The Saw Doctors

The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock group from Tuam, Ireland, active since 1986. Formed by Leo Moran and Davy Carton, the band develops a sound rooted in rock and has built a long-running reputation for live performance. Their line-up has included John “Turps” Burke on singer, guitar and mandolin; Pearse Doherty on bass; Tony Lambert on keyboard and accordion; Derek Murray on keyboard and guitar; and drummers Padraig Stevens, John Donnelly, Jimi Higgins and Fran Breen.

The band achieves major chart success in Ireland, with eighteen Top 30 singles and three number ones. Their first number one, “I Useta Lover”, spends nine consecutive weeks at the top of the Irish charts in 1990 and remains the country’s all-time biggest-selling single. Their live following grows especially in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In 2008, the band receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards. They play a number of festival dates in 2010, including the 40th anniversary edition of Glastonbury Festival, and release their seventh album, The Further Adventures of... The Saw Doctors, in the same year. In 2013, the band decides to stop touring. After that, Leo Moran, Anthony Thistlethwaite and Paddy O'Neill form The Cabin Collective with other Galway musicians.

Members of the group include John “Turps” Burke, Davy Carton, Johnny Donnelly, Kieran Duddy, Will Merrigan, Leo Moran, Paddy O'Neill, Rickie O’Neill, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Fran Breen, Pearse Doherty and Padraig Stevens.