#OTD in 1967 – ‘Seven Drunken Nights’ by The Dubliners enters the UK top ten.

07/05/2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

It also appeared on Top of the Pops, thanks to its diffusion on Radio Caroline, though it was banned from the national broadcasting station. The song also charted at No.1 in Ireland.

#OTD in 1945 – Birth of folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Christy Moore in Newbridge, Co Kildare.

07/05/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Christy Moore is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. In 2007, he was named as Ireland’s greatest living musician in RTÉ’s People of the Year Awards. The former lead-vocalist and chief songwriter of Planxty and Moving Hearts, Moore helped to bring the musical traditions of Ireland up to modern standards and […]

#OTD in 2012 – Death of Bernard Noël “Banjo Barney” McKenna.

05/04/2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Barney McKenna was the last surviving founding member of the Irish folk group the Dubliners. With Luke Kelly’s powerful voice and force of nature on stage, Ronnie Drew’s gravelly memorable vocal sound, it was McKenna’s playing of the tenor banjo, coupled with John Sheahan’s fiddle, that gave the Dubliners their original instrumental quality. In the […]

#OTD in 1942 – Birth of artist and musician, Phil Coulter, in Co Derry.

19/02/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Coulter’s father, also called Phil, encouraged music in the house. He played the fiddle whilst his wife played the upright piano. The younger Coulter recalls this piano, made by Challen, as ‘the most important piece of furniture in the house’. ‘I always stayed away from the fiddle, having inflicted enough pain on my family with […]

#OTD in 2011 – Renowned rock guitarist Gary Moore dies in a hotel room while on holiday in Spain.

06/02/2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Blues guitarist, Gary Moore was born in Belfast and was a guitar prodigy who was mentored in his teens by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac. Green gave Moore his 1959 Les Paul Standard guitar after he left Fleetwood Mac. Moore’s first band was Skid Row which featured a young Phil Lynott. Moore went on to […]

#OTD in 1984 – Death of Luke Kelly, lead vocalist and 5-string banjo member of the Dubliners.

30/01/2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

Luke Kelly was a singer and folk musician from Dublin, most famous as a member of the band ‘The Dubliners’. Indeed, while Luke often sang of the poor, the oppressed, the worker, the lover or the rebel –the realities of his own life and upbringing enlivened and gave weight to his songs and the emotional […]

#OTD in 1955 – Birth of singer/songwriter, Liam Reilly, in Dundalk, Co Louth.

29/01/2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Liam Reilly was an Irish singer/songwriter and a member of the popular Irish rock band Bagatelle. After receiving an offer from Gus Dudgeon (Elton John’s producer, now deceased) Reilly began a solo career. It didn’t gain much popularity but he wrote some of Bagatelle’s most popular songs during this time such as ‘Somewhere In Europe’. Reilly […]

#OTD in 1951 – Birth of drummer and a founder member of the rock band Thin Lizzy, Brian Downey, in Dublin.

27/01/2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

In his youth, he met friend, co-founder and bass guitarist Phil Lynott, who attended the same school as did Downey. Along with Lynott, Downey was the only constant founder and member of the pioneering hard rock group until their break-up in 1984, although he did opt out of a 1978 tour claiming “exhaustion.” Today, he […]

#OTD in 1957 – Birth of musician and singer, Shane MacGowan.

25/12/2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Shane MacGowan was born in Pembury, Kent, to Irish parents. MacGowan spent his early childhood in Tipperary before his family moved back to England when he was six and a half. He lived in many parts of the south-east, including Brighton and London. Drawn to the punk music scene, he formed the folk-punk band the […]

‘Winter’ by Tommy Makem

22/12/2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

WINTER, a sharp bitter day the robin turns plump against the cold the sun is weak silver faded from gold he is late in his coming and short in his stay Man, beast, bird and air all purging, all cleansing, earth already purified awaits the rite of spring Her bridal gown a virgin snow and […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Category: Irish Music

#OTD in 1967 – ‘Seven Drunken Nights’ by The Dubliners enters the UK top ten.

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#OTD in 1945 – Birth of folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Christy Moore in Newbridge, Co Kildare.

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#OTD in 2012 – Death of Bernard Noël “Banjo Barney” McKenna.

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#OTD in 1942 – Birth of artist and musician, Phil Coulter, in Co Derry.

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#OTD in 2011 – Renowned rock guitarist Gary Moore dies in a hotel room while on holiday in Spain.

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#OTD in 1984 – Death of Luke Kelly, lead vocalist and 5-string banjo member of the Dubliners.

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#OTD in 1955 – Birth of singer/songwriter, Liam Reilly, in Dundalk, Co Louth.

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#OTD in 1951 – Birth of drummer and a founder member of the rock band Thin Lizzy, Brian Downey, in Dublin.

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#OTD in 1957 – Birth of musician and singer, Shane MacGowan.

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‘Winter’ by Tommy Makem

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