After touring the USA in 1986, the musicians, Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine and Jackie Daly, returned to Ireland and formed a permanent group, adding guitarist Arty McGlynn. From 1987-1991, they issued three albums under the name of Patrick Street, and reunited for a further release and tour in 1993. Patrick Street's main success has been in the USA, but their four albums have also registered strongly in Ireland, and in the UK folk charts.


Irish tenor Frank Patterson was born and raised in Tipperary; announcing his intentions to become a singer on his first day of school, he performed as a member of the local group The Wren Boys as a teen before quitting school to work in his mother's printing business. Upon relocating to Dublin in 1961, Patterson studied vocal technique, and three years later he entered the Feis Ceoil. taking home top honors in no less than four competitions. Patterson performed often with his wife, concert pianist Eily O'Grady, he performed sellout concerts everywhere, from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York's Carnegie Hall. In 1982, President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan invited Frank and Eily to perform at the White House for them and their distinguished guests. While Frank was honored to perform at the White House, the highlight of his career came in 1979, when he sang at the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, before a congregation of 1.3 million people and an estimated television audience of 1 billion during Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Ireland.

Rising to even greater prominence with the new popularity of Celtic music in the 1990's, Patterson saw many of his past recordings reissued for American audiences, and in 1998 starred in the PBS special Ireland in Song, concurrently issuing an LP of the same name. Songs of Inspiration appeared a year later. Frank Patterson died onJune 10th 2000.

This early '70s Irish band took their name fEom an Irish word for an air that is written to thank or honor a person. Originally featuring Christy Moore (guitar/vocals), Donal Lunny (guitar/bouzouki/ synthesizer), Liam O'mynn ( uiuean pipes) and Andy Irvine (guitar/ mandolin /bouzouki /vocals). The line-up had formed at sessions for Moore's Pros~evous album. After two groundbreaking albums that fused traditional music with modern folk, Lunny was replaced by Johnny Moynihan (bouzouki). In 1974, Moore left and was replaced by another highly talented singer/songwriter, Paul Brady. The band split-up shortly aftenvards, with Moynihan going on to join De Dannan and a compilation set, The Planxty Collection, was issued to great acclaim. The original band re-formed in 1978, this time with ex-Bothy Band flautist Man Molloy. Reunited only as an extension of the various band members solo commitments, the band remained highly popular with critics and fans and continued to be in demand for festival dates. Personal career moves meant that their recording dates remained low-key affairs. Moore and Lunny departed once more in 1981 to form Moving Hearts. By the time The Best Of Planxty Live emerged, the band had split-up for a second time.


Formed as Pogue Mahone The Pogues performed punky versions of traditional Irish folk songs in pubs throughout London in the late 1970's. They were fronted by singer Shane MacGowan and also included Peter "Spider" Stacy (tin whistle), Jem Finer (banjo, mandolin), James Fearnley (guitar, piano accordion), Gait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). After several complaints the band changed their name ('Pog mo thoinn' is 'kiss my ass' in Irish) and soon attracted the attention of the Clash who asked them to be their opening act. Record companies were perturbed by the band's occasionally chaotic live act where they would often fight onstage and Stacy kept time by banging his head with a beer tray.

In 1984 Stiff Records signed them and recorded Red Roses For Me, which contained several traditional tunes as well as excellent originals such as "Streams Of Whiskey" and "Dark Streets Of London." Elvis Costello produced the second album, Rum, Sodomy and The Lash on which Philip Chevron, formerly a guitarist with the Radiators From Space, replaced Finer.

The group soon established themselves as a formidable and unique live act and the record entered the UK Top 20. There were further changes when the multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods (a co-founder of Steeleye Span) joined and Gait O'Riordan was replaced by Darryl Hunt.

The group's intrinsically political stance resulted in the video that accompanied the single 'X Pair Of Brown Eyes" having to be re-edited because the group were filmed spitting on a poster of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The band would later have their protest ballad, "Birmingham Six", banned from airplay. The album on which this appeared, If I Should Fall From Grace With God embraced Middle Eastern and Spanish sounds. It sold more than 200,000 copies in the USA and "Fairytale Of New York," a rumbustuos but poignant duet by MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, was a Christmas #2 hit in the UK in 1987.

In the autumn of 1989 there were fears for the future of the group when MacGowan's heavy drinking led to him pulling out of several shows. He was due to join the band in the USA for a prestigious tour with Bob Dylan when he collapsed at London's Heathrow Airport. He missed all the support spots with Dylan and the band played without him.

The next album Peace And Love drew criticism from some quarters, mainly from original fans who had preferred the early folk-punk rants.

It was announced in September 1991 that MacGowan had left the band and had been replaced by the former Clash singer Joe Strummer. This relationship lasted until June the following year when Strummer stepped down and the lead vocalist job went to Stacy MacGowan later re-emerged with his new band The Popes.

They reunited with MacGowan in December 2001 to play several live dates.

Since forming just over three years ago, the Prodigals impassioned approach has been met with enthusiasm from both Irish and non-Irish audiences. The band's impact in the Irish Music world is evidenced by their headlining of major Irish festivals across the U.S., such as the world's largest, the Milwaukee Irish Festival, and receipt of such accolades as their #1 ranking by readers of The Irish Echo newspaper.

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