14th January, 2010.....Death of Dave Kearney

Francie Lenehan, formerly of the Cotton Mill Boys and Rocky Tops among others, told us today that Dave Kearny, the original guitarist with the Smokey Mountains Ramblers has passed away. We also received an email from his son-in-law, Tom Worrall, informing us of Dave's death in Canada where he had lived for the last thirty years after emigrating in the early 80's. Dave, from Dublin, was originally a member of beat group, The Movement before joining the showband ranks. After he left the Smokeys, he also spent some time in Sandie Jones Band. Our sincere sympathies go out to Dave's family and friends both in his native Ireland and Canada.

4th December, 2009....Death of Liam Clancy

Sad news today as Liam Clancy, the last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers, has passed away in Cork aged 74, after a long illness. Born in Carrick-On-Suir, Co. Tipperary he emigrated to the United States with Tommy Makem in 1956 as his other brothers had gone to Canada in the 40's. The brothers started performing at folk gigs in the States and at one point legend Bob Dylan called Liam the "best ballad singer" he had heard in his life. After splitting with his brothers, Liam joined forces with Tommy Makem and the pair became a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1990, after his brother Tom passed away, Liam rejoined his brothers and performed with them in the early 90's. In recent years, Liam had performed around the world as a solo act, usually with musicians Paul Grant and Kevin Evans. According to his website, Liam was currently working on an album and his autobiography. With the death of partner Tommy Makem in 2007 and Dubliner Ronnie Drew in 2008, Liam's passing is a sombre reminder of the ending of an era which started a half century ago. Our sincere sympathies go out to Liam's family, fans and friends across Ireland and the rest of the world.  
 

3rd December, 2009....Change in A Little Bit Showband air time this week

Janet Gallagher of RTE emailed us today to let us know that the next episode in the "A Little Bit Showband" series which features Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg will be airing at 7:30 p.m. this coming Sunday, not at 8:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.

24nd November, 2009...Book Launch by Premier Aces' Johnny Carroll

Last night I attended the book launch for Johnny Carroll's new biography, Oh Mein Papa. Written by Philomena Gallagher, the book tells Johnny's story as one of the youngest musicians ever to play in a showband at only thirteen. The book documents his career in music with the Premier Aces, Swallows, Magic Band and finally as a solo artist. It is also a touching story of a family man who lost his first wife, Stella, to cancer at age 37, leaving him with four children to raise on his own. The launch was held in conjunction with a week long dance outing which brought dancers from across the North to the Central Hotel in Donegal at which Johnny and several other bands are playing. Johnny, who turned 66 recently, sounded as good as ever. I also met Barney Greene, drummer with The Breakaways, and talked at length about his career in the showbands starting in 1968. Click here for the full report.

2nd November, 2009....RTE announces details for second Showband series

Eanya Gallagher from RTE television emailed us today to announce the upcoming schedule for the second series of A Little Bit Showband. The six part series will air on RTE 1 starting Sunday, 15th November at 8:30 p.m. and continue every Sunday through December 20th.
The artists scheduled to be featured are:
Joe Mac - 15th November
He was the “Clown Prince” comedian of the showbands.  Joe Mac (aka Joe Mc Carthy from Cork) was drummer with The Dixies Showband, but that doesn’t begin to describe it.  His mad physical antics and elastic face made him famous.  But his personal life was marked by great joy and great tragedy.
Kelley -22nd November
Kelley from Cork was the sexy “blonde bombshell” of the showband world. She partied as hard as any of the men on the showband scene. Although in her heyday Kelley’s name was romantically linked with many men (even Tom Jones), Kelley never married, but she has no regrets.
Derek Dean - 29th November
Controversial front-man with The Freshmen, Derek gives a rollercoaster account of how he drank and slept his way from ballroom to church hall in a showband life with less sax and more sex. Derek’s accounts of his showband days often differ from the gloss and wholesome nostalgia that surround the Showband era.
Swarbriggs - 6th December
The Swarbrigg Brothers, Jimmy and Tommy, have shared a lifetime of music together.  From the brass band in Cootehill, Co. Cavan, to the whirlwind of showband fame. From two Eurovision appearances, through personal crises, their fortunes have always been intertwined, for better or for worse.
Tony Kenny - 13th December
True blue Dubliner, Tony started life as a butcher’s assistant, but his fabulous voice made his fortune. Starting out in The Sands Showband, he went on to play Jesus in a controversial production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and made a name for himself as a star of the theatre and cabaret stage.
Danny Ellis - 20th December
The story of Danny Ellis’ tragic childhood shaped his music when he eventually let it.  From abandonment by his mother, to an upbringing in Artane Industrial School, he thought he had found freedom from pain as a trombonist and singer/song-writer in the showbands.  But he discovered he needed to let that “little boy” speak. His recent best-selling album “800 voices” is the result.      

