Guaranteed Irish is an American folk band from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, currently consisting of Bruce Foley, Patrick Folan and Jimmy Lamb. To date they have released three albums and are classified as an Irish folk band.

History

Bruce Foley met Patrick Folan in the late 1970s and the two played their first gig together. They played at a fundraiser for the local GAA. Jimmy Lamb joined the group in the late 1980s and the three have been together ever since.

Performances and Tours

The band mainly plays local performances in and around the Pittsburgh area but have also toured throughout the United States and Ireland. Annually since 2006 they have done a cruise with Isle Inn Tours called Ireland at Sea and in January 2010 they joined fellow artists Seamus Kennedy, Fiona Molloy,

Harry O'Donoghue Harry O'Donoghue is an Irish musician. Childhood Harry was born in 1954 in the town of Drogheda on the banks of the river Boyne on the East coast of Ireland. Early career At age twenty, Harry began playing guitar and bodhran and was soon pe ...

on the cruise ship.

Notable Performances in the United States

*The Pittsburgh Irish Festival (1991–present) *Riverstone Concert Series, Foxburg PA *Opened for

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and na ...

at the A.J Palumbo Center *

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panth ...

The American Ireland Fund The American Ireland Fund (DBA The Ireland Funds America), is a tax-exempt organization incorporated under the laws of the United States and has been determined by the IRS to be a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, ...

dinner Sponsored by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

(2003–present) *Opened for An Evening with

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

(2004) *Several performances with Dave Hanner of Corbin/Hanner

Notable Performances in Ireland

* 3 Tours of Ireland (1992–2008) playing in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...

, Tuam, Clifden,

Cleggan Cleggan () is a fishing village in County Galway, Ireland. The village lies 10 km (7 mi) northwest of Clifden and is situated at the head of Cleggan Bay. A focal point of the village is the pier, built by Alexander Nimmo in 1822 and ...

Roundstone, County Galway Roundstone () is a village on the west coast of Ireland, in the Connemara region of County Galway. Lying opposite the island of Inishnee on Roundstone Bay, by road it is northwest of Galway and southeast of Clifden. Known as a haven for people ...

, Bray *Featured in the Summerfest Festival, Roundstone, Co. Galway (2008) *The Clifden Arts Festival with John Sheehan of

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

Solo Performances

:*Bruce Foley played at Madison Square Gardens for Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday (May 3, 2009) and is a member of Tommy Sands (Irish folk singer) and his Irish Band when he tours the United States.

Members

Current

Bruce Foley- vocals, Uilleann pipes,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, tin whistle, low whistle, bodhrán (1975–present) Patrick Folan- vocals,

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(1975–present) Jimmy Lamb- vocals,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(1985–present)

Guest Members

Deke Kincaid -

Drum Kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, and

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(1999–present)

Discography

Albums

Out in Front (1991)* Live (1993) We Won't Come Home 'Til Morning (2008) All three albums were recorded with the record label, Killary Productions.

Contributions

It's All In the Song: A Tribute to

Andy M. Stewart Andrew McGregor "Andy" Stewart (8 September 1952 – 27 December 2015) was a Scottish singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard. He was born in Alyth, Perthshire. With Silly Wizard he not only sang, but also ...

(2006)

References

External links

guaranteedirish.net
Official website {{Authority control American folk musical groups Irish-American culture in Pittsburgh Musical groups from Pittsburgh