Biography
De Danann, who launched their performing and recording career as De Dannan in 1985, helped shape the course of contemporary Irish music. While anchored in the country's traditional repertoire, the ensemble's masterful instrumental command and emotive singing carried their sound to listeners around the globe. Music journalist Earle Hitchner, writing for The Wall Street Journal and The Irish Echo, asserted that "any serious discussion of the evolution of Irish traditional music over the past quarter century must include the enormous contribution of De Danann." The group's origins trace to casual Sunday-morning gatherings at Hughes Pub in Spiddal, a modest village in County Galway. From those sessions emerged fiddler Frankie Gavin, known for his intense style, and Yorkshire native Alec Finn, a bouzouki and guitar specialist formerly associated with Connemara; the pair decided to combine their talents. They were soon joined by Johnny "Ringo" McDonogh on bohran and bones together with banjoist Charlie Piggott, and the musicians adopted the name De Danann, drawn from the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish legend. Vocalist Delores Keane came aboard before the release of the band's self-titled first album in 1975. Across the years De Danann experienced repeated lineup shifts, yet Gavin and Finn remained the sole constants from the founding roster. Singers who have fronted the group include Mary Black, Maura O'Connell, Johnny Moynihan, Eleanor Shanley, and present-day lead Tomie Fleming. Earlier instrumental contributors featured accordionists Jackie Daly and Aidan Coffey. The current configuration includes Cork-born bodhran specialist Colm Murphy and accordionist Derek Hickey. NAIRD honored De Danann with "Best Celtic Album" awards for Star-Spangled Molly in 1981, Song for Ireland in 1983, and Ballroom in 1987. Their 1996 release Hibernian Rhapsody paid tribute to the late Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) of Queen, its title track drawing directly from the band's hit "Bohemian Rhapsody."