www.irish-showbands.com and members of our community once again assisted the show's producers by supplying photos and information from our pages and their collections.

In June, 2008, fans of the showband era were saddened to learn of the sudden death of one of the periods earliest stars, Maisie McDaniel at her home in Sligo. Maisie's career in music came full circle tonight when her daughter, Lisa Stanley, launched a new CD of her mother's greatest hits sung by Lisa and other stars including Sandy Kelly. The event was compered by one of the era's greatest supporters, Senator Pascal Mooney. The programme, which was a celebration of Maisie's career, included performances by local artists, Paud Griffin, Georgie Gorman and Marian Fitzgerald, along with Patrick Feeney, Philomena Begley, Maisie's former husband, Fintan Stanley (back in Sligo form his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts) and finally Lisa, herself, along with Deirdre Stanley. Although a crowd of 300 was expected, more than 500 people show up to dance and clap along. Maisie's legacy lives on in the voice and songs of her talented daughter, Lisa.  

September 20, 2009....Death of Glen Curtin

It is with sincere regret that we learned of the death of singer Glen "Harry" Curtin this evening in Dublin. Former bandmate of Glen, Fergus McElligot had emailed us a few days ago telling us Glen was gravely ill and today we received word from another member of our community that Glen passed away, he was 66. Glen started his career in England with his own family's band and came to Ireland around 1971. He started with a showband called Xanadu which also featured Tara. He then joined the New Blues. After the New Blues, Glen joined The Nevada where he sang opposite Tina. He then formed his own Galaxy Band in the late seventies/early eighties. He had many hit records during his showband career. His album "The Very Best of Glen Curtin" was recently released on Crashed Records. Our sincere sympathies to his family and friends.   

September 16, 2009....Death of Mainliner's Cyril McKevitt

Community member John McGrenra sent us an email today informing us of the sudden death of Mainliners' trombonist Cyril McKevitt yesterday, Sept 15th. Cyril and the Mainliners had just finished Big Tom's 2009 tour which ended Sunday, September 13th in the West County Hotel in Ennis, Co. Clare. Kathleen Smith has written to tell us Cyril was 69 when he passed away. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his family, friends and members of the Mainliners.

September 7, 2009....Death of Clipper's Mick O'Hanlon

Terry McCafferty sent us an email today informing us of the passing of another member of the Clipper Carlton, drummer Mick O'Hanlon from Strabane. His funeral will be leaving his home in Ballindrait (outside Lifford, Co. Donegal) on Thursday, 10th September. He will be sadly missed by all his family and friends in the music business. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his family and friends.
 

August 13, 2009....Champions to Tour Again

Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions will be taking to the road again this Fall after a seventeen year break. An article in the Kerryman details the story of the band's reunion, as well as the dates they will be playing. Click here to learn more.

August 13, 2009...Death of Les Paul aged 94

Although he never played with an Irish showband, Les Paul, inventor of the solid body guitar and one of the earliest innovators in multi track recording had a profound effect of nearly every Irish musician who picked up a guitar or recorded a song. Born in 1915, he started playing professionally when he was only 13 and by the 30's and 40's he was one of the foremost figures in the recording industry. With his wife Mary Ford (who passed away in 1977) he had 36 gold records. Despite his age, Les continued to perform a weekly session at the Iridium Club in New York until his death. Along with Leo Fender, Les probably had more influence on the recording and performing of music than almost any other person over the last half century.

