Ray Dolan

Last updated

Ray Dolan
Born Dublin, Ireland
Genres folk
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, singer
Instrument(s)vocals, guitar
Years active1960s – 1970s
Labels EMI

Ray Dolan is an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist. He began his career in the early 1970 by playing folk clubs in Dublin with James Connolly as a duo, contributing to the success of the Universal Folk Centre at Parnell Square. [1] [2] In 1973, they were involved in the five-member band Heir. [3] The two musicians also participated in the final Anne Byrne album Come by the Hills, published in 1974, and containing a cover of the Dolan's song "Constantly Changing". [4] He went solo that year, [2] and recorded an album on EMI label in 1975, Restless Night , but he remains mainly known for the Tír na nÓg version of his song "Hey Friend" from their eponymous album released by Chrysalis Records in 1971. [5] The Irish duo contributed to his solo album with Leo O'Kelly as producer, and among other guests like Philip King, future Scullion founder with Sonny Condell. The same year, he did a brief screen appearance in an episode of the BBC Two documentary series The Camera & The Song, dedicated to O'Kelly and Condell.

Contents

Discography

Television

Songs

Guest appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tír na nÓg (band)</span>

Tír na nÓg are an Irish folk duo formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 by Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell. They are often considered one of the first progressive folk bands with other artists like Nick Drake or groups like Pentangle. Their music mainly consists of their own compositions, based on strong Celtic roots and typically featuring intricate acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. In their early years, they toured the folk clubs of the United Kingdom or internationally as a support act for several rock bands. Today, they sporadically give concerts, especially in Ireland.

Scullion is an Irish folk rock band that formed in the mid-1970s. The group was popular in Ireland, releasing LPs and two CDs, in addition to the compilation Ghosts And Heroes on the Kitten label in 1992 and another compilation, Eyelids into Snow – A Collection, in 2001. The founding members were Sonny Condell, Philip King, Greg Boland and Jimmy O'Brien Moran. O'Brien Moran left the band in 1980, after the first album. Robbie Overson, replacing guitarist Greg Boland, joined the band in 1987. Scullion continue to play live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob's Award</span> Annual award for excellence in Irish radio and television (1962–1993)

The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television and radio critics. Jacob's Award winners were chosen annually until 1993, when the final awards presentation took place.

<i>Tír na nÓg</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Tír na nÓg

Tír na nÓg is the first album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in May 1971 in the United Kingdom by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Island Records but was not published in the United States because Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell refused to record a cover of Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" for the album, a song they regularly played live.
German and Spanish presses of the LP have an Island label although the Chrysalis logo also appears on them.

<i>A Tear and a Smile</i> (Tír na nÓg album) 1972 studio album by Tír na nÓg

A Tear and a Smile is the second album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in the United Kingdom on 7 April 1972 by Chrysalis Records and was the first Tír na nÓg album to be released in the United States, in October 1972. The track list is different between the US and the UK releases. Because of this, two editions of the album exist but there was no reissue of the North American version.
On this last one, "Daisy Lady" and "Dante" are taken directly from the first album Tír na nÓg. The song "Looking Up" was already on the previous album but Leo O'Kelly was not very satisfied by the first version: he and Sonny Condell decided to record a new one, produced by Tony Cox, for A Tear and a Smile. The Lady I Love which was released as a single in Europe, appears also on the US version of the album, these four songs replacing "Down Day", "Bluebottle Stew", "Hemisphere", and "Goodbye My Love".

<i>Strong in the Sun</i> 1973 studio album by Tír na nÓg

Strong in the Sun is the third studio album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on 26 October 1973 in the United Kingdom and in January 1974 in the United States.

<i>Hibernian</i> (album) 2000 live album by Tír na nÓg

Hibernian is the first live album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was recorded on September 19, 1995 by Alan Hadwin at the Hibernian in Birmingham, released in February 2000 by HTD Records and distributed by Pinnacle Entertainment. The album was re-released in 2001 by Talking Elephant, after HTD closed down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Happy to Be (On This Mountain)</span> Tír na nÓg song

"I'm Happy To Be (On This Mountain)" is the first single by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on October 2, 1970 by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Island Records on 7" vinyl with "Let My Love Grow" as its B-side. The German release of the single has an Island logo on a pink label although the Chrysalis logo also appears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebottle Stew</span> 1972 single by Tír na nÓg

