The Hennessys are one of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

' foremost traditional

folk music 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 b ...

groups.

History

In 1966, Frank Hennessy and Dave Burns (born David Burns, 4 November 1946, in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

), both from Cardiff's Irish community, won a talent competition organised by

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Car ...

which persuaded them to take up music professionally shortly afterwards, adding Paul Powell (born in 1946, in Cardiff – died 2007) on banjo and vocals. Having achieved success in the Cardiff area, they decided to spend some time travelling around

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, to acquire a wider musical experience. It was at this time that they were persuaded to develop a greater Welsh identity, and they started to introduce traditional

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

songs into their repertoire, with great success, and their career took off. They appeared regularly on television in Wales, appeared on stage throughout the country and recorded several albums. Many of their songs like "Farewell to the Rhondda" (about the decline of the mining industry in Wales and its social consequences), "Tiger Bay" (about emigration from

Tiger Bay Tiger Bay ( cy, Bae Teigr) was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. Following the building of the Cardiff Barrage, which dams the tidal rivers, Ely and Taff, to create a body of water, it is re ...

, the dockland district of Cardiff) and the capital's anthem "Cardiff Born" have become folk standards. Other hits include "The Grangetown Whale" and "Billy the Seal". The current line-up still includes Hennessy (on guitar) and Burns (on guitar and mandolin), who have now been joined by fiddle player Iolo Jones (born 12 February 1955, in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, England). Frank Hennessy has been hosting his own radio programmes on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

since 1984.

Discography

Frank Hennessy

*''Thoughts & Memories'' – 1988

Dave Burns

*''Last Pit in the Rhondda'' – 1986

The Hennessys

*''Down The Road - The Road and the Miles'' – 1969 *''Caneuon Cynnar / The Early Songs'' – 1993 *''Cardiff After Dark'' – 1984 *''Homecoming''

References

External links

Frank Hennessy
at

The Hennessys Discography
at TheBalladeers {{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessys, The Welsh folk musicians Celtic music groups Musical groups from Cardiff