in the United States, convinced them that there was an audience for "no-compromise traditional music played with heart and drive," and they were persuaded to give up teaching. During this time, the group added guitarist Mark Kelly and released in 1987 a record called Altan, named after a lake in Donegal, although the name Altan wasn't used for the band on that release. But the band's musical momentum was building rapidly, and they would release three records in three years as Altan between 1989 and 1991. Altan was produced by Dónal Lunny, who subsequently appeared as either a producer or guest musician on every Altan album which followed. Later life and death Kennedy was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a vicious form of cancer, in 1992. Despite his illness Kennedy continued to tour and record with Altan. The band released Island Angel in 1993, and continued to tour through 1994, the year of his death. Although Kennedy had experienced 18 months in remission, the cancer returned "full blast" afterwards. He died on 19 September at the age of 38 in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Kennedy is buried in Gweedore, County Donegal. Altan, in accordance with Kennedy's wishes, continued to record and perform after his death. Legacy Flute style Kennedy was widely considered to be a master of the simple system flute. "Simple system" flutes are so named because they do not use a metal key system as complex as the Boehm system found on the Western concert flute; for the majority of notes played on the instrument the player covers the tone holes directly with his or her fingers rather than using a metal key. Simple system flutes are predominant in Irish traditional music. Kennedy learned to play the flute in his birth city of Belfast, as part of a musical community which produced a number of well-known flute players, including Hammy Hamilton, Gary Hastings, Gerry O'Donnell, Desi Wilkinson, and Sam Murray. Kennedy's style was characterised first and foremost by the music he played; most of the tunes originated from County Donegal, and his flute style corresponded well with the characteristic Donegal fiddle tradition. His recorded legacy is almost exclusively with his wife and Altan, although he did perform on Clannad's album Banba. His playing was smooth and somewhat less heavily ornamented than that of other popular Irish flute players like Matt Molloy. But like Molloy, the use of