Sean Potts, the tin whistle player for The Chieftains, has died at the age of 83. Potts was one of the founders of The Chieftains back in 1962 and, along with close friend Paddy Moloney and the other members of the band, forged an indelible mark on Irish traditional music.

Potts left The Cheiftains in 1979, well after the band had achieved significant success in the United States thanks, in part to a series of high profile collaborations and an appearance on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lydon. Over the years, The Chieftains performed with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti, Roger Daltrey, Tom Jones and Madonna.

Potts, who was also a highly-regarded bodhran player, was a member of Seán O Riada's Ceoltóirí Chualann prior to his stint in The Chieftains.

Sean's son, Sean Óg Potts, is a well known uileann pipe player and has played in the Donal Lunny Band.