July 13, 2009...Death of Mighty Avons' Martin (Francis) Geraghty

Sadly, we found out in September about the death of Martin Geraghty last July from a member of his immediate family, Catriona Donnelly. Martin (real name Francis) was a member of both Ian Corrigan's Country Style as well as the Mighty Avons. In fact, after the departure of Gene Stuart to form his own band, the Homesteaders, Martin took over lead vocals duties with the Mighty Avons in the mid 1970's. Our sincere sympathies are extended to Martin's family and friends.

May 30, 2009....Death of Sean Mahon

Liam O'Reilly writes to tell us Sean Mahon of the Freshmen passed away yesterday.

From The Belfast Telegraph: Death Notices: MAHON, SEAN - May 29, 2009, peacefully, at Ulster Hospital, dearly-beloved husband of Phemia, St. John's House, Point Road, Killough, and much-loved father of Damian, Denise, Paul, Clare and Fiona. Funeral from his late residence tomorrow (Sunday) at 11.00 a.m. for 12.00 noon Mass at St. Patrick's Church, Downpatrick. Interment afterwards in Struell Cemetery. Donations in lieu of flowers, if desired, to Marie Curie Cancer Care, c/o Seamus Fitzsimons, Funeral Directors, 72 Scotch Street, Downpatrick, BT30 6AN. Very deeply regretted by his sorrowing wife and family.

Our sincere sympathies are extended to Sean's family and friends. 

May 28, 2009...Death of Dave McHale

Bobby Kelly told us that David McHale, former sax player with Stagalee, and Sandie Jones and the Boyfriends, has passed away in Germany. Dave came to worldwide prominence when he played on the Boomtown Rats album, Mondo Bongo in 1980. At this point, we have been unable confirm Dave's death on the Internet, but Bobby has told us many of Dave's friends in and around Dublin have been mourning his passing. Our sincere sympathies to Dave's family and friends.

May 1, 2009........Report of spam emails mentioning our site

I received an email today from a concerned member saying they had received a spam email from someone who said they saw their profile at www.irish-showbands.com. Sadly, there is little we can do to stop this. Any of you who have used emails for several years and are "active" on the Internet already know that spam emails are a part of the price you pay to be involved. Personally I receive 200-300 everyday (many come from spammers using our guestbook) and all I can do it erase them. If you ever want to have your name and email deleted from the site, just send us an email and we will remove you. However, it is most likely you will not escape spam if you are in any way active on the Internet. Our advice is to ignore all these spam emails and delete them immediately...unless they come from someone you know (and even then be careful, spammers are also hijacking email addresses these days as well). We hope this helps.   

April 27, 2009........Death of Dave Glover

March 23, 2009......Death of Eddie Maher

March 20, 2009.....Death of Shay O'Hara

We have received several emails telling us of the death of Shay O'Hara, former lead singer with the Royal Blues Showband. Originally from Carlow, Shay joined the Royal Blues in 1963 when members of Pete Brown's Band of Renown broke away to form their own group. He sang with the band for over five years and left in 1968. Shay eventually emigrated to Australia where he settled and lived until his death. He formed his own band down under called the Celtic All Stars which played across the country to Irish and Australian audiences alike. Our sympathies are extended to his family and friends across the world.

January 27, 2009....Louis Walsh is Mayo Person of the Year

Louis Walsh, former showband manager and roadie, has become one of the best known personalities on the Irish and International entertainment scene. From his humble beginnings as a lad from Kiltimagh who set up gear for the Royal Blues and managed the group, Time Machine, Louis has made his mark both at home and abroad. This article from Michael Cummins (also a long time supporter of the showbands) give Louis' history and recognizes his achievements from his native Mayo.  Click Here

January 14, 2009....Feature on Frankie McDonald

Frankie McDonald, former member of the Drifters, among others, is the subject of a feature in the Westmeath Independent. After forty years living in Athlone (although a native of Clones in County Monaghan) Frankie has left an indelible mark on the town's music and cultural landscape including extensive performance milestones as well as having started the Athlone School of Music. For more info and a copy of the article, click here. 

