Look up apron in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A full length apron

An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. It may be worn for hygienic reasons as well as in order to protect clothes from wear and tear. The apron is commonly part of the uniform of several work categories, including waitresses, nurses, and domestic workers. Many homemakers also wear them. It is also worn as a decorative garment by women. Aprons are also worn in many commercial establishments to protect workers clothes from damage, mainly bib aprons, but also others such as blacksmith or farrier aprons.

In addition to cloth, aprons can be made from a variety of materials. Rubber aprons are commonly used by persons working with dangerous chemicals, and lead aprons are commonly worn by persons such as X-ray technicians who work near radiation. Aprons, such as those used by carpenters, may have many pockets to hold tools. Waterproof household aprons, made of oilcloth or PVC are suitable for cooking and washing dishes.

The word apron is from the metanalysis of the term "a napron" to "an apron". The original spelling of napron has been lost (from the Old French naperon; Modern French napperon).^[1]

Styles[link]

There are many different apron forms depending on the purpose of the apron. A basic distinction is between waist aprons which cover the body from the waist down and a bib apron which also covers the upper part of the body.

An apron is usually held in place by two ribbon-like strips of cloth that are tied in the back. A bib apron may either have a strap in around the neck (perhaps the most widespread use today), or shoulder straps that criss-cross in the back and attach to the waistband. The advantage of the former design is that it makes it especially simple to put on the bib apron. The advantage of the shoulder strap design is that it makes the apron more comfortable to wear; a neck strap can slightly impair ease of movement.

Other types of aprons include the pinafore and the cobbler apron. There are also aprons that will cover the sleeves.

Some modern day aprons will have humorous expressions, designs or corporate logos.

Aprons in the home[link]

The apron was traditionally viewed as an essential garment for anyone doing housework. Cheaper clothes and washing machines made aprons less common beginning in the mid 1960s in some countries such as the United States. However, the practice of wearing aprons remains strong in many places.

Today, the apron has enjoyed a minor renaissance in terms of both women and men now wearing them when performing household chores. For instance, an article in the Wall Street Journal claimed in 2005 that the apron is "enjoying a renaissance as a retro-chic fashion accessory" in the United States.^[2] However, it still is not as prevalent as it was prior to the 1960s.

Aprons are nowadays considered equally appropriate for both women and men by most people. However, prevailing social norms ensure that women frequently wear more delicate clothing, and may therefore be more likely to want the protection an apron offers. This can also be because the apron is the traditional clothing for cooking and washing dishes, usually done by women.

When domestic workers are supplied a uniform by their employers, an apron is often included. The aprons are worn for hygienic as well as for identification purposes.

Clerical garment[link]

The term "apron" also refers to an item of clerical clothing, now largely obsolete, worn by Anglican bishops and archdeacons. The clerical apron resembles a short cassock reaching just above the knee, and is coloured black for archdeacons and purple for bishops. The apron is worn with black gaiters, reaching to just below the knee, and knee-length black breeches worn with gaiters. The history behind the vesture is that it symbolically represents the mobility of bishops and archdeacons, who at one time would ride horses to visit various parts of a diocese or archdeaconry. In this sense, the apparel was much more practical than a clerical cassock would be. In latter years, this vesture was more symbolic than practical, and since the mid-twentieth century it has fallen out of favour.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Apron

• Apron dress
• Bib (clothing)
• Chaps

References[link]

1. ^ apron, n. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition 1989.
2. ^ The apron ascends to costly kitchen couture, Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2005

Matt Molloy playing in a session at his pub

Matt Molloy's Pub in Bridge Street, Westport

Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947, Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at only seventeen years old. Considered as one of the most brilliant Irish musicians^{[by whom?]}, his style that adapts piping techniques to the flute has influenced many contemporary Irish flute players.

During the 1970s, Molloy was a member of The Bothy Band and its successor, the re-founded Planxty. He joined The Chieftains in 1979, replacing Michael Tubridy. Over the course of his career, Molloy has worked with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Paul Brady, Tommy Peoples, Micheál Ó Súilleabháin and Dónal Lunny.

Molloy owns a pub on Bridge Street in Westport, County Mayo where there are regular Irish music sessions.

Discography[link]

Solo Albums

• Matt Molloy with Donal Lunny (1976)
• Molloy, Brady, Peoples (1978)
• Contentment Is Wealth (1985)
• Heathery Breeze (1985)
• Stony Steps (1987)
• The Fire Aflame (1992)
• Music at Matt Molloy's (1993)
• Shadows on Stone (1996)
• The West Ocean String Quartet (with Matt Molloy):The Guiding Moon (2007)
• Pathway to the Well (2007) Matt Molloy, John Carty, Arty McGlynn

External links[link]

• Matt Molloy's web site
• An interview with Matt Molloy

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Barney McKenna

Bernard Noël "Banjo Barney" McKenna (16 December 1939 – 5 April 2012^[1]) was an Irish musician who played the tenor banjo, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player.

Biography[link]

Born in Donnycarney, County Dublin, McKenna played the banjo from an early age, beginning because he could not afford to buy the instrument of his choice, a mandolin. He was a member of The Dubliners^[2] from 1962 and was the only living member of the original (1962) formation at the time of his death. Prior to joining the Dubliners, he had spent a few months in The Chieftains. In addition to his work on traditional Irish music, he also played jazz on occasion.

Artistic performance[link]

Barney used GDAE tuning on a 19 fret tenor banjo, an octave below fiddle/mandolin and, according to musician Mick Moloney, was single-handedly responsible for making the GDAE tuned tenor banjo the standard banjo in Irish music.

Barney remained a great favourite with live audiences, and some of the loudest and most affectionate applause followed the tunes and songs on which he was the featured performer. He was well known for his unaccompanied renditions of songs such as 'South Australia' and 'I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me'^[3]. His banjo solos on tunes such as 'The Maid Behind the Bar', 'The High Reel' and 'The Mason's Apron', where he was usually accompanied by Eamonn Campbell on guitar, are often performed to cries of "C'mon Barney!" from audience or band members. Another featured spot in Dubliners performances is the mandolin duet that Barney played with John Sheahan - again with Eamonn Campbell providing guitar accompaniment. As Barney often pointed out to the audience: "It's an Irish duet, so there's three of us going to play it".

Barney's tendency to relate funny, and often only marginally believable, stories was legendary amongst Dubliners fans and friends. These anecdotes became known as Barneyisms, and Barney's friend, and former Dubliners bandmate, Jim McCann has been collecting them for a book.

Private life[link]

Barney was a keen fisherman, and many of the songs he has recorded with The Dubliners have been shanties and nautical ballads.

Barney McKenna is mentioned several times in the song 'O'Donoghue's' by Andy Irvine, which describes the Dublin traditional music scene of the early-mid 1960s that found a spiritual home in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin's Merrion Row.

Death[link]

McKenna died, unexpectedly, on the morning of 5 April 2012 after collapsing in the kitchen of his home in Howth, Co. Dublin.^[4][5] He was buried at St Loman’s Cemetery in Trim, County Meath, on 9 April 2012.^[6][7] It is currently unknown whether The Dubliners will continue their 50th Anniversary Tour in the wake of McKenna's death.

References[link]

External Links[link]

• Obituary at the Daily Telegraph

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This article about an Irish musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e