Tag: singer

#OTD in 2013 – Death of uilleann piper, accordion player, singer, composer, researcher, writer and lecturer, Tomás Ó Canainn.

15/09/2021.Reading time 1 minute.

The uileann piper was probably best known as a member of Na Filí, along with fiddler Matt Cranitch and whistle player Tom Barry, who brought Irish traditional music to an international audience in the 1970s. The Derry native was an engineering lecturer and in the early 1970s moved to work at University College Cork, where he […]

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#OTD in 1935 – Birth of Liam Clancy, of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem fame.

02/09/2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem shot to fame after appearing with his brothers on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961. Scheduled to perform two songs, they were forced to extend their appearance when the show’s headliner cancelled. The following year they sold out audiences. After the Clancy brothers stopped touring / broke up, Liam […]

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#OTD in 1945 – Birth of Van Morrison “Van the Man” in Belfast.

31/08/2021.Reading time 1 minute.

The Belfast Cowboy first achieved fame with a tight R&B band Them with whom he recorded Gloria, a song that still as fresh today as in 1964. A strong claim could be made that Van Morrison is the finest composer ever produced by the Emerald Isle. His body of work ranges from glorious pop like […]

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#OTD in 1949 – Birth of Thin Lizzy lead singer, Phil Lynott.

20/08/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Image | When asked by a journalist what it felt like to be black and Irish, Phil quipped, “Kinda like a pint of Guinness”. Irish rock star, bassist, singer and founder of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott is born in England to single mom Philomena Lynott. At about age four, Lynott moved to Dublin to live with […]

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#OTD in 1920 – Birth of Maureen O’Hara, born Maureen FitzSimons in Ranelagh, Co Dublin.

17/08/2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

“Above all else, deep in my soul, I’m a tough Irishwoman.” –Maureen O’Hara Perhaps the most famous redhead in the world, actress Maureen O’Hara (born Maureen Fitzsimons) is born in Dublin. O’Hara is probably most famous for her role in John Ford’s The Quiet Man where she played opposite John Wayne. Blessed with fiery red […]

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#OTD in 2008 – Death of singer and folk musician, Ronnie Drew.

16/08/2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. Ronnie Drew was born in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. He was best known for his long beard and his voice, which was once described by Nathan Joseph as “like the sound of coke being crushed under a door”. For more than 30 years, the distinctive voice of the […]

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#OTD in 1961 – Enya (Eithne Ní Bhraonáin) is born in Gweedore, Co Donegal.

17/05/2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

Enya began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to perform solo. Enya is a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, an Academy Award-nominated songwriter, and Ireland’s best-selling solo artist (her record sales stand at 80 million as of 2009). As a musical group, Enya is a collaboration between […]

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#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 […]

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