In the mid-'50s, Pat founded Tradition Records so the Clancys and Makem could begin recording. Forgoing the stereotypical maudlin Irish ballads in favor of lusty party songs, traditional American and Irish folk songs, and even protest tunes sung in close harmony and performed most theatrically, the Clancys soon became popular folk performers around Greenwich Village. The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem (as they were first billed) came together to sing fundraising concerts for the Cherry Lane Theatre and at the Guthrie benefits. Both he and Makem also hoped to have acting careers in New York. He had also acted at the famed Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Before Liam emigrated, he had founded a dramatic society and had put on a play taking over the direction, producing, and set design himself. Liam and his friend Tommy Makem, born in Keady, County Armagh, the son of noted balladeer Sarah Makem, came to the U.S. Tom and Pat emigrated to New York around the early '50s to become actors. The Clancys were born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland to a family of nine, all of whom were musically inclined.

The ensuing decades saw the group undergo various personnel changes, but they continued to be active until Patrick 'Paddy' Clancy's death in 1998. Initially comprised of siblings Patrick, Tom, and Liam Clancy, and artist, poet, storyteller, and family friend Tommy Makem, the group recorded a string of successful albums, including The Rising of the Moon, Come Fill Your Glass with Us, and In Person at Carnegie Hall, before Makem's departure in 1969. Known for their signature Aran sweaters and vibrant arrangements of sea shanties, protest and drinking songs, and old Irish ballads, the group influenced a whole generation of folk artists, including Bob Dylan, Paul Brady, and Christy Moore, and helped to pave the way for like-minded acts such as the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.

An integral part of the American folk music revival, the Clancy Brothers helped popularize Irish traditional music in the United States in the 1950s and '60s.

Clancy brothers when the ship comes in