Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish

roots revival A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware ly ...

, along with groups such as

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-yea ...

and the

Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popu ...

. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway Joe" Dolan.

First line-up

Before creating the band in 1966, Irvine, Moynihan and Dolan had met in Dublin and had performed and travelled together, on and off, around Ireland; Irvine and Dolan hitch-hiked together around Europe (Munich, Vienna and Rome) in late 1965. The name 'Sweeney's Men' was inspired by Dolan's reading of

Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan ( ga, Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth c ...

's comic novel ''

At Swim-Two-Birds ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' is a 1939 novel by Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The novel's title ...

'', which depicts the mad, anti-religious, tree-leaping pagan King Sweeney of Antrim. The band's manager was Eamonn O'Doherty, and he and the band travelled in a red VW van. The band often travelled to

Milltown Malbay Milltown Malbay (), also Miltown Malbay, is a town in the west of County Clare, Ireland, near Spanish Point. The population was 829 at the 2016 Census. Name There is a townland on the southern edge of the town called Poulawillin or Pollawillin ...

to enjoy musical sessions with the piper Willie Clancy. The early days of the band have been described by Irvine in his song "My heart's tonight in Ireland".

Second line-up

In June 1967, Dolan decided to travel to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

to fight in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

and was replaced by

Terry Woods Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, ...

. Woods who played the 12-string guitar, had travelled in the US and studied the American folk tradition brought an American musical influence to the group. At the time, they played the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

, guitar,

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 ...

, harmonica,

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

and

5-string banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

. This line-up recorded their first full-length album, '' Sweeney's Men'' in 1968.Colin Larkin. 2011. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press, p. 3299 The band did not stick to Irish songs exclusively, since all three were big fans of American music and their repertoire included American songs like "Tom Dooley" alongside traditional songs like "Willy O'Winsbury" from the Scottish tradition. Irvine left the band in May 1968, to travel around Eastern Europe.Andy Irvine. Aiming for the Heart. BoD – Books on Demand, 2008

Third line-up

Irvine was replaced by Henry McCullough, who had been repatriated to Ireland while on an

Eire Apparent Eire Apparent were a band from Northern Ireland, noted for launching the careers of Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, and for having Jimi Hendrix play on, and produce, their only album. History Tony and The Telstars The origins of the group ...

tour, owing to visa problems. McCullough played electric guitar, and his tenure saw the band explore more progressive, psychedelic territory. After playing with Sweeney's Men at the Cambridge Folk Festival, McCullough left in July 1968 to join

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

's Grease Band, and was briefly replaced by Al O'Donnell (born Alastair Noel O'Donnell, 8 December 1943, Harold's Cross, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, died 3 September 2015, Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Ireland).

Final line-up

It was as a duo that Woods and Moynihan recorded the band's second, and final, album '' The Tracks of Sweeney'', released in 1969 and including some of their own compositions, such as Moynihan's "Standing on the Shore". Shortly after this release, they broke up, on 22 November 1969. A new Irish-English folk super-group was almost formed in 1970, with Moynihan, Irvine (now back from his travels), Woods and his wife

Gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, plus

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

joining on bass, but this never happened.

Break-up and follow-on projects

Following the break-up of Sweeney's Men, four of the members played in other notable bands: *Andy Irvine:

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guit ...

, Patrick Street,

East Wind An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in mythology, poetry and literature. In mythology In Greek mythology, Eurus, the east wind, was the only wind not associate ...

, Mozaik,

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

, Usher's Island, and several duos (with

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

, Mick Hanly,

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Ro ...

, Rens van der Zalm and Luke Plumb) while also pursuing a solo career. *Johnny Moynihan:

, De Dannan,

Fleadh Cowboys The Fleadh Cowboys are a Dublin-based folk-rock/country band. The Fleadh Cowboys were formed in 1985 by Johnny Moynihan, Pete Cummins and Frankie Lane, in Kenny's pub in Westland Row in Dublin. They recruited Jimmy Faulkner on electric guitar a ...

