Death of well-known musician

THE death occurred this week of Brian Prior, a well-known figure in traditional music in the county.

Mr Prior was born in Leitrim but he moved to Britain with his family as a child. He worked in England as a technician with British Telecom. Following his retirement, his family relocated to Clare in the early ’90s.
Back in Ireland, he became involved with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, taking up a position as a projects officer at the group’s headquarters in Dublin. He was very involved with Cois na hAbhna and Fleadh Nua and was a fiddle player of some renown.
Frank Whelan, chairman of the management board of Cois na hAbhna, paid tribute to Mr Prior.
“He was a great organiser and he spent a lot of time with beginners and he tried to get people interested in the music. He put in a lot of effort into running sessions for people and he published three tutorial books, which were very well-known. He had been working on a fourth one before he died.”
Brian Prior is survived by his wife Anne; daughters, Anna and Aisling and his son, John.
His funeral mass  and funeral took place this Thursday.