8th October, 2008.....RTE thanks community members

Last night RTE aired the second programme of its "A Little Bit Showband" series. The show featured Sonny Knowles and at the end, credited several members of our irish-showbands.com community for their contributions to the show. They included Liam O'Reilly, Brian Furey and Dick Lynott who have all contributed to photo collections here on the site. We also want to mention community member, Francis Kennedy, who was credited for contributions through his own website. We'd like to thank Eanya Gallagher at RTE for the recognition of the site and its members and look forward to the remaining 4 instalments of the show to come (see below for schedule). Click on the image left for full size.

18th September, 2008....RTE announces details for new Showband series

Eanya Gallagher from RTE television emailed us today to announce the upcoming series, A Little Bit Showband. The six part series will air on RTE 1 starting Tuesday, 30th September at 7:00 p.m. continue and every Tuesday through 4th November.
The artists scheduled to be featured are:
Brendan Bowyer - 30th Sept
Sonny Knowles - 7th Oct
Brendan O'Brien - 14th Oct
Paddy Cole - 21st Oct
Sean Dunphy - 28th Oct
Tina Reynolds - 4th Nov.
www.irish-showbands.com and members of our community assisted the show's producers by supplying photos and information from our pages and their collections. More info on the series as it become available.   

13th September, 2008...Death of Gerry Duggan

Gerry Duggan, former guitarist with the family group the Duggan Brothers, who became Brotherly Love, sadly passed away today in Galway after a long battle with leukaemia. He was 56. Based in Sligo, Gerry and his brothers started out playing relief to the top bands of the showband era in the Silver Slipper Ballroom in Strandhill before changing their name and signing a recording contract with EMI. Known for their amazing vocal harmonies, they released several singles including Scooby Doo, My Kind of Girl and Dark in the Dawn and toured nationally until they retired from show business in the early 1980's. Early in their career, the band was managed by their father, Alfie, but they were soon discovered by  Louis Walsh (long before his Boyzone and X Factor fame) and in the early 80's they were managed by Tom Kelly of Ballina who also managed the Kim Newport Band and The Fairways. Returning to civilian life, Gerry became an engineer and ran his own very successful firm. Many of the buildings in Sligo over the past 20 years used blueprints designed by Gerry and his firm. Our sincerest sympathies are extended to Gerry's wife, Gayle, his children, family and friends.

16th August, 2008...Death of Ronnie Drew

Ronnie Drew, a legend of the Irish entertainment scene lost his long battle with cancer today and sadly passed away at 2:10 p.m. we have been informed by former Sands guitarist Bobby Kelly, who was with Ronnie in St. Vincent's hospital when he died. Bobby also played guitar with Ronnie in the 1980's. After playing the folk clubs around Dublin in the early 60's with the Dubliners, Ronnie and the lads burst onto the UK and international scene in 1967 when their single, Seven Drunken Nights, was banned by RTE, but reached Number 7 in the British pop charts. Ronnie was one of the key figures in the Irish folk revival. In recent years Ronnie toured as a solo artist and performed in a variety of other artists in the last decade including the Pogues and Christy Moore. Last year Ronnie's wife, Deidre passed away after a short battle with cancer, after she cared for her husband through his illness. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ronnie's children, friends and fans across Ireland.

June 28, 2008....Death of Maisie McDaniel

Maisie McDaniel, often cited as as Ireland's first female singing superstar, has passed away in her home in Sligo. Maisie enjoyed a very successful solo career before being asked to join the Nevada, but she would perform with the band only a handful of times as she was injured in a car accident shortly after their first gig. She would also front her own Fendermen, as well as the Nashville Ramblers. After her showband days ended, Maisie joined with husband, Fintan Stanley to play the cabaret scene around Ireland. She left the scene in the late 70's and separated from Fintan, but made a brief comeback in the mid 80's. She had been retired from performing for many years. Our deepest sympathies are extended to Maisie's daughter, Lisa, family and friends. Our thanks to Dick Lynott for letting us now about Maisie's sad passing.

