De Dannan

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De Dannan (originally De Danann) is an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhran), Charlie Piggott (banjo), and Dolores Keane (vocals). They named themselves Dé Danann after the legendary Irish tribe, Tuatha Dé Danann.

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 Johnny Moynihan for the second album Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (this album has never been released on CD, reportedly because the master tapes were lost). Many consider that this line-up, and the next two albums, are the best of Dé Danann. The Mist Covered Mountain featured various older traditional singers, and on Star-Spangled Molly they were joined by Maura O'Connell. 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 Eleanor Shanley and Tommy 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 had 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" (which they jokingly retitled "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba in Galway"), Bohemian Rhapsody, and Jewish klezmer tunes, learned from bluegrass superstar, Andy Statman.

[edit] Discography

• De Danann (1975)
• Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (1977)
• The Mist Covered Mountain (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)