Ciaran Bourke - The Dubliners

The Dubliners

After leaving university, he met his future bandmates in The Dubliners, Ronnie Drew and Barney McKenna who invited Ciarán to join their sessions in O'Donoghue's Pub, where he played tin whistle, mouth organ, guitar and sang. Luke Kelly, who had been singing around the clubs in England, returned to Dublin and the four gained local popularity. Then known as The Dubliners, the group put together the first folk concert of its kind in Dublin. The concert was a success, then a theatrical production called “A Ballad Tour of Ireland” was put on at the Gate Theatre shortly afterwards.
Ciarán was responsible for bringing a Gaelic element to The Dubliners' music with songs such as "Peggy Lettermore" and "Sé Fáth Mo Bhuartha" being performed in the Irish language. He also sang a number of the group's more lighthearted and humorous numbers such as "Jar of Porter", "The Dublin Fusiliers", "The Limerick Rake", "Mrs. McGrath", "Darby O'Leary", "All For Me Grog" and "The Ballad of Ronnie's Mare", as well as patriotic songs such as "Roddy McCorley", "The Enniskillen Dragoons", "Take It Down From The Mast" and "Henry Joy".