Tag: Ronnie Drew

#OTD in Irish History | 16 August:

16/08/2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

1793 – The Convention Act (1793) was aimed at preventing the recurrence of events like the Convention of the Volunteers in 1782 where armed groups (of Protestants) from various parts of Ireland assembled in Dublin and were able to overawe the Government at a time when there were few troops in the country. Contrary to […]

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#OTD in 1939 – Birth of musician and composer, John Sheahan, who was a member of The Dubliners.

19/05/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

John Sheahan was the quiet one in The Dubliners. In that cast of beardy and hairy rogues and rascals, Sheahan stood out by not standing out. Brought in to stand shoulder to shoulder with founder members Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew, Barney McKenna and Ciarán Bourke, Sheahan’s playing brought a touch of elegant class to that […]

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#OTD in 1944 – Birth of entertainer and folk musician, Jim McCann.

05/03/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

As a young man, McCann attended University College Dublin as a student of medicine, but became interested in folk music during a summer holiday in Birmingham in 1964. He began to perform in folk clubs in the area, and, upon his return to Dublin, he joined a group called the Ludlow Trio in 1965. In […]

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#OTD in 1984 – Singer and musician, Luke Kelly, was laid to rest at Glasnevin Cemetery.

01/02/2023.Reading time 1 minute.

‘His legacy was putting his own stamp on a song such that it became the definitive version of a song for others to come along and emulate.’ –John Sheahan. The mass was celebrated by Fr Michael Cleary at the Church of the Holy Child in Whitehall and The Dubliners performed during the ceremony. Kelly’s brothers, […]

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

30/01/2023.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 […]

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#OTD in 1939 – Bernard Noël ‘Banjo Barney’ McKenna of the Dubliners is born.

16/12/2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Barney McKenna was the last surviving founding member of the Irish folk group the Dubliners. While Ronnie Drew’s gravelly voice gave the band its 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 process, McKenna redefined the role […]

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#OTD in 1940 – Birth of singer and folk musician, Luke Kelly in Dublin. Kelly was a founding member of the band The Dubliners.

17/11/2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Luke Kelly was a singer and folk musician from Dublin, most famous as a member of the band The Dubliners. Kelly was one of the best-known figures of the Irish folk music movement of the 1960s and 1970s. A Dubliner from the north inner city, he attended O’Connell’s Schools before emigrating to Britain in 1958. […]

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#OTD in 1944 – Birth of entertainer and folk musician, Jim McCann.

26/10/2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

As a young man, McCann attended University College Dublin as a student of medicine, but became interested in folk music during a summer holiday in Birmingham in 1964. He began to perform in folk clubs in the area, and, upon his return to Dublin, he joined a group called the Ludlow Trio in 1965. In […]

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