County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, which had a population of 246,977 at the 2022 census.
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.
Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, People (1988), was the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK. After two more albums and extensive touring, the group separated in 1994. Since getting back together in 1998, the band members have been sporadically issuing new songs and touring, but also pursuing solo careers.
Damien George Rice is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success in Ireland with two released singles, "The World is Dead" and "Weatherman". After leaving the band in 1998, Rice worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo career. The rest of Juniper went on to perform under the name Bell X1.
Joseph Ronald Drew was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor who had a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners.
Aslan are an Irish rock band from Dublin who formed in 1982. Composed originally of Christy Dignam, Joe Jewell, Tony McGuinness, Billy McGuinness and Alan Downey, the band has released six studio albums: Feel No Shame (1988), Goodbye Charlie Moonhead (1994), Here Comes Lucy Jones (1997), Waiting For This Madness To End (2001), For Some Strange Reason (2007) and Nudie Books and Frenchies (2012).
Damien Dempsey is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working-class accent in the English language, and to a lesser extent in the Irish language.
Seize the Day is an album by Damien Dempsey released in Ireland in 2003 on Clear Records via Sony. In the UK, it was released via IRL and, in the US, it was released on Attack Records, a subsidiary of Sanctuary Records. In the UK and US, the title track was not hidden.
Shots is a 2005 studio album by the Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey which was released in Ireland and the United Kingdom in March 2005. It is the third studio album released by the singer-songwriter. Brian Eno provides backing vocals on the opening track "Sing All Your Cares Away". The album discusses a diverse range of topics including oppression, slavery, drugs and poverty.
Edmond Enright, known professionally as Mundy, is an Irish singer-songwriter and founder of the independent record label Camcor Records.
Something Happens are an Irish pop rock band whose heyday was the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's lineup consists of Tom Dunne (vocals), Ray Harman (guitar), Alan Byrne (bass) and Eamonn Ryan (drums).
Brassland is an independent record label founded in 2001 by Alec Hanley Bemis, Aaron Dessner, and Bryce Dessner.
Lisa Margaret Hannigan is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: Sea Sew (2008), Passenger (2011), and At Swim (2016). Hannigan's music has received award nominations both in Ireland and the United States. Hannigan also received attention in North America for her role as Blue Diamond in Steven Universe, an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar.
Damien Done is an American post-punk/gothic rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Formed in Gainesville, Florida in 2002 as a semi-eponymously-named solo project by frontman Damien Moyal, the group has since been expanded to include other band members and co-songwriters. The current lineup features Moyal, Laura Jane Leonard and Tyler Kane.
The Full Irish was a radio breakfast show on RTÉ 2fm. It ran for three years from 2002 – 2005 and was on air from 7 – 9 am. Ryan Tubridy presented; Shane O'Donoghue read out the leading news in sport and Avril Hoare read out the news. The "holy moley mug" was the main prize given out in competitions. It was a lighthearted show which discussed random topics.
Interference is an Irish band originally headed by the singer-songwriter Fergus O'Farrell. The band was established in 1984 and since then remains active, with Glen Hansard on lead vocals.
The Rocky Road is the fifth studio album by Damien Dempsey. In The Rocky Road, Dempsey endeavours to pull together a fine collection of ballads, some well-known and others less-so, while enrolling Dubliners John Sheahan and Barney McKenna to ensure the musicianship demonstrates familiarity and love for the songs selected. The album was released June 6, 2008, in Ireland on SonyBMG and on August 26 in the U.S. via United For Opportunity. The album has 11 tracks.
Live at the Olympia is the first live album by Damien Dempsey, released in 2006. The recording is taken from a live performance at Dublin's Olympia Theater on 15 December 2005.
Fiach Moriarty is an Irish singer-songwriter and television presenter from Dublin, Ireland. His debut album So I came out in 2010 which appeared in the Irish top 100 album chart and peaked at 62. His second record was released in April 2015 and debuted at number 29 in the Irish chart.
Makonnen Kamali Sheran, better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen, is an American former rapper and singer. He is best known for his 2014 single "Tuesday", which initially gained recognition following its remix with Canadian rapper Drake. After its release in August of that year, he signed with Drake's record label OVO Sound, an imprint of Warner Records that same month; the song was re-released by the label shortly after and subsequently peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Tuesday" also received a nomination Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and served as the lead single for his likewise re-issued self-titled debut extended play (2014), which moderately entered the Billboard 200. He parted ways with OVO in 2016, and his following releases have failed to chart.
