THERE IS NO SLOWING CHEIFTIANS.....

Paddy Moloney, founder of The Chieftains, long has been credited as an ambassador of Irish music.

He could just as easily be described as an ambassador of Galician, Scottish, American country or rock 'n' roll music, to name just a few of the varieties he has explored with The Chieftains.

Moloney digs up Celtic roots in unexpected places. Currently, he is delving into the musical influence of the Irish diaspora in Mexico, focusing on the presence of the "Batallon de San Patricio" during the Mexican-American War of the mid-1840s.

The St. Patrick's Battalion consisted primarily of recent Irish immigrants who deserted the U.S. Army to fight alongside the Mexicans. Many were caught and executed as traitors. Some historians view these soldiers as mercenaries or opportunists, while others think their status as a religious minority, as well as class issues, played a role in their desertion.

"It seems they didn't like the Protestant generals telling them to shoot their fellow Catholics," is how Moloney sees it.

The as-yet-untitled Chieftains album, which features Linda Ronstadt, still is a work in progress.

"We hope to have it finished by the end of April and to have it out by September," Moloney said.

Audiences who see The Chieftains during their jam-packed St. Patrick's season won't have to wait that long, as the band will preview new material. The Chieftains' tour includes concerts Thursday at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, March 15 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and March 16 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

"The first tune in the set is from the new album, about a Galician musician who went to Mexico," Moloney said. "And in the second half, we go berserk altogether with a full pipe band doing the march I wrote, and a lament for the Irish battalion."

Moloney, who plays uilleann pipes and tin whistle, is joined on this tour by longtime members Kevin Conneff (bodhran and vocals) and Matt Molloy (flute).

Missing this year will be the fiddler Sean Keane, who still is with The Chieftains and recorded with the band for its upcoming album, but who cannot tour right now for "personal family reasons," according to Moloney.

Courtesy: Kelly-Jane Cotter, Music Writer