I heard the death announced on Raidió na Gaeltachta, and then I watched RTÉ lunchtime news which had a fairly long tribute to Tommy Makem, including snippets of him singing Four Green Fields. I first heard Tommy singing on his own (without Clancy's)when I was 10 years old and that sparked my interest in Irish music in particular; I already had a love for folk music in general. So he had a huge influence in my life.

I also heard that Tommy Makem had been involved in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and/or in setting up an American support group for NICRA (circa 1970?). Can anyone elaborate on Tommy's role?