The Irish Rovers
This quintet started out
in the late '50s (curiously, by way of Canada) and by the mid-'60s were a
popular folk ensemble on television on two continents. Although their work,
exuberant and boisterous, with relatively little scholarship, and lacking a
traditional sound, became less fashionable with the ascent of groups like The
Chieftains, the
Irish Rovers continue to have a devoted core following. Bruce Eder,
All-Music Guide
Andy Irvine
Andy
Irvine has been a major influence on traditional Irish music for more than
three decades. A former member of Sweeny's
Men and Planxty,
the London-born multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has continued to extend the
musical traditions of the Emerald Isle as a soloist, a duet partner of Dick
Gaughan and Paul
Brady, and a founding member of Irish supergroup Patrick
Street.
The son of a Scottish father
and an Irish mother, Irvine
was inspired by his mother, an actress, to pursue a career in theater and
appeared in numerous films and stage productions as a youngster. Music, however,
had an even greater lure. After learning to play guitar, Irvine played in
several teenaged skiffle bands, acquiring an interest in traditional folk songs
and the songs of Woody
Guthrie. Moving to Dublin, Ireland in the early 1960s, Irvine became
involved with the city's folk circuit, performing with Irish musicians including
Johnny
Moynihan, Luke Kelly and Ronnie
Drew. In 1966, after touring with Moynihan and Joe Dolan, Irvine helped to
form a band, Sweeney's
Men. Although they were together for only two years, the group sparked a
revival in traditional Irish music and had two hits, "Waxies Dargle"
and "Old Maid in the Garret."
Leaving Sweeney's
Men in May 1968, Irvine spent a year and a half as a street musician in
Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia, developing an understanding of eastern
European music. After returning to Ireland, Irvine played with Donal
Lunny and Christy
Moore. Following his participation in the recording of Moore's 1972 album,
Prosperous, Irvine joined with Moore, Lunny and Liam
O'Flynn to form the trad-rock band Planxty.
Despite numerous personnel changes, the band continued to work together until
late 1975.
In 1976 and 1977, Irvine
worked with Paul Brady, with whom he recorded an album, and Mick Hanley. When
the original lineup of Planxty
reunited in 1978, Irvine rejoined the band. He remained with the group until
1983, when Lunny and Moore left to form Moving
Hearts. With the breakup of Planxty, Irvine recorded his debut solo album,
Rainy Sundays....Windy Dreams and a duo album with Dick
Gaughan, Parallel Lines. In addition to performing briefly with De Danann,
Irvine performed, along with Lunny and Declan
Masterson, in a multi-national band, Mosaic, that focused on traditional
Eastern European music.
A duo that Irvine formed with
Gerry
O'Beirne was enlarged with the addition of Kevin
Burke and Jackie
Daly of De Danann. After O'Beirne was replaced by Arty
McGlynn, the band named itself Patrick
Street, and recorded three albums between 1986 and 1989. With the group
taking a hiatus in 1989, Irvine recorded his second solo album, Rude Awakening,
and the multi-artist compilation East Wind, a collection of Bulgarian and
Macedonian tunes.
In 1993, Irvine resumed his
association with Patrick Street. Craig Harris, All-Music Guide
Eileen Ivers
A fiddle virtuoso, Eileen
Ivers was born in New York City to parents who had both immigrated from
Ireland. She began to play fiddle at the age of eight, and learned to play from Martin
Mulvihill, the great fiddler and teacher from County Limerick. Between the
ages of eleven and nineteen, she won eight all-Ireland championships,
culminating in the senior championship in 1984. She has been a member of Cherish
The Ladies, The
Green Fields Of America, Chanting
House, and even Hall And Oates' band. Steve Winick, All-Music Guide
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