April 3, 2008...Death of Brendan O'Brien of the Dixies

This evening we received several calls, including one from Bobby Kelly (formerly of the Sands and Greenbeats), informing us that Brendan O'Brien of the Dixies has passed away. One of the early superstars of the showband era, Brendan, along with drummer Joe Mac, was one of the best known names in the ballrooms in the mid to late 60's with the Dixies (formerly the Dixielanders) until he and Joe broke away to form Stage 2. Brendan was  nearly killed when he was electrocuted on stage in late 1974 while doing a charity function in Cork. He was severely injured and it took a long time for him to venture back on stage, which he did in 1982, however, he would suffer from continued health problems throughout much of his life. Brendan would retired from performing in 1985 and return once again to the stage when Joe Mac quit the Dixies in 1989. To see the whole story of Brendan's career, you can go to the feature on the Dixies here. Brendan's final appearance on RTE was on 11th January on a show dedicated in part, to the stars of the showband era. He and drummer Joe Mac sang their number one hit, Little Arrows. His passing, along with that of Joe Dolan in December, reminds us all that the showband era, and the stars that entertained the country so many years ago, should be appreciated and treasured while they are still with us. Our deepest sympathies are extended to Brendan's family, friends and fans across the world.

March 13, 2008...Paul Duffy's Florida pub.

Click here for story

March 4, 2008...Death of Jimmy Faulkner

Jimmy Faulkner, brilliant guitarist who has played with a variety of bands, passed away this evening around 9:00 in St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. I was informed of his death by Bobby Kelly, (Sands and Greenbeats among others). Jimmy was taken ill only a week ago and discovered he was in the advance stages of liver cancer which had spread to other parts of his body. Jimmy, who has played with just about everyone, was one of Ireland's finest guitarists and in recent years, played with his band, the Houseshakers. He was also on Christy Moore's "Live In Dublin" album released to great acclaim in 1995. In the 80's and 90's he was one of Ireland's best known sessions musicians appearing on albums by Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Don Baker, Finbar Furey and many many more. Although never a member of a showband, Jimmy came up on the Dublin beat scene in the late 1960's and played with a variety of Dublin groups before gravitating towards jazz and traditional in later years. The picture left was captured from a performance on RTE in 1981 with Paul Brady. Our deepest sympathies go out to Jimmy's family and friends. 

February 28, 2008....Deaths of Cyril Fullard and Bernard Tobin

We received two sad emails within a day of each other. Gayle Tobin wrote to tell us of the death of her father, Bernard on 27th of July, 2007. Bernard was the lead vocalist and bass player with the Impact Showband, which brought Rory Gallagher to prominence in Ireland. She informed us that her Grandmother bought Rory his first guitar. The next day, Sandra Clancy wrote to us letting us know about the death of Cyril Fullard, who sadly passed away on February 28, 2008. Cyril was the sax player with the Olly Maloney Showband from Tuam, Co. Galway. Our sympathy and prayers go out to Bernard's and Cyril's families and friends. Click here to visit our "In Memory" pages. 

February 4, 2008....Yesterday and Today in Concert

Last night I attended a concert in the Sligo Park Hotel which featured Mike Denver, one of today's biggest names on the Irish dancing scene. Although not truly a "nostalgia" show like Do You Come Here Often, what attracted me to the concert were Mike's special "guests" which included showband stars Larry Cunningham (Mighty Avons and Country Blue Boys), Ray Lynam (Hillbillies), Roly Daniels (Memphis, Nevada, Jim Farley and Green County) and Pat Ely (Smokey Mountain Ramblers and Rocky Tops). The concert played to a packed house, standing room only in the end and it was a great show. Using Mike Denver's excellent backing band, the stars of yesteryear combined to play for the best part of 90 minutes before Mike took over to end the evening.

