John Sheahan (born 19 May 1939) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musician and composer. He joined The Dubliners in 1964 and played with them until 2012 when The Dubliners' name was retired following the death of founding member Barney McKenna.

Early years and musical apprenticeship

John Sheahan was born in Dublin on 19 May 1939. His father, a native of Glin,

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

, was a member of the Garda Síochána (the Irish Police Force) stationed in Dublin. He is the great-nephew of Patrick Sheahan, a Dublin Metropolitan Policeman, who in 1905 died trying to save the life of a pipe workman who was overcome by toxic exhalations in a sewer on Hawkins Street, Dublin, where a memorial statue stands today. He went to school to the local Christian Brothers in Marino, Dublin, where he received his first musical education, learning the tin whistle. This experience was shared with Paddy Moloney, who later founded

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

, and Leon and Liam Rowsome, sons of the piper Leo Rowsome. When he was about twelve years old he began to take an active interest in music and soon he was to transfer the musical knowledge gained on the whistle to a fiddle he found lying around at home. Enthusiastically supported and encouraged by his parents, he attended the Municipal School of Music (now known as the Dublin Institute of Technology) where he studied classical violin for more than five years. During this time he continued to maintain his interest in Irish traditional music, which sometimes led him to improvise on the classics by putting in a few embellishments. His tutor would not approve his "composing"; however, Sheahan continued to apply the classical technique to his traditional playing which would ultimately lead to the development of his unique style, gaining him a number of awards at various

feiseanna A () or () is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are () and (). The term is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Scotland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional musi ...

(festivals of Irish traditional music, dancing, poetry and literature). His interest in American bluegrass fiddle music also influenced his style, as can be heard in tunes like "Flop Eared Mule" (also called "Donkey Reel"), recorded with The Dubliners in 1968, 1969 and 1983.

Career with The Dubliners

Sheahan played with a number of bands around the country until he met

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an 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 personnel over their fifty-ye ...

in the early 1960s. At that time, the group consisted of

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 ...

, Barney McKenna,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. He joined the band in 1964, together with Bobby Lynch. Both musicians had been playing during the interval at concerts and usually stayed on stage for the second half of the show. When Luke Kelly moved to England in 1964, Lynch was taken on as his temporary replacement; when Kelly returned in 1965, Lynch left the band and Sheahan stayed. He is the only member of the Dubliners to have had a formal musical education. John Sheahan

After 50 years of playing and after the death of founding member Barney McKenna, in the fall of 2012 Sheahan announced the retirement of The Dubliners by the end of the 50th anniversary tour. The last formation of the band featured Sheahan himself, Sean Cannon,

Eamonn Campbell Eamonn Campbell (29 November 1946 – 18 October 2017) was an Irish musician who was a member of The Dubliners from 1987 until his death. He was also in the Dubliners when they recorded their 25th anniversary show on '' The Late Late Show'' hos ...

Patsy Watchorn Patsy Watchorn (born 16 October 1944 in Crumlin, Dublin) is an Irish folk music, Irish folk singer. He is notable for being a member of the Dublin City Ramblers and later The Dubliners. Music career Watchorn first came to prominence around 196 ...

and Gerry O'Connor.

After The Dubliners

In 2013 Sheahan went on tour with Jane and Shane in Denmark playing classical music and some famous Irish jigs such as

The Irish Washerwoman "The Irish Washerwoman" is a traditional jig known to have been played throughout Britain and Ireland and in North America. Although usually considered an Irish tune, some scholars claim that it is English in origin, derived from the seventeenth-c ...

. He also joined in some informal sessions in pubs in Dublin featuring other Irish musicians and

's brother Jim Kelly. In April 2013 he had his own documentary 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 ...

about his life and career with

the programme being titled ''John Sheahan – A Dubliner''. In May he went into

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Primary School to talk about his career with

. In October 2013, Sheahan was on '' The Late Late Show'' on

with Paddy Moloney of

and performed a jig together on the

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

. Sheahan said he was working on a solo album which would contain a collection of unrecorded compositions he had written over the past 50 years and was developing a book containing his poetry. He played at Templebar Tradfest in Dublin City Hall in January 2014. FiS 2010 1043

In April 2014, Sheahan was awarded two

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for the television documentary ''John Sheahan – A Dubliner''. On 10 April 2014 Sheahan was part of Ceiliúradh at which he and other Irish musicians performed at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for the Irish presidential visit to the UK. He sang a verse of "

The Auld Triangle "The Auld Triangle" is a song by Dick Shannon, often attributed to Brendan Behan, who made it famous when he included it in his 1954 play ''The Quare Fellow''. He first performed it publicly in 1952 on the RTE radio programme 'The Ballad Maker's ...

" and played the fiddle to accompany other musicians. In June 2014 he performed at a special fund raising concert in Dublin raising money in aid of

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

. In September 2014, he performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Gearoid Grant, live in Meeting House Square for Culture Night 2014.

Other contributions

Composing his own music has been one of Sheahan's interests for many years. This led in the 1980s to a big chart hit with "The Marino Waltz" charting at No.4 in Ireland. The tune was subsequently covered by a number of other artists and was followed by the release of an album of original instrumental pieces, written and recorded together with classical guitarist

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

. The album, entitled "In Our Own Time", was released in 1987. Another album, entirely of Sheahan's compositions, was released in 2008 with the title "The Marino Suite" and features the Young European Strings Chamber Orchestra as a supporting ensemble to his fiddle playing. Sheahan contributed as a guest to several albums. Artists and groups with whom he has worked include: *

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

* Sinead O'Connor * U2 *

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

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* Fil Campbell *

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* Christopher Delaney aka KittC Delaney *

* Danny Doyle *

Dublin City Ramblers The Dublin City Ramblers is an Irish folk band, originally formed by the name of The Quare Fellas in 1970. The band has had a long line of members and Sean McGuinness is the only current of the original line-up, that also included Patsy Watchorn ...

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* Foster & Allen *

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* Andy Irvine * Jim McCann *

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* Diarmuid O'Leary *

Paddy Reilly Patrick "Paddy" Reilly (born 18 October 1939) is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry", "Rose of Allen ...

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André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act. He r ...

* Gibb Todd *

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, '' Introducing the Hardl ...

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References

External links

Itsthedubliners.com

Thedubliners.org

Sheahan and Rieu playing "Irish Washerwoman"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheahan, John 1939 births Living people 20th-century Irish people 20th-century violinists 21st-century Irish people 21st-century violinists Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin fiddlers Irish folk musicians Irish fiddlers Irish tin whistle players Musicians from County Dublin The Dubliners members 20th-century flautists 21st-century flautists