Tommie Potts: The Fireman Fiddler of the Coombe

Tallaght Library

Tommie Potts: The Fireman Fiddler of The Coombe is a musical character study on the life and work of Tommie Potts (1912-1988); Ireland’s most visionary traditional fiddler and a fire fighter with the Dublin Fire Brigade. Described by Martin Hayes as “the John Coltrane of Irish Music”, Potts’ came to cult prominence in the 1970s for his unrivalled avant-garde settings of Irish dance tunes as well as his notoriously reclusive personality, shying away from public performance and the music industry at large. Weaving a tapestry of archival footage, never-before-seen recordings of Potts, and musical performances from leading contemporary fiddlers Aoife Ní Bhriain and Liam O’Connor, the film offers a three-dimensional portrait of the enigmatic Dubliner; his music, his mercurial personality, and his many years of service as a Dublin fireman, including his involvement in one of the most traumatic events in the Brigade’s history. Dir. Macdara Yeates - 67 minutes