Although he had to be assisted on and off stage and only sang five songs, Cavan fans couldn’t get enough of Shane MacGowan

By Ronan Nolan
THE raw, uncompromising voice of the street singer had to carry above the noisy chatter of the fair or football crowd. Ballad singer Margaret Barry rarely failed to gain attention with her gutsy voice, pronounced Cork accent and simple banjo accompaniment.
She was born in Peter Street, Cork, in 1917, into [...]

SINGING was encouraged in the Casey family home in Ballyduff Lower in Co Waterford. Both Karen’s grandmothers sang. While at school she was involved in the GAA Scor na nOg competitions and then in Slogadh.
In 1987, after a year in Waterford Regional College, she went to University College, Dublin, to study music. Unhappy with the [...]

I never met Bob Dylan but I sang with Pecker Dunne – Christy Moore
Pecker Dunne was born into a Wexford travelling family. He was actually born in a horse-drawn caravan in Castlebar, Co Mayo, on April 1, 1932. He tells us in the song Wexford that his father was a fiddle player and was known [...]

By Ronan Nolan
“I’m a vagabond from Eireann’s isle Sunburnt thumb stuck up in the air”
Singer, songwriter and artist Joe Dolan who died on January 7, 2008, was a founder member of Sweeney’s Men. The prefix ‘Galway’ Joe Dolan was later applied for late night clarity to distinguish him from the showband singer Joe Dolan of [...]

Frank Harte was born on May 14, 1933, on the banks of the Liffey, at Chapelizod, where his family ran The Tap pub. His introduction to Irish singing came, he said, from a chance listening to an itinerant who was selling ballad sheets at a fair in Boyle. He became a great exponents of the [...]

Singer, songwriter and musician Andy Irvine was born on June 14, 1942, in Southgate, London. His father was from Scotland and mother from Ireland. He showed an early interest in acting and the skiffle groups of the late 1950s. He started to learn classical guitar and after coming across the music [...]

Described memorably by Nanci Griffith as “the voice of Ireland,” Dolores Keane has an earthy and instantly recognisable singing style.
She was born in Castlehackett, Co. Galway on September 26, 1953. It was not unusual then in a large family for a child to be brought up by close relatives. So Dolores was raised from the [...]

Luke Kelly was born on November 17, 1940, into a working class family in Sheriff Street, a quarter of a mile from Dublin’s O’Connell Street. His grandmother, who was a McDonald from Scotland, lived with the family until her death in 1953. His father worked all his life in Jacobs biscuit factory and enjoyed playing [...]

Tommy Makem was born in Keady, Co Armagh, in 1932. His mother, Sarah Makem, born 1900, and her cousin Annie Jane Kelly were members of the Singing Greenes of Keady. They contributed a [...]

“Despite his brief dalliances with fame, Moynihan always somehow found his way back to the dirt tracks and back roads of music” – Leagues O’Toole
BORN IN Phibsboro, Dublin, Johnny Moynihan dropped out of architectural college. Though a young when he became known in 1966 as a member of Sweeney’s Men, he was actually part of the [...]

Delia Murphy was born on February 16, 1902 in Ardroe, Claremorris. Soon the family moved to Mount Jennings in Hollymount. Her father, Jack Murphy from near Hollymount, Co Mayo, made his money during the Klondyke gold rush. While in the USA he married Anna Fanning from Roscrea, Co Tipperary and they returned to live in [...]

More praised than rewarded in his native country, Seosamh O hEanaigh (Joe Einniu) was a great sean-nós singer from Conamara.
He was born in An Aird Thoir near Carna, in the Co Galway Gaeltacht, in 1919. Carna still has a rich tradition of storytelling and singing. Among Seosamh’s neighbours was his lifelong friend*, another accomplished singer, [...]

EWAN McCOLL described him as “the greatest lyrical folk singer in the English language. Paddy Tunney was one of Ireland’s foremost singers. He was also a champion lilter, an entertaining raconteur and an accomplished writer.
He was born in Glasgow on January 28, 1921, one of eight children. His father was also named Patrick and his [...]

Heidi Talbot’s singing had The New York Times and Village Voice reaching to the top shelf for the superlatives. “A voice that is awe-struck and tender,” said The Times while the Voice found it “exquisite.”
Growing up in Kill, Co. Kildare, Talbot sang in the church choir run by her mother, Rosaleen, at the same time [...]