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18/08/2008
Seven Mournful Nights Ahead, As Dubliners Singer Dies
The enigmatic Dubliners' singer, Ronnie Drew - (pictured, front and centre) who was a firm favourite of Belfast audiences - has died following a long battle with throat cancer. He was 73 years old.
Tributes to the singer and musician, who died on Saturday in Dublin's St Vincent's Private Hospital, were led by Irish President Mary McAleese.
President McAleese said: "It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of the great Irish singer, Ronnie Drew.
"Ronnie was a champion of traditional Irish music and, with The Dubliners, he re-energised and refreshened our unique musical heritage. He brought great pleasure to the people of Ireland and yet more around the world."
The Dubliners emerged from back-room Dublin pub sessions to become a world-renowned act.
With their beards and hard-living, hard-drinking image, The Dubliners sparked a huge revival in Irish ballads and folk music and inspired many famous groups and musicians to follow in their footsteps.
But the group will be best remembered for their front man, the quintessential Dubliner and man of razor wit, Ronnie Drew.
Born in Dublin in 1934 as the eldest of five, he ended up living with his grandmother in Dun Laoghaire.
In 1955 he became a telephone operator but four years later travelled to Spain where he studied flamenco guitar.
On return to Ireland, a turning point in his musical career came in 1962, when he formed the Ronnie Drew group.
The group, which included Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna, later to be known as The Dubliners, sparked a huge folk revival in Irish ballads and folk music.
Their beards and gruff Dublin accents endeared them to a diverse audience, playing gigs in O'Donoghues on Merrion Row.
They also became popular in Britain and one of the band's biggest commercial hits came in 1967 when 'Seven Drunken Nights' entered the UK pop charts with the band appeared on Top of the Pops.
Two years ago it emerged that Ronnie was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. Ronnie will be buried alongside his wife Deirdre in Redford cemetery in Greystones, following Mass on Tuesday.
(DS)
Tributes to the singer and musician, who died on Saturday in Dublin's St Vincent's Private Hospital, were led by Irish President Mary McAleese.
President McAleese said: "It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of the great Irish singer, Ronnie Drew.
"Ronnie was a champion of traditional Irish music and, with The Dubliners, he re-energised and refreshened our unique musical heritage. He brought great pleasure to the people of Ireland and yet more around the world."
The Dubliners emerged from back-room Dublin pub sessions to become a world-renowned act.
With their beards and hard-living, hard-drinking image, The Dubliners sparked a huge revival in Irish ballads and folk music and inspired many famous groups and musicians to follow in their footsteps.
But the group will be best remembered for their front man, the quintessential Dubliner and man of razor wit, Ronnie Drew.
Born in Dublin in 1934 as the eldest of five, he ended up living with his grandmother in Dun Laoghaire.
In 1955 he became a telephone operator but four years later travelled to Spain where he studied flamenco guitar.
On return to Ireland, a turning point in his musical career came in 1962, when he formed the Ronnie Drew group.
The group, which included Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna, later to be known as The Dubliners, sparked a huge folk revival in Irish ballads and folk music.
Their beards and gruff Dublin accents endeared them to a diverse audience, playing gigs in O'Donoghues on Merrion Row.
They also became popular in Britain and one of the band's biggest commercial hits came in 1967 when 'Seven Drunken Nights' entered the UK pop charts with the band appeared on Top of the Pops.
Two years ago it emerged that Ronnie was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. Ronnie will be buried alongside his wife Deirdre in Redford cemetery in Greystones, following Mass on Tuesday.
(DS)
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