Farewell Ronnie Drew

Like many native Dubliners I am sadder this weekend as the world and Irish Folk music has lost the great Ronnie Drew, the legendary Irish folk singer and musician, who died at the age of 73. Drew, the founder of Irish folk group The Dubliners, had been battling cancer for some time. In a brief statement, his family confirmed he passed away at St Vincent's Private Hospital in Dublin on Saturday 16 August 2008.

Ronnie Drew was born in 1934 and reared in Dun Laoghaire on the coast of south County Dublin. At an early age he realised he was not cut out for a 'nine to five' job, especially of the a.m. variety and so in the mid-fifties he emigrated to Spain and lived there for three years. During his time in Spain he taught English, learned Spanish and studied the art of the Flamenco guitar. On his return to Dublin, Ronnie met the late John Molloy, a renowned actor, who invited him to perform in a show at Dublin's Gate theatre. Ronnie worked with John in various theatrical shows, singing, acting and playing guitar. It was at this stage Ronnie learned the discipline and art of stagecraft. In 1962 'The Dubliners' appeared from the back room of O'Donoghues Pub on Dublin's Baggot Street. Their style of music created quite a stir. In 1967 they released 'Seven Drunken Nights' entering the British Top Ten with an appearance on BBC's Top of the Pops. In 1995 they appeared once again on the show with Shane McGowan and the Pogues, with their single 'The Irish Rover'. The founding members of the Dubliners were Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna and the group were the first to popularise Irish Folk music to a worldwide audience.




O'Donoghues Pub

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Brian Cowen said Drew had been an "iconic figure in Irish music" over five decades who would be remembered worldwide for his music. "I met him and admired his music, his unique singing voice was loved by so many people," he said. "Ronnie, whether as part of The Dubliners or during his solo career, will also be remembered for his promotion of Irish music both at home and around the world.

Drew underwent six months' treatment for throat cancer two years ago. His wife of more than 40 years, Deirdre, died last year. The couple lived in Greystones, Co Wicklow. Ronnie was a champion of traditional Irish music and, with The Dubliners; he re-energised and refreshed Ireland’s unique musical heritage

Con Kavanagh, barman at O'Donoghues, where The Dubliners started out, said everybody gathering at the pub this evening was talking about Drew. "When you mention Dublin, you mention Ronnie Drew - the two just went together," he said. "Everybody loved him." Irish President Mary McAleese said it was with great sadness that she learned of Drew's death. "Ronnie was a champion of traditional Irish music and, with The Dubliners, he re-energised and refreshed our unique musical heritage," she said.


During his career, Drew recorded with many artists, including Christy Moore, The Pogues, Antonio Breschi and Eleanor Shanley. Earlier this year, members of U2 joined fellow Irish musicians Sinead O'Connor, Shane MacGowan, Christy Moore and others to record a tribute song The Ballad of Ronnie Drew. All profits from the release of the single went to the Irish Cancer Society. At the time Bono said; "This is a big fight for him. But like any fighter, it's easier if there's a crowd cheering."

Drew founded the Ronnie Drew Group in 1962, which later came to be known as The Dubliners. The change of name came about due to Drew's unhappiness with the name, coinciding with the fact that Kelly was reading Dubliners by James Joyce at the time.(http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/james-joyce-and-me.html)
The group included fellow Irish music legends Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna and they began by singing in O'Donoghues pub in Merrion Row in central Dublin. Kelly was known for singing their soulful ballads and Drew will be best remembered for his gravelly-voiced renditions of songs like Finnegan's Wake and Dicey Reilly.

The Dubliners lived around the city they had named themselves after and were local legends. They were famous (and notorious) for their drunken carousing and Ronnie used to tell the story against himself of bumping into two acquaintances in Lower Baggot Street and a consensus quickly emerged that they should retire to a local pub for a pint of the “Black Stuff.” However every time one of the company suggested the name of a pub at least one of them had been barred from it in the past for some misbehaviour. After exhausting the names of all the pubs in the area they could not find a pub where all of them would be welcome and eventually they decided to shake hands and go their separate ways! At one stage Ronnie lived in a house in the Dublin Mountains at Glencullen and reveled in the porch he had built constructed out of empty beer bottles!


Despite bumping into Ronnie a couple of times in Dublin I only ever heard the Dubliners in concert once and that was in the early 1990s at the Barbican Centre in London, England. This was when the group had some changes of membership and after Luke Kelly’s death. It was a couple of years before Ronnie left the group (in 1995) and truth to tell, whilst pleasant they were past their best with an air of contractual obligation about it all. A couple of weeks later in the same venue I heard De Dannan and Eleanor Shanley in concert and the difference was noticeable, De Dannan and Eleanor grabbed the audience and did not let go until the end of their set.

This made me all the sadder I had not caught the Dubliners live in their prime and with their original line up for in their prime they were a phenomenon which took the world by storm and ironically popularised Irish Folk music not just internationally but also in Ireland. When we think of Irish traditional music, we think of ballad groups. But prior to The Dubliners, there were no ballad groups. It took the international folk boom of the sixties, and the success of the Clancy’s and Tommy Makem in America, to legitimise Irish music to the Irish nation. A good buddy of mine, Liam Weldon who ran the wonderful music sessions in Tailor’s Hall in Dublin, used to always say “There is a big difference between people who sing folk songs and people who ARE folk singers.” The Dubliners and Ronnie Drew had Dublin and Irish Folk music in their hearts and, as we say in the auld town, they were the heart of the rawl!

Ar dheis Dé go raibh anam uasal, Ronnie Drew.




The Dubliners with Paddy Reilly at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin - Molly Malone




And here's Patrick Kavanagh's Raglan Road: An allegorical poem of unrequieted love. Luke Kelly sang the definitive version.