have become tangled on a rope in the boat and he got dragged into the water.
The Mulloy Brothers Band was formed in 1965 were they became famous for their rendition of popular folk ballads and built up a loyal following all over the country. They released a number of CD’s but the band suffered heartbreak in 2007 when Mick Mulloy lost his long battle with cancer. Martin and his family suffered further tragedy a number of years ago when his only daughter Aisling died after she was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Martin is survived by his wife Maureen and son, Shane and his Funeral Mass will take place today (Tuesday) in Mulranny Church at 1pm, with burial afterwards in Murrevagh Cemetery.

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