Ciarán Bourke Ronnie Drew Luke Kelly Barney McKenna Bob Lynch John Sheahan Jim McCann Eamonn Campbell Paddy Reilly Patsy Watchorn
The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals.[1] The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s, and were signed to the Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan who was paid by Major-Minor to work with the Dubliners and help them to build a better act fit for larger concert hall venues. The Dubliners worked with Behan regularly between 1965 and 1966; Behan wrote numerous songs for this act including the song McAlpine's Fusiliers created specifically to showcase Ronnie Drew's gravel voice. They went on to receive extensive airplay on Radio Caroline which was part-owned by Phil Solomon CEO of Major Minor, and eventually appeared on Top of the Pops in 1967 with hits "Seven Drunken Nights" (which sold over 250,000 copies in the UK)[2] and "The Black Velvet Band". Often performing political songs considered controversial at the time, they drew criticism from some folk purists and Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ had placed an unofficial ban on their music from 1967 to 1971. During this time the band's popularity began to spread across mainland Europe and they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. The group's success remained steady right through the 1970s and a number of collaborations with The Pogues in 1987 saw them enter the UK Singles Chart on another two occasions.[3]
The Dubliners were instrumental in popularising Irish folk music in Europe, though they did not quite attain the popularity of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the United States. They influenced many generations of Irish bands, and their legacy can to this day be heard in the music of artists such as The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. Much adored in their native country, covers of Irish ballads by Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly tend to be regarded as definitive versions. One of the most influential Irish acts of the 20th century, they celebrated 50 years together in 2012, making them Ireland's longest-surviving musical act.[4][5] Also in 2012, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards bestowed them with a Lifetime Achievement Award.[6] The Dubliners announced their retirement in the autumn of 2012, after 50 years of performing, following the death of the last living original member Barney McKenna.[7] However, some members of the group continued touring under the name of "The Dublin Legends", and as of 2024, Sean Cannon is the only remaining member of the Dubliners in that group, following the retirement of Patsy Watchorn in 2014 and the death of Eamonn Campbell in 2017.
^Smiling Seoige sisters (1 December 2012). "Dubliners' 50-year musical odyssey – Music, Entertainment". Independent.ie. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
^Nick Guida (1 May 1969). "The Dubliners 1967–1969: It's the Dubliners". Itsthedubliners.com. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
^Hevesi, Dennis (11 April 2012). "Barney McKenna, Banjo Player in the Dubliners, Dies at 72". The New York Times.
^"St. Patricks Day Station on Slacker Personal Radio". Slacker.com. 28 January 1928. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
^"Dubliners "Banjo" Barney McKenna dies over his morning cuppa – Videos | Irish News". IrishCentral. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
^"BBC Radio 2 – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012". BBC. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
^"The Dubliners: Retirement". Thedubliners.org. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
TheDubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed...
article: Dubliners Wikiquote has quotations related to James Joyce. Dubliners at Standard Ebooks Dubliners at Project Gutenberg Spark Notes Dubliners Archived...
to one of the following: Dubliners, a collection of short stories by James Joyce TheDubliners, an Irish folk band TheDubliner (magazine), a contemporary...
the final story of Dubliners, but was unable to get Dubliners published. Although the London publisher Grant Richards had a contract with Joyce, the printers...
Ambitions : Young Dubliners, Who Will Play O.C., Add Attitude to Irish Folk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2022. "The Young Dubliners Biography, Songs...
2020. "TheDubliners - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 13 October 2013. Nick Guida. "Dubliners Discography: Major Minor, etc. Singles - It's the Dubliners"...
themselves TheDubliners at Kelly's suggestion, as he was reading James Joyce's book of short stories, entitled Dubliners, at the time. Kelly was the leading...
that was made popular by TheDubliners and The Pogues. The song was written about Salford, then in Lancashire, England, the area where MacColl was born...
charts with the song in 1973. In 1990, theDubliners re-recorded the song with the Pogues with a faster rocky version charting at No. 63 in the UK. American...
Dubliner is a sweet, granular cheese made from pasteurised cow's milk aged over a year and manufactured by Carbery, located in County Cork, Ireland. Since...
Craig Doyle – television and radio presenter Ronnie Drew – musician TheDubliners – folk and ballad group (Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew, Barnie McKenna, John...
music when the poet met Luke Kelly of the well-known Irish band TheDubliners in a pub in Dublin called The Bailey. It was set to the music of the traditional...
British Empire during the 19th century. Versions were also published on broadsides. TheDubliners released a popular version of the song in 1967 based on...
1996 for the album, The Irish Rovers' Gems.[citation needed], and a number of later albums. 1987 – TheDubliners with The Pogues on TheDubliners's album...
famously performed by TheDubliners. It is a variation of the English/Scottish folk song "Our Goodman" (Child 274, Roud 114). It tells the story of a gullible...
and composer. He joined TheDubliners in 1964 and played with them until 2012 when TheDubliners' name was retired following the death of founding member...
recording with TheDubliners. He sang lead vocals on the singles "Seven Drunken Nights" and "The Irish Rover", which both charted in the UK top 10 and...
collection Dubliners in 1914. These stories, written in a more accessible style than his later novels, are based on careful observation of the inhabitants...
need to talk about the coddle debate that's dividing the Internet again". The Daily Edge. Retrieved 3 July 2023. "5 things non-Dubliners need to understand...
continued to work on the book. In 1911, Joyce flew into a fit of rage over the continued refusals by publishers to print Dubliners and threw the manuscript of...