, Moonshine, solo career and with Anne Briggs and Andrew McNamara. *Terry Woods:

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

, Gay & Terry Woods, The Woods Band and

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" ...

. *Henry McCullough: The Grease Band and

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

Reunions

In 1986, Moynihan, Woods and McCullough reunited for a special edition of the BP Fallon Orchestra, a radio show hosted by

Dave Fanning David Fanning (born 27 February 1956) is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show '' The Dave Fanning Show'' on the Irish national radio st ...

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

Radio. Irvine and Moynihan were re-united for a one-off gig as Sweeney's Men in

Rostrevor Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nea ...

, County Down on 22 July 2007, when the band was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the local Fiddler's Green Festival; Dolan was unable to participate due to illness, so

agreed to deputise. Irvine wrote "Had hoped we might 'blague' Galway Joe Dolan into doing it but he hasn't been on a stage for about two lifetimes and that wasn't going to work. Johnny had hit on the great idea of asking Paul Brady to play with us as Paul had stood in for Dolan at a gig in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

in 1967 after Joe's speedy departure for Israel and the 6 Day War". Irvine, Moynihan and Woods played together once again on 16 & 17 June 2012, as part of Irvine's 70th Birthday party concerts 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 Dublin, a dozen tracks from the shows were released by Irvine as a live album. It worked so well that they gigged again in Ireland later in 2012 and also played five full-house gigs in Galway, Kilkenny, Cork, Dublin and Limerick during November 2013. Their play list included some new songs as well as old standards, in performances that demonstrated that they retain their old vitality and virtuosity across a wide range of instruments.Andy Irvine official website
Andyirvine.com, Retrieved 11 November 2013.

Legacy

A significant innovation that Sweeney's Men contributed to Irish music was Moynihan's introduction of the

, with the tuning of GDAD', one octave lower than the open-tuned mandolin instead of the traditional Greek tuning of CFAD'. For a band with such a short lifespan, their influence was considerable. Thanks largely to Irvine, they helped evolve a more structured approach to the accompaniment of ballads. Irvine's interaction with Moynihan's bouzouki playing initially, and then with Lunny's up to and including Planxty, consolidated this contrapuntal approach.

Discography

;Original releases * "Old Maid in the Garrett"/"The Derby Ram", 1967; 7" single (Pye 7N 17312) * "Waxie's Dargle"/"Old Woman in Cotton", 1968; 7" single (Pye 7N 17459) * Compilation EP, featuring all four songs from first two singles (Pye Mini Monster Series EP PMM.608) * "Sullivan's John"/"Rattlin' Roarin' Willy", 1969; 7" single (Transatlantic TRASP 19) * '' Sweeney's Men'', 1968; LP (Transatlantic TRA170) * '' The Tracks of Sweeney'', 1969; LP (Transatlantic TRA 200) ;Anthologies * ''Time Was Never Here'', 1992; CD with both albums but missing ''The Exile's Jig'' and ''Dicey Riley'' (Demon TDEMCD11) * ''Sweeneys Men/The Tracks of Sweeney'',1996; CD with both albums plus ''Old Woman in Cotton'' (Essential ESMCD 435) * ''The Legend of Sweeney's Men'', 2004; Double-CD with all studio recordings plus several extras (Castle Music, CMDD932). ;Compilations/Featured * ''

Andy Irvine/70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012 ''Andy Irvine/70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012''
Retrieved on 1 March 2015 is a live recordi ...

'', 2014; CD/Digital (AK-5)

Filmography

* ''Andy Irvine 70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012'' (2014), DVD

Bibliography

* Irvine, Andy ''Aiming for the Heart – Poetic Songs From Ireland'', Heupferd Musik, 1988, * O'Toole, Leagues ''The Humours of Planxty'', Hachette Books Ireland, 2006,

References

External links

Andy Irvine's autobiography – Part 4. ''Sweeney's Men''
andyirvine.com. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
Obituary of Joe Dolan
''The Guardian'', 26 March 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.

etrieved on 17 March 2010 {{Authority control Irish folk musical groups