The Dubliners of Dublin
Who are The Dubliners?
Comprised of the original four members “Ronnie Drew (vocals and guitar), Luke Kelly, (vocals and 5-string banjo), Barney McKenna, (tenor banjo, mandolin, melodeon and vocals), and Ciarán Bourke (vocals, guitar, tin whistle and harmonica), such a wide variety of instrumental inclusion as well as harmonization allowed The Dubliners to create extremely unique deliveries of pitch. Working flawlessly together, the band was able to layer and develop completely original compositions in direct comparison to “traditional” Irish folk, while effortlessly conforming to traditional sounds.
The Dubliners performing their hit song, the “Octopus Jig”. Listen for yourself!
Undeniable Accomplishments
To introduce The Dubliners as a whole, and in simplest terms, I believe it would be ideal to initially describe their long list of commendable achievements, establishing their name as an applaudable Irish folk band. In addition to charting on the UK’s top 20 charts multiple times, The Dubliners found themselves winning many awards, but the most undeniable award is certainly one that commended them for their career as a whole, the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2012, presented by BBC Radio. Such accolades and success not only within their homeland, but worldwide had also presented The Dubliners with the opportunity to meet with President Michael Higgins of Ireland, also in 2012.
Celebrating 50 years of The Dubliners with (second from right) the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins
Such an award was beyond deserved as The Dubliners can be described as an extremely transformational group for traditional Irish folk music, as the band was founded in 1962 Dublin, Ireland, in the midst of the expansion and widely spread commercialization of ‘popular music’. The utilization of a diverse range and non traditional use of more modern instruments displayed the exploration of “new timbres while establishing a distinctively Irish, yet individual sound” (ó Luain + Forbes 2021). Due to this revolutionary period within music, such production of eccentric new sounds were delivered through the integration of non-traditional string instruments into Irish ensembles such as the electric guitar, violin, and more, resulted in many technical and stylistic adaptations resulting in the legacy of The Dubliners as well as this formative period in Irish music, alongside globally putting Dublin on the map as the birthplace of the world-renown Dubliners.
Works Cited (Images linked, most non-accredited videographer or photographer)
“The Dubliners Hometown, Lineup, Biography.” Last.Fm, CBS Interactive , 2017, www.last.fm/music/The+Dubliners/+wiki.
Haynes, Bruce, and Peter Cooke. “Pitch.” Groove Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2001, www-oxfordmusiconline-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040883?rskey=NJVf0t&result=1.
Walsh, Marty. “The Dubliners Show – All For Me Grog.” The Journal of Music | News, Reviews and Opinion, Civic Theatre , 25 Nov. 2021, journalofmusic.com/listing/28-10-21/dubliners-show-all-me-grog.
Ó Luain, Breandán Seosaimh, and Anne-Marie Forbes. “Sounds from Foreign Shores: Non-Traditional String Instruments and the Irish Folk Music Movement 1960–1979.” OSU Library, Dec. 2021, eds-p-ebscohost-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=fc516b4b-62d9-4a5b-a222-0958ed291cb1%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=157136629&db=hlh.