I spent time talking with promoters Willie Carty (formerly of the Conquerors and still their manager) and Tom Kelly (who played with the Fairways and now manages Brendan Grace) and also got to chat with Paul Claffey of Mid-West Radio (who was a major dance promoter during the showband era). This is one stop on a nationwide tour which includes over 30 dates. Overall it was a great night's entertainment with Roly, Ray, Larry and Pat all in fine voice and sounding better than ever. Mike and his band were also in great form, carrying on the showband tradition. The previous week in Sligo, Patrick Feeney was on stage in the Hawkswell Theatre for two nights along with his "guest" Sandy Kelly and the two have been on tour for the last month. It seems that, at least on the concert scene, bringing  together the stars of yesterday with the today's talent is a trend which will continue.       

January 11, 2008...Keeping the Showband Spirit Alive and Well

Last night, I was invited to Derry by David Hull to see his showband tribute concert, Do You Come Here Often. This was the twelfth year for the show which was staged in Belfast, Dublin and Derry. David and his team have put together a track record which is unequalled in maintaining the interest in, and dignity of, the showband era stars over the years. The two and a half hour show was hosted by radio personality George Jones (Monarchs, Dave Glover Showband and Clubsound) and featured Gene Chetty (Gene and the Gents), Muriel Day (Dave Glover Band), Tony Kenny (Sands), Earl Gill (Earl Gill Band and Hoedowners), Brian Coll (Plattermen and Buckaroos), Geraldine Brannigan (GB Band), and Roly Daniels (Memphis, Nevada, Jim Farley and Green County). Geraldine was joined on stage by brother Donal and husband Phil Coulter. The show was closed by Merseyside superstar Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers.

The singers were superbly backed by The Galaxy Showband (formed specially for the concert series) which included Morris Crum (Musical Director-keyboards), Ivan Black (sax/clarinet), Clive Culbertson (bass), Davy McKnight (drums), Alastair Wallace (trumpet), Barry Woods (keyboards), Olwin Woods (vocals), Alan McCartney (Guitar) and Janet McCartney (vocals).

The more than 1,000 fans of all ages that stuffed the Millennium Forum in Derry were treated to an evening of nostalgia and more importantly, talent which is undimmed by the 40 years that have passed since the majority of these stars hit the stage in the ballrooms of Ireland in the 1960's and 70's. Every act was excellent and every artist featured still "has it" although some of them no longer play very often and came out of "retirement" for the concert series.

This is not a plug for the show, but if you have an interest in the showband era and have never attended one of these concerts, I suggest you check it out. David told me that thirteen of the artists they have featured over the years have since passed away and none of us is getting any younger. My thanks to David and his team for their hospitality and to the stars for their time and talent.     

January 7, 2008...Irish-showbands.com back to normal (hopefully)

If you are a frequent visitor to our site, you may have noticed we have had some problems for about the past three weeks. This all started when our hosting company, ipowerweb, decided to "upgrade" their servers and discontinue their support of certain software functions. The result has been a continuing headache which were were working hard to correct (with little success) and in the end, we had to move to a new hosting company. The move was completed today and you should find the site back to "normal." If you have any suggestions for how we can make the site even better, please let us know!

December 26, 2007...Joe Dolan, Showband Legend, sadly passes away.

December 7, 2007...Bandleader Michael O'Callaghan Passes Away

(First reported to us by member Liam O'Reilly)

Buttevant, Co. Cork's Michael O'Callaghan passed away on December 7th at Mallow General Hospital. Michael was the former bandleader with one of Cork's most famous showbands. Although the Michael O'Callaghan band never achieved the fame opr notoriety of some of their peer like the Dixies, they were none the less one of the top bands in Munster during the showband era. 

Our condolences do out to Michael's friends and family. 

November 29, 2007...Dana to Revive Fran O'Toole Hit

A song written by one of the murdered members of the Miami Showband is set to be revived when it is performed by Eurovision winner Dana. Love Is, written by Fran O'Toole, will be heard once more when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern unveils a memorial next month to him and his two fellow musicians who lost their lives in the outrage. Fran wrote the song just two months before he died in the UVF massacre 32 years ago.