"Bluebottle Stew" is the third single by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in 1972 by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Festival in Australia and New Zealand on 7" vinyl with "Come and See the Show" as its B-side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strong in the Sun (song)</span> 1973 single by Tír na nÓg

"Strong in the Sun" is a song by Irish band Tír na nÓg written by Leo O'Kelly. It was released on September 7, 1973 by Chrysalis Records as a single, with "The Mountain and I" as its B-side. It was later released on the studio album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Is Like a Violin</span> 1985 single by Tír na nÓg

"Love Is Like a Violin" is a song by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in early April 1985 as a single, with a new version of "Daisy Lady" as its B-side to coincide with a 14-date Irish tour after the reunification of the band. The tour ended on April 21 at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin.

<i>A Tear and a Smile / Strong in the Sun</i> 2004 compilation album by Tír na nÓg

A Tear and a Smile Strong in the Sun is a compilation album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on December 7, 2004 by BGO Records and contains the remasters of their two last studio albums from 1972 and 1973: the United Kingdom version of A Tear and a Smile, and Strong in the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo O'Kelly</span> Musical artist

Leo O'Kelly is an Irish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is the co-founder of the Irish folk duo Tír na nÓg. After the band decided to split in 1974, he produced albums on Polydor and EMI labels for other Irish artists including Loudest Whisper, Ray Dolan or Gemma Hasson. Leo released his first solo album Glare in 2001. It was followed by Proto in 2003 which consists of songs recorded between 1975 and 2001. His third album, Will, was released in February 2011 and features poems of Liverpool writer John McKenna set to music. From 2020, O'Kelly started playing a live-streamed series of gigs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Condell</span> Irish singer-songwriter

Sonny Condell is an Irish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and graphic artist. He is mainly known as a member of the Irish bands Tír na nÓg and Scullion. He started a solo career from the mid-1970 – releasing his own albums while still playing, writing and recording with Tír na nÓg and Scullion over time.

<i>The Camera & the Song</i> 1975 compilation album by Various Artists

The Camera & the Song is a compilation album composed of songs by various folk bands and artists like Fivepenny Piece or Tír na nÓg from the BBC Two television series The Camera & the Song. The songs were broadcast in the early 1970s and this LP released in 1975.

<i>Restless Night</i> (Ray Dolan album) 1975 studio album by Ray Dolan

Restless Night is the debut album by Irish musician Ray Dolan. It was released in Summer 1975 in Ireland by EMI Ireland and produced by Leo O'Kelly.

<i>Live at Sirius</i> 2010 live album by Tír na nÓg

Live at Sirius is a live album by Irish band Tír na nÓg and was released in June 2010, celebrating the duo's 40th birthday. It was recorded from two gigs on August 21, 22, 2009 at the Sirius Art Centre in Cobh. The duo performed tracks taken from their all three studio albums with some exceptions including a cover from The Rolling Stones's Play with Fire.

<i>The Children of Lir</i> (Loudest Whisper album) 1974 studio album by Loudest Whisper

The Children of Lir is the debut album by Irish folk rock/progressive folk group Loudest Whisper. It is the studio adaption of the musical of the same name that was performed in Fermoy, Ireland in 1973. The album was released on LP record in Ireland by Polydor Records in 1974 in a limited edition of 500 copies.

<i>Eithne</i> (opera) Irish-language opera by Robert ODwyer

Eithne, also known as Éan an Cheoil Bhinn, is considered by many critics to be the first full-scale opera written and performed in the Irish language. It was written by English/Irish composer Robert O'Dwyer.

The Dark Dance is the fourth album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It is their first new album of original material in 42 years following the release of Strong in the Sun in 1973. The album was released on May 24, 2015 on the band's own label. An LP version was planned to be released during Summer 2017 on Mega Dodo Records.

References

  1. "A Platform For Musicians". RTÉ . 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Insert from Restless Night
  3. www.irish-showbands.com: "Heir [Dublin] (1973 five piece – Tony Boland, James Connolly, Terry Hanlon, George Brady and Ray Dolan)"
  4. Anne Byrne / Come By The Hills Archived 2 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine : GUITARS (...) Ray Dolan.
  5. O'Regan, John, RTÉ broadcaster. Liner note to In the Morning album from Tír na nÓg (1999).