The Dublin City Ramblers

The Dublin City Ramblers

The Dublin City Ramblers are a Dublin folk and ballad group that begins in the early 1970s and continues to perform from Dublin. The line-up changes over the years, and Paddy Sweeney is a listed member. The group’s roots reach back to the earlier Irish ballad scene that surrounds Sean McGuinness and his former groups, The Jolly Tinkers and later The Quare Fellas.

Origins and early history

Sean McGuinness, born in James’s Street and living much of his life in Inchicore, comes from a traditional Irish family background. He begins playing tenor banjo at a young age, and with his brother Matt and friend Pat Cummins forms The Jolly Tinkers in 1963. That trio plays early gigs in Dublin pubs, with Sean on tenor banjo and mandolin, Matt on tin whistle and fiddle, and Pat on guitar and lead vocals. A fourth member joins later, mainly for transport, and the group later becomes The Quare Fellas.

The Quare Fellas record two albums in 1967 and 1968, The Quare Fellas At Home and The Quare Fellas, A Fond Tale. Their first television appearance comes in 1969 on Ballad Sheet, hosted by Shay Healy, alongside Christy Moore and other artists. By the end of 1969 the group splits, and Sean McGuinness becomes a founding member of The Dublin City Ramblers.

Career with the Dublin City Ramblers

The Dublin City Ramblers build their name on the Irish ballad and folk circuit in the early 1970s, including regular performances at Mick McCarthy’s Embankment in Tallaght, County Dublin. In 1976 Pete St. John gives the group a song that becomes closely associated with them and helps establish them internationally. The song is Dublin in the Rare Ould Times, described by the group as written specifically for them.

Over time the group achieves major status across the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st century. Their catalogue includes eight gold albums, among them The Guinness Record of Irish Ballads volumes 1 to 4, recorded in the early 1970s, as well as The Rare Ould Times, The Ferryman, The Flight Of Earls and Home And Away. They are said to have sold millions of records.

Performances, recognition and touring

The Dublin City Ramblers headline major Irish festivals internationally, including the Milwaukee Irish Festival. They tour widely and continue to do so, with management support from John Ryan. Among the group’s listed appearances are topping the bill at the Royal Albert Hall, supporting Ray Charles in Paris in 1981, and performing before 300,000 people. In the United States they receive the keys to several cities, including Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood in Florida, Moorhead in Kentucky and Little Rock, Arkansas. In Arkansas they also receive the Arkansas Traveller Certificate and perform at the State Capitol at the request of the governor and staff.

The group also performs for Irish sports teams, including Irish soccer teams and Dublin GAA teams, and becomes friendly with a number of them over the years. They take part in Irish Festival Cruises in the Caribbean, and remain active on the Irish folk and festival circuit.