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

19/05/2022.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 […]

#OTD in 1988 – Death of musician, Ciarán Bourke.

10/05/2022.Reading time 1 minute.

He was one of the original founding members of the Irish folk band The Dubliners; he played tin whistle, mouth organ and guitar, as well as singing. Ciarán was responsible for bringing a Gaelic element to The Dubliners’ music with songs such as “Peggy Lettermore” and “Sé Fáth Mo Bhuartha” being performed in the Irish […]

#OTD in Irish History | 10 May:

10/05/2022.Reading time 18 minutes.

1318 – Richard de Clare, Lord of Thomond, a descendant of Strongbow, is killed while commanding his forces at the Battle of Dysert O’Dea. According to legend, the day before his death, Richard de Clare beheld a woman dressed in white on the river’s edge washing bloody clothing and armour. When he asked whose clothes […]

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

07/05/2022.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.

07/05/2022.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 1966 – In 19th Century Dublin, Montgomery St was the largest red-light district in Europe.

26/04/2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

At least 1,600 ladies conducted their business and the future King Edward VII lost his virginity there. This specialisation was immortalised in the song ‘Monto’ (Take Me Up To Monto) by the Dubliners, recorded on this date. Image | Elliot Place, Dublin, c 1930s

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

05/04/2022.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 1807 – Birth of Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, KCB, a British civil servant and Governor of Madras.

02/04/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Trevelyan is referred to in the modern Irish folk song The Fields of Athenry about ‘An Gorta Mór’. For his actions, he is commonly considered one of the most detested figures in Irish history, along with the likes of Cromwell. Image | Charles Trevelyan accompanied by a poem written by Joe Canning SaveSave SaveSave

#OTD in 1939 – At Swim-Two-Birds, a novel by writer Brian O’Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O’Brien.

13/03/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

At Swim-Two-Birds is a 1939 novel by Irish author Brian O’Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O’Brien. It is widely considered to be O’Brien’s masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The novel’s title derives from Snámh dá Én (‘Swim-Two-Birds’), a ford on the River Shannon, between Clonmacnoise and Shannonbridge, reportedly visited […]

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

05/03/2022.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 […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Tag: The Dubliners

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

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#OTD in 1988 – Death of musician, Ciarán Bourke.

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#OTD in Irish History | 10 May:

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#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 1966 – In 19th Century Dublin, Montgomery St was the largest red-light district in Europe.

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

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#OTD in 1807 – Birth of Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, KCB, a British civil servant and Governor of Madras.

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#OTD in 1939 – At Swim-Two-Birds, a novel by writer Brian O’Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O’Brien.

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

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