De Dannan

Frankie Gavin was born in 1956 in Coraandulla in Galway. By the age of 15 he had won Irish national championship awards for both fiddle and tin whistle. On Sunday mornings in the Hughes Pub in Spiddal in Galway he used to go to jam sessions. Alec Finn was there as well but he had taken a more circuitous route.

Alex Finn was born in Yorkshire of Irish parents, but had lived most of his life in Galway. He had fallen under the spell of Blind Lemon Jefferson and American country blues. From guitar he moved to bouzouki. The pair joined up with bohran player, Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh, banjo-player Charlie Piggott and singer Dolores Keane. They named themselves Dé Danann after the legendary Irish prince, Tuartha Dé Danann.

Dolores had made her debut at the age of five on radio. She was part of a family of traditional singers, with her aunts Rita and Sarah Keane. The self-titled debut album "Dé Danann" appeared in 1975. Dolores left to marry John Faulkner in 1977. They were both multi-instrumentalists. The couple recorded 3 folk albums together. To replace Dolores, Dé Danann brought in Maura O'Connell for the second album "Selected Jigs Reels and Songs". Many consider that this line-up and the next two albums, are the best of "Dé Danann". For reasons that have never been made clear, they changed the spelling of the group from "Dé Danann" to "De Dannan".

After the departure of Maura, they brought in Mary Black for two albums. Like Maura and Dolores before her, she has gone on to explore country, blues and jazz, hopping backwards are forwards between Nashville and Dublin. The compilation album "A Woman's Heart" (1993) features all three, and was one the best-selling non-pop records of the 1990s. After Mary Black, Dolores Keane returned to the fold for two albums.

Other singers with the group have included Johnny Moynihan (of Plaxty), Eleanor Shanley, and Tomie Fleming. On the instrumental side, Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn are the only constant members of the group. Jackie Daly (accordion) is a star in his own right and later went on to join the group Patrick Street. In 1980 De Dannan has a surprise hit single in Ireland with the Beatles song "Hey Jude". As an indication of their diversity, they also recorded Handel's "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Jewish klezmer tunes, learned from bluegrass superstar, Andy Statman.

The boundless energy of Frankie Gavin has driven him to record many side-projects, including work with Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards, Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grapelli and Earl Scruggs. I'm not making this up. He is working on an orchestral work "The Choctaw Symphony" using Irish and Choctaw themes. Together with accordionist Paul Broch, Frankie recorded "Omos Do Joe Cooley" a tribute to the renowned Irish-American accordion player.

Discography

- De Dannan (1975) - Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (1977) - The Mist Covered Maintain (1980) - Star-Spangled Molly (1981) - Best Of De Dannan (1981) - Song For Ireland (1983) - The Irish RM (1984) - Anthem (1985) - Ballroom (1987) - A Jacket Of Batteries (1988) - Half Set In Harlem (1991) - Hibernian Rhapsody (1995) - How The West Was Won (1999) - Welcome To The Hotel Connemara (2000)

Frankie Gavin solo - Traditional Music Of Ireland (1977) - Croch Suas E [Up and Away] (1983) - Frankie Goes To Town (1989) - Irlande (1994)

Frankie Gavin and Paul Brock - Omos do Joe Cooley. A Tribute To Joe Cooley (1986)

Keane Family - The Keane Family (1985)

Dolores Keane solo - There Was A Maid (1978) - Dolores Keane (1988) - Lion In A Cage (1989) - Solid Ground (1993) - Best Of (1997) - Night Owl (1998)

Dolores Keane and John Faulkner - Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979) - Farewell To Eirinn (1980) - Sail Og Rua (1983)

Anthology - A Woman's Heart (1993)