James McCann (26 October 1944 – 5 March 2015) was an Irish entertainer and

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

. Although a solo artist for most of his career, McCann was a member of the folk group

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 ...

from 1974 until 1979, then later appearing with them in their 2002 reunion and their 50th anniversary tour in 2012.

Beginnings

As a young man, McCann attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

as a student of medicine, but became interested in folk music during a summer holiday in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in 1964. He began to perform in folk clubs in the area, and, upon his return to Dublin, he joined a group called the Ludlow Trio in 1965. In the following year, the Ludlow Trio had a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with their recording of

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born i ...

's " The Sea Around Us", which reached number one in the Irish charts. The Ludlow Trio broke up in the following year, and McCann began a solo career, releasing an album, ''McCann'', and making several appearances on several folk programmes for Telefis Éireann. Amongst other pursuits, he spent the next few years involving himself in theatrical productions (starting with

Maureen Potter Maria Philomena Potter (3 January 1925 – 7 April 2004), known as Maureen Potter, was an Irish singer, actress, comedienne and performer. Early life Potter was born in Dublin and educated at St. Mary's school in Fairview. She had a long career ...

's "Gaels of Laughter" in 1968), and he toured throughout Ireland and Britain. He released a second album, ''McCanned'', made a television special called ''Reflections of Jim McCann'', and then hosted a series called ''The McCann Man''.

The Dubliners

It was on ''The McCann Man'' that he met fellow folk artist,

Luke Kelly Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become i ...

of The Dubliners. During this appearance, Kelly did his only televised performance of the

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

song "

Scorn Not His Simplicity "Scorn Not His Simplicity" is a song written by the Irish musician and songwriter Phil Coulter and performed on his albums ''Classic Tranquility'' and '' The Songs I Love So Well''. The song has also been performed by several Irish musicians, inclu ...

", a song that 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 ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' in 1973, in the role of

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. In April 1974 Kelly asked McCann to join The Dubliners temporarily, to replace

Ciarán Bourke Ciarán Bourke (18 February 1935 – 10 May 1988) was an Irish musician and one of the original founding members of the Irish folk band The Dubliners. Early life Ciarán Bourke was born in Dublin on 18 February 1935, but lived most of his life ...

during a period of illness. However, he became a permanent member soon afterwards, when

Ronnie Drew Joseph Ronald Drew (16 September 1934 – 16 August 2008) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He is most recognised for his lead vocals on the si ...

left the group to pursue a solo career. McCann remained with The Dubliners until the end of 1979, during which he toured incessantly, also recording several albums with the group. He did rejoin

in 2002 for their 40th anniversary tour and later at

Vicar Street Vicar Street is a concert, performing arts centre and events venue in Dublin, Ireland. Located on Thomas Street, Dublin 8, Vicar Street has capacity for 1,050 people for seated performances and 1,500 people for standing gigs. The venue is own ...

in 2012 for their 50th.

Later years

He continued to perform, tour, and record music as a solo artist, appearing on many television shows (particularly on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

) and achieving success with albums such as ''From Clare to Here'' and

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

such as "Grace". He rejoined the Dubliners in 2002 for their 40th anniversary album, but during the subsequent tour was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

. Although treatment for the illness was successful, the damage to his voice left him unable to sing. However, he still collaborated with the Dubliners by taking the photographs for them, appearing as a compère in their concerts, and sometimes playing the guitar. During the Dubliners' last concert in December 2012, he performed with them as a guitarist. McCann's death was announced by his family on 5 March 2015. He had been battling throat cancer for some time.

Discography

;Solo * ''McCann'' (1967) * ''McCanned'' (1972) * ''Live at the National Stadium'' (1982) * ''Jim McCann'' (1980) * ''Grace & Other Irish Love Songs'' (1996) * ''From Tara to Here'' (1999) (Gold) Recorded and released on Irish record labe
Celtic Collections
* ''Greatest Hits'' (1999) * ''The Collection'' (2001) * ''Live at the Skagen Festival'' (2002) * ''By Request'' (2003) Recorded and released on Irish record labe
Celtic Collections
* ''Ireland's Greatest Love Songs'' (2003) * ''Seems Like a Long Time: A Jim McCann Retrospective'' (2004) * ''Live 2008'' (2008) * ''The Best of Jim McCann'' (2015) ;Compilations (with various artists) * ''Ireland's Greatest Hits'' (1987) * ''Legends of Irish Folk'' (2014)

Filmography

* ''Reflections of Jim McCann'' – TV special * ''The McCann Man'' – TV series * ''Festival Folk'' – TV special featuring Jim,Matt Manning and English Steve. * ''My Ireland'' – TV special * ''McCann & McTell'' – TV special

Theatre

* ''Gaels of Laughter'' (1968) * ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973) – Peter * ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Th ...

'' – Narrator

References

Bibliography

* ''Luke Kelly: a Memoir'', Des Geraghty,
Jim McCann
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Jim 1944 births 2015 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Deaths from esophageal cancer Irish guitarists Irish male guitarists Irish male singers Irish folk singers Musicians from Dublin (city) The Dubliners members Irish male actors Deaths from cancer in Ireland 20th-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male actors