Sean Dunphy (30 November 1937 – 17 May 2011) was 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 ...

singer who represented Ireland at the

1967 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the 12th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Merci, Chérie" by Udo Jürgens. Organised by the European B ...

, achieving second place with "

If I Could Choose The Irish National Final was held on 12 February 1967 by RTÉ TV in Dublin, Ireland. Before Eurovision National final The final was hosted by Brendan O'Reilly at the studios of RTÉ in Dublin. The winner was chosen by postcard voting. At Eu ...

". He was also the first Irish singer to record in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Career

Born in

Whitehall, Dublin Whitehall () is a Northside suburb of Dublin City, Ireland. Whitehall is a residential area on the northern outskirts of Dublin's inner city, located near the M1 motorway leading to Dublin Airport, Swords and Belfast. It's situated between t ...

, Dunphy first became famous in his home country as lead singer with The Hoedowners, a

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

led by trumpeter

Earl Gill Earl William Gill (14 October 1932 – 4 May 2014) was an Irish trumpet-player and bandleader who, with the Hoedowners, achieved fourteen Top 20 hits in the Irish charts between 1966 and 1973. As "Tim Pat", he also had a solo hit in 1971 with a ...

. Between 1966 and 1973, fourteen

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

s by Sean Dunphy and The Hoedowners entered the Irish Charts including, in 1969, two number ones: " Lonely Woods of Upton" and "When The Fields Were White With Daisies". In the late 1970s, Dunphy went on to have two further hits as a solo artist. Despite undergoing a quadruple heart bypass operation in 2007, Sean Dunphy continued to give live performances. In March 2009, he sang many of his greatest hits in a one-off concert at

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

. His last public engagement was at a charity event twenty-four hours before his death.''Irish Independent'', "Tributes as singer and showband legend Sean Dunphy dies", May 18, 2011 Dunphy died at his home in

Baldoyle Baldoyle () is a coastal suburb of Dublin's Northside (Dublin), northside. It is located in the southeastern part of the jurisdiction of Fingal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, developed from a former fishing village. Baldoyle is also a Civil pa ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

and is buried at Greenogue cemetery in

Ashbourne, County Meath Ashbourne, historically called ''Killeglan'' or ''Kildeglan'' (), is a town in County Meath, Ireland. Located about 20 km north of Dublin and close to the M2 motorway, Ashbourne is a commuter town within Greater Dublin. In the 20 years be ...

.''Irish Independent'', "A final rapturous applause as 'the Duke' laid to rest", May 21, 2011 Sean Dunphy and his wife Lily had four children. His son Brian is a member of the Irish band,

The High Kings The High Kings is an Irish folk group formed in Dublin in 2008. The band consists of Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Darren Holden, and Paul O'Brien. As of 2020, the group had released five studio albums, four live albums, and two live DVDs, an ...

Discography

Sean Dunphy and the Hoedowners

Sean Dunphy solo

References

External links

Profile of Sean Dunphy and The Hoedowners at irish-showbands.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunphy, Sean 1937 births 2011 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1967 Irish country singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Ireland Irish male singers Irish pop singers People from Whitehall, Dublin Pye Records artists