A man with a rare talent for melody and a larger than life personality. Paul wanted to take all of life's experiences to their ultimate peak - and beyond. Paul was a man of inspirational creativity; he was warm, charming, hugely endearing.
You can't pigeon-hole Paul Cunniffe, he played by his own rules, and in many ways the world was not large enough to contain an individual of such vision and depth.He was born on June 23rd 1961 in Cambridge, England, the eldest of six. The family moved to Ellesmere Port Merseyside in 1966 where Paul's life and personality took shape. They then moved to Tuam in 1975. At the age of 14, Paul was sent to the Christian Brothers School in Tuam where he had to adjust to a new culture, a new way of life. It was there he came across Paul Ralph and Davy Carton. It was in Tuam then that he formed punk band Blaze X, with the two lads, and another, Ja Keating. A CD of Blaze X's recordings is now available.The band had a vibrant but short lived career and when they split Paul came to London to seek his fortune there. After numerous stops and starts he began gigging on the Irish pub circuit, primarily in North London, but ultimately anywhere in the length and breadth of the UK. He was also developing his contact base of supporting session musicians and entering into a period of prolific song writing and sporadic recording, band line-ups, reincarnations and various solo/duet slots. He taught himself to play various instruments: guitar, keyboards, mandolin, banjo, even percussion instruments, but his real talent lay in singing and song writing.Paul tragically died in August 2001. He has left the greatest of songs behind him and his music has inspired a new generation of youth in his hometown of Tuam and beyond. His legacy lives on.
Man of Music Heart of Gold Documentary:
'The Road is Long': Paul playing to his son, Shane.
