Cathal Dunne
Bands: Stateside •
Formula •
Solo
The late 1970's were an exciting time for Irish entertainment in Europe, and specifically the country's involvement with the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1978, Colm Wilkinson placed fifth with his composition, Born To Sing. In 1980, Johnny Logan sand the Shay Healy song,
What's Another Year? and won Ireland's second Eurovision crown. It had been ten years since Dana won. Johnny then went on to win twice again...once as a performer and once as the composer of the winning song.
On February 4, 1979, a relatively unknown graduate of University College, Cork (B.Music), placed his name forever in the record books by winning the National Song Contest with his self-penned number, Happy Man. Just weeks later, Cathal Dunne was seen by millions across Europe when
he represented Ireland at Eurovision. Click here to see video of his performance. Although the contest was won by host country Israel, Cathal performed very well, did his country proud, and came back to a hero's welcome. His face was on magazines every where and his song was all over the radio.
However, Eurovision wasn't Cathal's first songwriting success. After graduating with his degree in music in 1974, he won the
Castlebar Song Contest with his song, Shalom. Two years later, he was Ireland's entry in the Yamaha World Song Contest with Lover, Not Just A Wife. In fact, Cathal was no stranger to the showband scene, either, as he had been touring Ireland with his band, Stateside, for several years prior to his trip to Eurovision. Managed
by Guy Robinson, of Dublin, they played "the usual" dates around the country.
Eurovision changed all that. On May 21, 1978, following his success, Cathal launched his new band, The Formula at a reception in the Tudor Room at Barry's Hotel. Shortly after, Ireland's newly crowned "Happy Man" hit the European circuit with a new manager, Jackie Johnston of Dublin. Cathal and his band spent the next year touring both Europe and playing the ballroom circuit around Ireland.
But by the end of 1981, less than two years after his trip to Eurovision, Cathal had disappeared from the Irish dance scene.
A feature story which appeared in Woman's Way magazine in December, 1981,
reported that Cathal was "working harder than ever." In fact, Cathal was busy, but he was focusing on his songwriting skills and looking further a field than the Irish ballroom scene.
In a recent email, Cathal explained, "I received a call from a friend in Michigan who was looking after his brother's golf club...he wanted to turn the club into a Dublin-like cabaret scene and he invited me over. I got to Chicago and got a gig playing for two months starting Feb. 1982. I
returned home, did the Christmas / New year gigs and sold my equipment and have been here since."
"Here," we
are happy to report, is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Cathal now lives with his wife of fifteen years, Kathleen and their 13 year old son, Ryan. Now known in the States as Cahal Dunne, he entertains thousands of fans across
the United States with his special brand of music and comedy.
Since moving to the States, Cathal has appeared with Bob Hope, Sophia Loren, ABBA, Denis Day, Hal Roach, Carmel Quinn and Frank Patterson, to name a few. His television appearances include the David Letterman Show, Entertainment Tonight, the Nashville Network, and PBS.
Cathal hasn't slowed down creatively either. He has recorded seven CD's and three videos over that time and plays mostly up and down the East coast of the United States, featuring a repertoire that includes Irish standards, American patriotic music, songs of inspiration, and comedy!
Hear a snippet of his original song, Home Again, from The Very Best Of Cahal Dunne CD, by clicking here.
If you want to learn more about what's happening with Cathal, see where he is appearing, or order some of his CD's, videos, or DVD's, you can visit his website at www.cahaldunne.com.
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