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Recollection by Paddy McCarthy<\/p>\n
Although a solo artist for most of his career, Irish entertainer and\u00a0folk musician James McCann<\/strong> was a member of The Dubliners<\/strong> from 1974 until ’79. Later he appeared with them in their 2002 reunion and their 50th anniversary tour in 2012.<\/p>\n I promoted This man for many years in Ireland and in the States and we became good friends long before he passed. Jim had one of the most unique folk voices that I’ve ever come across and he was loved where ever he performed, So sit back and have a nice read about this amazing man; Jim was a real good Dublin<\/strong> man.<\/p>\n McCann attended\u00a0University College Dublin\u00a0as a medical student, but became interested in folk music during a 1964 summer holiday in\u00a0Birmingham. He began performing in area folk clubs, and, upon his return to Dublin,\u00a0 joined a group called the\u00a0Ludlow Trio<\/strong>\u00a0in 1965. In the following year, the Trio had a\u00a0hit\u00a0with their recording of\u00a0Dominic Behan<\/strong>‘s “The Sea Around Us” which reached Number One in the Irish charts.<\/p>\n The group broke up the following year, and McCann went a solo, releasing an album,\u00a0McCann<\/strong><\/em>, and making several appearances on several folk programs for\u00a0Tele In ’74, Kelly asked McCann to join The Dubliners temporarily, to replace\u00a0Ciar\u00e1n Bourke<\/strong>\u00a0during a period of illness. He then became a permanent member soon afterwards, when\u00a0Ronnie Drew<\/strong>\u00a0left to pursue a solo career. McCann remained with the band until 1979’s end, during which he toured incessantly and recorded several albums with them.<\/p>\n Although his treatment was successful, it damaged\u00a0 his voice leaving him unable to sing. However, he still collaborated with the Dubliners by taking photographs for them, appearing as a\u00a0comp\u00e8re<\/em>\u00a0in their concerts, and sometimes playing guitar. During the Dubliners’ last concert in December 2012, he performed with them as a guitarist.<\/p>\n McCann’s death was announced by his family on March 5th, 2015.<\/p>\n Rest in Peace, Jim, we miss you so sadly.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/images.jpeg\")
fis \u00c9ireann<\/strong>. He also spent the next few years involved with theatrical productions (starting with\u00a0Maureen Potter<\/strong>‘s Gaels of Laughter<\/strong> <\/em>in 1968), and he toured throughout Ireland and Britain. He released a second album,\u00a0McCanned<\/strong>,<\/em> made a television special called\u00a0Reflections of Jim McCann<\/strong><\/em>, and then hosted a series called\u00a0The McCann Man<\/strong><\/em>. Through that series he met fellow folk artist,\u00a0Luke Kelly\u00a0<\/strong>of The Dubliners. During this appearance, Kelly did his only televised performance of the\u00a0Phil Coulter<\/strong>\u00a0song “Scorn Not His Simplicity” — a song he chose to perform sparingly out of respect to the subject matter (Coulter’s intellectually disabled son). McCann subsequently performed alongside Kelly in the original cast of\u00a0Jesus Christ Superstar\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>in 1973, in the role of\u00a0Peter.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Unknown.jpeg\")
He rejoined The Dubliners\u00a0in 2002 for their 40th anniversary tour and later at\u00a0Vicar Street\u00a0in 2012 for their 50th. Meanwhile, McCann continued to perform, tour, and record on his own, appearing on television shows (particularly on\u00a0RT\u00c9) and achieving success with albums such as\u00a0From Clare to Here\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>and\u00a0singles\u00a0such as “Grace.” He rejoined the Dubliners in 2002 for their 40th anniversary album, but during the subsequent tour was diagnosed with\u00a0throat cancer.<\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>