August16-23

August 1-7 ~~ August 8-15 ~~ August 16-23 ~~ August 24-31 ~~ On this Date

August 16
2008 Ronnie Drew sadly died of throat cancer on 16th August 2008. (born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin on16 September 1934) He had international success and was with The Dubliners, on and off, for over 50 years.

In 1962, he formed the Ronnie Drew Group with Ciaran Bourke, Luke Kelly and Barney McKenna. They changed their name to The Dubliners and John Sheahan joined the band for its famous original lineup.
Ronnie Drew singing The Young man who used to be Me.

 

“Ronnie is like the King of Ireland, and we are his subjects.”
Bono

In 1995, he left the band to perform solo and did one-man shows singing songs and telling stories about people he knew (Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan). He also performed with many artists – Christy Moore, Eleanor Shanley, The Saw Doctors, The Pogues… the list goes on.
The Irish President, Mary McAleese said “Ronnie was a champion of traditional Irish music and, with The Dubliners, he re-energised and refreshed our unique musical heritage.”
Find out much more about The Dubliners and more videos here.

Ballad of Ronnie Drew – loads of performers

 

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August 17
1971 Anthony Kearns was born on 17th August 1971 in County Wexford, Ireland. He is a founding member of the Irish Tenors (with Ronan Tynan and John McDermott).

Daniel Harte and Bill Hughes of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service ) in America saw The Three Tenors at the Cannes festival in1998 and decided to form a similar group and… The Irish Tenors

The group’s present lineup (2011) is Anthony Kearns, Finbar Wright, and Ronan Tynan.

The Three Tenors singing The Rare Old Times.

 

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August 1-7 ~~ August 8-15 ~~ August 16-23 ~~ August 24-31 ~~ On this Date