The sudden death in the United States of Derek Bell of The Chieftains has robbed Irish music of a master musician and one of its most colourful characters.

Born in Belfast in 1935, Derek was a child prodigy who wrote his first concerto at age 12 and studied at the Royal College of Music and in Europe and the United States with such renowned teachers as Leon Goossens and Madam Rosina Lhevinne.

A multi-instrumentalist, Derek was an accomplished musician on the oboe, horn, cor anglais, keyboards and hammered dulcimer – indeed, his talents on the latter instrument lead to the recreation of the ancient Irish insturment known as the tiompan.

However, it was his mastery of the harp – ironically, an instrument he didn’t take up until his 30s – which saw this classically trained musician earn an international profile as a key member of Ireland’s Grammy award-winning folk ambassadors The Chieftains.

Besides working with The Chieftains, Derek recorded six solo albums, five on harp and one on piano. The title of one of those albums summed up the air of mischievous irreverence which this most brilliant but unstuffy musician brought to his life and times – Derek Bell Plays With Himself.

“I have been told since I was a boy that I have a ‘complex’ mind which doesn’t mean it is paradoxical but it is often contradictory,” he told Joe Jackson in a hotpress interview. “Yet, I never had any problem accepting the contradictory aspects of my own nature.”

Our condolences go to his wife Steffie, The Chieftains and all Derek Bell’s family and friends.