{"id":243212,"date":"2026-01-14T00:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T00:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/243212\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T00:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T00:25:08","slug":"an-poc-ar-buille-singer-sean-o-se-dies-aged-89-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/243212\/","title":{"rendered":"An Poc ar Buille singer Sean \u00d3 S\u00e9 dies, aged 89 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cork singer Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9<\/a> has died, aged 89. <\/p>\n

Taoiseach Mich\u00e9al Martin<\/a> led tributes to the An Poc ar Buille singer, who died on Tuesday just three days short of his 90th birthday, describing him as someone who had \u201can extraordinary impact on Irish music and song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00d3 S\u00e9 became a household name in the 1960s and was known for his later work with Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Riada<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He performed all over Ireland as well as in Europe, the US and Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened at the passing of Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9,\u201d Mr Martin said. \u201cA legend, Se\u00e1n was an iconic figure in Irish education, culture and traditional music who had an extraordinary impact on Irish music and song, He was also an outstanding school principal and educator. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis friendship with the late Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Riada was a unique one. They had a very strong bond, and Se\u00e1n was the definitive interpreter of \u00d3 Riada\u2019s music. He was renowned for his singing performances, particularly for An Poc Ar Buile, and did great work with C\u00f3r C\u00fail Aodha.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr Martin said generations of people from Cork would associate him with the home coming of All Ireland teams, bringing celebrations to a rousing conclusion with a rendition of The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee. <\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00e1n was a good friend. He had a very happy and sunny demeanour. He was always wonderful company and a great person to meet. He leaves an outstanding legacy and will be sadly missed by his family. He will be deeply mourned on Leeside and indeed, across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although born on South Terrace in Cork City, \u00d3 S\u00e9 grew up in Ballylickey near Bantry where his parents taught in nearby Coomhola National School. He was to follow them into education, teaching in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow and Bandon, Co Cork before teaching in Knocknaheeney in Cork City.<\/p>\n

He was appointed principal of the newly-opened St Mary\u2019s on the Hill NS in Knocknaheeny in 1980 and oversaw its development into one of the largest primary schools in the country until his retirement in 1993.<\/p>\n

But it was for his ability as a singer and interpreter of songs with \u00d3 Riada that he was best known. His career followed a recording of An Poc ar Buile, a song with which he became forever associated after recording it for Gael Linn in 1962.<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Se recalled in an interview with The Irish Examiner how it was while attending Colaiste Iosagain in Baile Mh\u00fairne that he first heard C\u00fail Aodha man, D\u00f3nall \u00d3 Mull\u00e1in sing his own composition, An Poc ar Buile, charting the exploits of a mad puck goat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard D\u00f3nall \u00d3 Mull\u00e1in sing it and the verse and chorus stayed with me forever. That was the first time I ever heard An Poc ar Buile. It\u2019s a very catchy song and it remained in my mind,\u201d said \u00d3 S\u00e9 who went on to enjoy a close friendship with \u00d3 Riada until his death at the age of 44.<\/p>\n

Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy also paid tribute to \u00d3 S\u00e9, describing him as \u201cone of Cork\u2019s most recognisable cultural figures as well an educator, a storyteller and an ambassador for our music, and of course our native language.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Dennehy said while \u00d3 S\u00e9 will forever be synonymous for An Poc ar Buile, generally regarded as the first pop hit in the Irish language, he was also famous for his rousing rendition of the Cork anthem, The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee, which he often performed at civic events.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost recently, he featured in the Remember and Renew gala concert marking the close of the national Decade of Centenaries, performing alongside orchestras and choirs in a night dedicated to reflection, remembrance, and celebration of Cork\u2019s history,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis presence at such significant civic occasions reflected not only his musical stature but his deep connection to the story of Cork and its people. His warmth, humour and devotion to our traditions helped shape the cultural life of Cork and Ireland for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister for Culture Patrick O\u2019Donovan said he grew up listening to \u00d3 S\u00e9\u2019s \u201cincomparable voice\u201d and described him as one of \u201cIreland\u2019s most cherished cultural icons and a true gentleman of the arts\u201d.<\/p>\n

Predeceased by his wife, Eileen, \u00d3 S\u00e9, who lived in Ballinlough in Cork City, is survived by daughters \u00c1ine and \u00cdde, his son Con and grandchildren M\u00e9abh, Se\u00e1n and Ciara.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cork singer Se\u00e1n \u00d3 S\u00e9 has died, aged 89. Taoiseach Mich\u00e9al Martin led tributes to the An Poc…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[46,42,1843,43,32980,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-243212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-cork","tag-headlines","tag-micheal-martin","tag-news","tag-sean-o-riada","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}