By Paddy McCarthy
I have introduced quite a lot of groups over the years, but one that is very close to my heart is the Dublin City Ramblers who have been burning an eternal flame for over 50 years.
When I was in the music business and promoting concerts in Ireland this was one of the groups that I got great pleasure in promoting because they never ceased to amaze me with their music.
Yes, they did change personnel from time to time over the years only to come up with new talent to join them who were the cream of the crop in Irish folk, ballad and traditional music in Ireland.
I am excited to feature them here in my music column and to tell you please go and see them perform when they tour here in North America during February and March and don’t miss out on their new single that releases this week.
“Dublin in The Rare Old Times” is the brand-new single from legendary Irish folk and ballad group The Dublin City Ramblers. It is the first single from the band’s forthcoming new album on the renowned Dolphin Music Group record label and it features the group’s newest band member, Cork’s own Roy Buckley.
The new single also features The Sea of change Choir and will be available on all major download and streaming platforms when it is released on January 26.
Sean McGuinness is regarded as Irish music royalty around the world for the lifetime of service he has given to Irish music as a founding member of The Dublin City Ramblers.
There is history in his well-traveled voice, coupled with his unmistakable banjo sound, and his delivery of each song hits the listener in the heart like as if they are witnessing the tapestry of Ireland being woven right before their very eyes.
You can feel every high and low he’s had, every twist and turn along the road as he delivers classic Irish ballads, many of which that were written especially for The Ramblers such as Liam Reilly’s “Flight of Earls” and Pete St John’s “The Ferryman” and “Dublin in the Rare Ould Times”.
Sean McGuinness has done it all in Irish music during his storied career leading The Ramblers to many awards and accolades over the past six decades including eight gold albums, lifetime achievement awards and receiving the keys to three cities in America.
His indelible contribution to Irish music has earned him legendary status worldwide making him one of the most respected artists in Irish music history.
Roy Buckley is among the greatest balladeers of the modern era bringing an intense passion and powerful vocal range to The Dublin City Ramblers. His distinctive rasp and encyclopedic knowledge of folk songs makes him a perfect fit as the newest member of The Dublin City Ramblers and has earned him affectionate nicknames from Irish music industry legends such as the famous legendary song writer and musician Phil Coulter who dubbed him “The Last of the Great Balladeers” and the late Pete St John who described Roy Buckley as “a master balladeer” and christened him “The Voice of Munster” when he called upon him to perform what was to be Pete St John’s final song “Tara Tansey” which became a Top Ten single back in April 2021.
As a songwriter, Buckley has written many songs documenting social issues in modern Ireland including homelessness in his 2020 chart topper “The Old Man on Patrick’s Street” a song which saw Buckley making it on the ballot for the Grammy Awards that year in the categories of “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year”.
Among other Top Ten releases, Buckley has also reached Number 1 twice in Ireland with other original songs including his emigration song “Dark Rosaleen” and “Devil Rose”, the tale of the seductive temptress.
“It’s an exciting time for me as it’s the first Dublin City Ramblers track that I feature on since Sean McGuinness hoodwinked me into going on the road with the band,” he said. “I used to collect The Ramblers records when I was a kid… I still get transported back to my teenage years when I hear some of the songs that The Dublin City Ramblers popularized like The Ferryman, Right All Right and John O’ Dreams, or when Sean sings The Belfast Mill or The Punch & Judy Man.
“To me Sean is a national treasure for all he’s done for Irish music and bringing it all over the world. It’s a real honor to be on the road with him touring Ireland and America.
“He can be very funny on and off the stage and he has some brilliant stories about things like playing Carnegie Hall in New York and about playing golf with Luke Kelly but he’s a total humble hero underneath it all.
“All the new generation of ballad singers and folk groups always show Sean the height of respect when we meet them at festivals in America or around Ireland because they know he is one of the legends who paved the way and helped make Irish music so popular around the globe allowing future generations to follow on.
“I keep trying to convince Sean to change the name of the band to The Cork City Ramblers or even The Dublin Hill City Ramblers but no joy so far!”
“I am very proud to sing on the brand new recording of “Dublin in the Rare Old Times” for a number of reasons,” he continued, “the main one is because it pays homage to our late friend Pete St John who wrote the song, and also because it’s with the band that first recorded and release the song nearly 50 years ago.
“The story behind how The Ramblers got the song in the first place is this: Pete St John had returned home to Ireland in the 1970s after living in Canada and America for a number of years and when he saw all the changes in Ireland and in his hometown of Dublin he wrote the classic ballad.
“He gave the song to The Ramblers back in the mid 1970s when they all arranged to meet in the car park of Goff’s in Kildare where Pete sang the song for them sitting on the bonnet of a car.
“The Ramblers went off and recorded it, it went on to become a gold album for The Ramblers and an Irish anthem… the rest is history.
“Pete regarded the song as his ‘calling card’ all around the world. I had the honor of performing it with Pete onboard the Jeanie Johnston tall ship for National Famine Commemoration Day back in 2016.”
The unique sound and constant evolution of The Dublin City Ramblers is what has made the group stand the test of time as one of the most celebrated and enduring acts to ever come out of Ireland.
From 1970 right up to now, The Ramblers have continuously performed at the highest-level headlining Celtic music festivals from Ireland to America, and from Canada to Europe, they remain ambassadors of Irish culture and have gained the love and respect of loyal fans, followers and fellow artists worldwide.
Sean and Roy had met many times over the years at different events such as Pete St John’s song showcases in Dublin and Sean was a guest on Roy’s very successful concert series “The Song Collector Sessions” where they shared stages and traded songs with other well-known Irish artists so it was inevitable that they would team up and work together.
The opportunity to tour together arose after the Covid 19 lockdown ended and Sean was invited to the USA to pick up a lifetime achievement award ahead of The Dublin City Ramblers 50th Anniversary Tour. Sean invited Roy along and a tour was put together, the pair hit it off and the shows were met with the highest of praise from fans and critics alike and a working friendship was formed.
Now, a few years on, they are still touring together and about to release a brand-new album. The idea for the album was the brainchild of Paul O’ Reilly of the renowned Dolphin Music Group record label which The Dublin City Ramblers have released over 40 albums with over the years.
The album, which will be released later this year, was put together with fans and followers in mind and it features a mix of ballads the band has never recorded before as well as some old Irish favorites and a selection of new recordings of classic Dublin City Ramblers songs from the groups extensive back catalogue.
The Dublin City Ramblers have teamed up with the Sea of Change Choir on this first new single from the forthcoming album. The choir are an inspiring group of cancer survivors and supporters who reached the finals of Ireland’s Got Talent in 2019.
To date they have raised 1.2m euro for childhood cancer and on February 11 the Dublin City Ramblers along with their three members, Sean McGuinness, Paul Conway and Roy Buckley and guest Brian Kennedy will perform with the choir at The National Concert Hall in Dublin on the well-known Pat Egan production in aid of the Capuchin Day Center and Aoibheann’s Pink Tie children’s cancer charity.
The Dublin City Ramblers are currently touring around Ireland before they head off to America on their “Across the Atlantic” Tour performing in New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Florida.
The new track “Dublin in The Rare Old Times” will be released on Friday January 26 and available on all the major download and streaming platforms including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube, Deezer & iTunes Store.
Whatever you do, make sure you can go and see them perform as you will not be disappointed!