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Sleeve Notes
It doesn't come as too much of a surprise to learn that The Dubliners first got together in a pub. In Dublin, of course. The year was 1963. Barney McKenna and Ronnie Drew, who were working together in a revue, met up with Ciaran Bourke and Luke Kelly and it wasn't long before the four of them were delighting themselves — and others — with their impromptu ballad sessions.
It was the beginning of one of the most popular and successful groups ever to come out of the Emerald Isle. And it had — as one would expect — a sound and a style as Irish as the Blarney Stone itself. In those early days, and as their reputation grew, they worked as The Ronnie Drew Group. It was later, during an argument about their choice of name, that Luke made the inspired suggestion that they should call themselves The Dubliners.
Their first appearance outside Ireland was at the Edinburgh Festival and they followed this with several dates on BBC-TV's "Hootenanny Shows". Then, in 1964, Luke left the group to work as a solo artiste and John Sheahan and Bob Lynch joined the band. Eventually, of course, the boys were faced with the decision whether or not to turn professional. Bob Lynch decided against it. and so Luke returned to the fold.
If someone had been putting it about that The Dubliners were somewhat riotous and very hairy Irishmen, then the boys themselves confirmed it all in no uncertain way in 1967 with their monster hit 'single', "Seven Drunken Nights". The Dubliners had really arrived.
There were more successful record releases and tours, for example, of Europe, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The merest glance at the songs included on this LP leaves not the slightest doubt that The Dubliners are extremely Irish and equally proud of it. Their music is their homeland — and their homeland is their music. "Rattling Roaring Willie", "Donkey Reel", "Mrs. McGrath", "Quare Bungle Rye", "The Herring” and "Gentleman Soldier" are all traditional songs arranged by The Dubliners.
So are "Maids, When You're Young, Never Wed An Old Man", "I Know My Love", "Peggy Gordon" and "Carolan Concerto" while "Dirty Old Town" and "Hand Me Down Me Petticoat" complete the dozen titles on this thoroughly entertaining LP.
And, to be sure, entertainment's what The Dubliners are all about.
Sid Gillingham
