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The Flying Column was the name of a Belfast folk group formed around 1967/68 who took their name from the Active Service Units of the Irish Republican Army that fought throughout Ireland during the War of Independence.
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The Flying Column was the name of a Belfast folk group formed around 1967/68 who took their name from the Active Service Units of the Irish Republican Army that fought throughout Ireland during the War of Independence.
Eamonn Largey was the lead vocalist of the group and the founder, along with Paddy McGoldrick on tin whistle and vocals, and they were joined by Barney Evans on guitar and Sean Kelly on 5 string banjo. Kathleen McCready, who later married Eamonn and took his name, regularly appeared as a guest with the group at various gigs and on their albums. Tony Lynch also played guitar and sang, Johnstons motor car and The castle of Dromore on the Four Green Fields album.
Barney and Sean, who featured on the group’s first album, left the group in 1971 – Barney for health reasons and Sean to move to Cork. They were replaced by Benny and Paul for the second album. Other members of the group sometimes included John Delaney and Bill Tierney.
Largey died in 1973. McCready died in 1979. Tony Lynch died in 2019.
The group’s material consisted of Irish ballads and rebel songs and they appeared at various concerts, republican clubs and fund-raising events. They also performed as the support act to many figures in entertainment such as the Dubliners, Joan Baez, Tommy Makem, The Bachelors and the Spinners and were also featured in Romano’s Ballroom at the Rose of Tralee festival.
The Flying Column’s first album “Folk Music Time in Ireland” was released in 1970 and they were among the earliest Belfast bands to issue a record. The songs on this LP were: Henry Joy, Come to the Bower, The Banks of the Ohio, The Boston Burglar, The Dying Rebel, Tom Williams, Belfast City, James Connolly, Whiskey in the Jar, When I Was Single and Banna Strand.
Their second album “Four Green Fields”, released in 1972, included Four Green Fields, Roisin Dubh, Sam Hall, Dirty Old Town, Sen South Medley, Madame Bonaparte, Johnston’s Motor Car, Boolavogue, Old Maid in a Garret, The Castle of Dromore, Legion of the Rearguard, and Song of the Dawn.
"The Men Behind the Wire" is a song written and composed by Paddy McGuigan of the Barleycorn folk group in the aftermath of Operation Demetrius. The song describes police raids in Northern Ireland by British security forces during the Troubles, and the "men behind the wire" refers to those interned without trial at HM Prison Maze, HM Prison Magilligan and onboard HMS Maidstone.
In the music of Ireland, Irish rebel songs are folk songs which are primarily about the various rebellions against British Crown rule. Songs about prior rebellions are a popular topic of choice among musicians which supported Irish nationalism and republicanism.
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. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s. They were signed to the Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan who was paid by the label to work with the group 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" and "The Black Velvet Band". Often performing political songs considered controversial at the time, they drew criticism from some folk purists. Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ 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.
The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover". They are best known for their international television series, contributing to the popularization of Irish Music in North America, and for the songs "The Unicorn", "Drunken Sailor", "Wasn't That a Party", "The Orange and the Green", "Whiskey on a Sunday", "Lily the Pink", "Finnegan's Wake" and "The Black Velvet Band".
An Phoblacht is a formerly weekly, and later monthly newspaper published by Sinn Féin in Ireland. From early 2018 onwards, An Phoblacht has moved to a quarterly magazine format while remaining an online news platform. Editorially the paper takes a left-wing, Irish republican position and was supportive of the Northern Ireland peace process. Along with covering Irish political and trade union issues the newspaper frequently featured interviews with celebrities, musicians, artists, intellectuals and international activists.
Dromore is a small market town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies within the local government district of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon. It is 19 miles (31 km) southwest of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast–Dublin road. The 2011 census recorded a population of 6,395.
Roddy McCorley was an Irish nationalist from the civil parish of Duneane, County Antrim, Ireland. Following the publication of the Ethna Carbery poem bearing his name in 1902, where he is associated with events around the Battle of Antrim, he is alleged to have been a member of the United Irishmen and claimed as a participant in their rebellion of 1798.
Events from the year 1881 in Ireland.
Johnston's Motor Car is an Irish rebel song written by Willie Gillespie based on the commandeering in Ulster of a motor car belonging to Henry Maturin Johnston (1851-1932) by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Seán Hogan was one of the leaders of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence.
Prodigal Sons is a studio album by the Irish folk group The Dubliners. Produced by Bill Whelan, who later became famous for Riverdance, this album featured cellist Nigel Warren-Green as guest musician. Although Luke Kelly recorded his famous versions of "Raglan Road" and "Song for Ireland" during these sessions, neither track featured on this album, although Seán Cannon's version of "Song for Ireland" did. The two Kelly recordings would first appear on the compilation album, Luke's Legacy after his death. The album took its name from John Sheahan's composition, "The Prodigal Son". The album featured both contemporary and traditional songs as well as instrumental pieces.
Alive Alive-O is a double album by the Irish Folk Group The Dubliners which was recorded live throughout several Evenings in December 1996 in Germany at the end of their European tour. After the departure of Ronnie Drew, The Dubliners were joined by the famous Irish singer Paddy Reilly who lends his voice to several ballads on the album. John Sheahan's daughter Ceoladh guests with her father, duetting on fiddle with him on his composition, "Among Friends". The album is notable for some mixed German-English song introductions by Sean Cannon, causing widespread laughter among the audience.
Live At Vicar Street is a live album recorded by The Dubliners at a concert at Vicar Street in Dublin on Sunday, 23 July 2006 as part of their Irish tour. A DVD and double CD of the concert were released. Ceoladh Sheahan joined her father and the band on stage for a rendition of "The Marino Waltz". This was the first of the band's albums to feature Patsy Watchorn, who replaced Paddy Reilly after nine years with the group. They were introduced by Jim McCann.
Patrick Joseph McGuigan, known as Paddy Joe McGuigan, was an Irish traditional musician and songwriter who played for some years with The Barleycorn folk group. He wrote a number of well-known Irish rebel songs, including "The Men Behind the Wire", "The Boys of the Old Brigade", "Irish Soldier Laddie", "Freedom Walk" and "Bring Them Home".
George Lennon was an Irish Republican Army leader during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.
TheDublin City Ramblers is an Irish folk band, originally formed by the name of The Quare Fellas in 1970. The band has had a long line of members and Sean McGuinness is the only current member of the original line-up, that also included Patsy Watchorn later member of The Dubliners.
Gerry O'Connor is a traditional tenor banjo player. As Earl Hitchener said, Gerry O'Connor can be considered at the moment "the single best four string banjoist in the history of Irish Music". He also plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar and tenor guitar.
The Dubliners 50th Anniversary Tour was a tour in 2012 by the Dubliners celebrating 50 years. The group was awarded a lifetime achievement award by BBC Radio 2 in February. However, in April, founding member and tenor banjo player Barney McKenna died. Banjo player Gerry O'Connor filled his place until the end of the tour. In November the group released the album 50 Years charting in the Irish Top 10. John Sheahan after 48 years decided he could no longer continue with the band due to the death of Barney McKenna. In December the group played its final concerts at Vicar Street and were joined on stage by Jim McCann. The band met with President Michael Higgins in the presidential palace in Dublin. The group appeared on BBC's Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny on New Year's Eve. With the exception of John Sheahan, the rest of the group continues touring as The Dublin Legends – Spirit of the Dubliners.
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