Barley Bree was a
Northern Irish-
Canadian band active from 1973 to 1995. It was formed in Northern Ireland in 1973, by Nicky Bryson,
Buncrana fiddler P.V. O'Donnell, Seamus O'Hagan (
Cookstown
Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...
), and Jimmy Sweeney, a nephew of
Tommy Makem and grandson of
Traditional singer Sarah Makem. In 1977, all except Bryson moved to
Nova Scotia; Bryson was replaced by Tom Sweeney. In 1979, O'Hagan returned to Northern Ireland and the band continued on as a trio until 1995, when Tom Sweeney left to pursue a solo career.
Barley Bree widely toured
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and released eight successful albums. They also fronted a weekly television series called ''Barley Bree'' which lasted for two years. After breaking up, they reunited several times at the
Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest (locally known as Irish Fest) is a yearly Irish-American festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on Lake Michigan, United States, every third weekend in August. Over 130,000 people attend the Fest each year to take in ...
.
Barley Bree appeared with
Tommy Makem and
Cherish the Ladies on the 1992 CD and video, ''Tommy Makem and Friends in Concert''.
Nova Scotia musician Brian Doherty (of Evans & Doherty) joined the band as their recording bass player in 1985. In 2012, Kevin Evans, Doherty and Jimmy Sweeney released the album ''Sailing Ships And Sailing Men'', a companion to a one-hour radio show they hosted on CBC’s Atlantic Airwaves. Jimmy Sweeney still lives and performs in Nova Scotia. In 1998, he released the album ''Come Listen Awhile''.
P.V. O'Donnell settled in
Manchester, Connecticut, and worked as a fiddle instructor, played with the
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, recorded two albums and continued to perform and tour. He died of brain cancer on January 29, 2011.
Tom Sweeney returned to
Omagh,
Northern Ireland, and carved out a successful career as a solo folk singer. He has released several albums including ''Daisy a Day'' and ''Poems of Ireland'', along with several very popular children's albums. In 1998, he was invited to the
White House to perform for then President
Bill Clinton at the annual
St.Patrick's day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost pat ...
celebrations. To an audience which included
John Hume,
David Trimble and
Gerry Adams, Tom performed a song he had written during the height of
Northern Ireland's
troubles entitled "Anthem for the Children".
Discography
References
Folk music groups from Northern Ireland
Canadian folk music groups
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