# Recommend me some Irish folk musicians **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411 "2002-11-18T23:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/1 "2002-11-18T23:29:22Z")
I’m starting to listen more and more to Irish folk music (at least I believe it’s folk music - I’m too uninformed to know if I’m labeling it correctly). I’ve purchased one or two CD anthologies from Green Linnet and love them, but I need some guidance or I’ll start choosing CDs on a whim. I love lilting dance music and haunting, melodious instrumentals. Does anyone in the know have any recommendations for me? ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/2 "2002-11-18T23:43:25Z")
It’s pretty tough to beat the Chieftains. Plus you can find them in just about any store that sells CDs. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/3 "2002-11-19T00:25:24Z")
Planxty. Exactly what you are looking for from the sound of your description. Pretty much any album will do - they’re all good. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/4 "2002-11-19T00:51:35Z")
I really dig [these guys](http://www.sevennations.com/) . YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/5 "2002-11-19T00:57:52Z")
People rave about Altan, although they’re not my cup of tea. Clannad was big in a folk/folk-rock way a while back (earlier was more traditional, later was more “poppy”). You might try finding the “Thistle and Shamrock” radio program on your local public radio station – that’ll give you a good sampling of the music, traditional and recent. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/6 "2002-11-19T01:12:18Z")
Well, you named my personal favorite CD, Green Linnett’s 20th anniversary collection. Outstanding taste. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/7 "2002-11-19T01:26:37Z")
de Danann. ---
**Author:** ![chiefhardcrab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@chiefhardcrab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiefhardcrab)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/8 "2002-11-19T02:46:31Z")
The Green Linnet anthologies are an excellent starting off point for exploring Irish traditional music. You might also want to look into Maggie’s Music from Annapolis. I would second all of the previously mentioned bands and would additionally suggest Wolfstone, Martin Carthy, Maddy Prior and Boiled in Lead. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/9 "2002-11-19T04:22:38Z")
Check out **Silly Wizard**. _Live Wizardry_ is a pretty good selection of some of their best tunes, and one of the better live albums I’ve heard in general. And, there’s always **The Pogues**. A little more punk than folk, but they do a fair amount of traditional stuff. Regardless, they are The Greatest Band in History, and you should definetly check them out if you’re not already familiar. Their original lead singer has his own gig now as **Shane MacGowan and The Popes**. A lot rawer than his stuff with The Pogues, but still pretty good. If you like both or either of the above, you’ll probably love **Flogging Molly** , which is to The Pogues what Oasis was to the Beatles. If you want to get really hard-core, dig up some old copies of **The Clancy Brothers featuring Tommy Makem**. Warning: contains near toxic levels of kitsch. Makem’s solo work is a little less 1950s, and might be worth seeking out. Also, there’s some pretty fierce debate among Irish music fans about the difference between “folk” and “traditional,” and which is better and who is what. Basically it breaks down like this: “trad” is the stuff you like, “folk” is the stuff you hate. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/10 "2002-11-19T05:26:17Z")
Well, **Miller** took my suggestion of the Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem. Yes, some glurge stuff, but also some really great work. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/11 "2002-11-19T06:39:29Z")
Tommy Moffett ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/12 "2002-11-19T07:58:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **And, there’s always The Pogues. A little more punk than folk, but they do a fair amount of traditional stuff. Regardless, they are The Greatest Band in History…** Yep, it’s true. I actually don’t even listen to their stuff that much anymore, but I still say that they’re the Greatest Band Ever. **pugluvr** , assuming you’re unfamiliar with the Pogues: which album you start with depends on what you’re looking for. I don’t recommend any of their Greatest Hits collections. If you’re looking just for traditional stuff, you could go with _Red Roses for Me_, which is pretty much just straight ahead Irish folk songs done by a punk band. _Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash_ is probably their most popular album; I think it splits the difference between traditional folk and pop music. It was the first record of theirs I heard (I’d never heard of them and bought it just because I liked the cover art), and within a week I’d bought every one of their records I could find. But _If I Should Fall From Grace With God_ – this is the Greatest Album In History. It’s all over the place, with two (or three, depending on the version you get) amazing instrumental tracks, “Turkish Song of the Damned” and “Bottle of Smoke” back to back, and Kirsty MacColl. For other bands, you might like The Waterboys. They’re probably more pop music than folk music, but they’ve got some great stuff. _Room to Roam_ is the one to check out. And The Chieftains have already been mentioned, for good reason. They’re the most well-known, and they’re astounding musicians. Their only album that I really like, though, was _Irish Heartbeat_ with Van Morrison. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/13 "2002-11-19T12:43:16Z")
Anything by Joemy Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/14 "2002-11-19T13:14:17Z")
Luke Kelly. The late singer with the Dubliners had a amazing voice. His version of Raglan Road is brilliant. [http://www.geocities.com/toeye/dubliners/luke.htm](http://www.geocities.com/toeye/dubliners/luke.htm) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/15 "2002-11-19T13:32:19Z")
How come nobody’s mentioned **Christy Moore**? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/16 "2002-11-19T13:33:47Z")
And of course **Val Doonican**. His version of Paddy McGinty’s Goat is second to none. ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/17 "2002-11-19T14:00:51Z")
no Mention, and you might already know, but i had to do a plug anyhow. Check out your local National Public Radio station for a program called **“The Shamrock and the Thistle”**. Listening will give you a few names. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/18 "2002-11-19T14:55:55Z")
What, no **Solas**? Check out the members as solo artists also – Karan Casey, John Williams, Seamus Egan, Winifred Horan. A few other people have joined and left the group over the years, but I’m blanking on their names right now. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/19 "2002-11-19T15:51:18Z")
I always loved the Dubliners, myself. They could play “serious” traditional jigs and reels as well as anybody, but were equally capable of singing the crudest drinking songs with sly wit. The gravelly-voiced Ronnie Drew was a riot on songs like “The Seven Drunken Nights,” but was surprisingly touching on tracks like “The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda.” I heard Ronnie Drew say once that groups like the Chieftains took much of the fun out of Irish folk music, and often made what SHOULD have been lively, funny songs seem like stuffy museum pieces… and while I admire much of the Chieftains’ work, I know exactly what Drew meant. Too many “serious” traditional Irish musicians drains the music of what made it appealing in the first place. If an Irish band doesn’t get your foot tapping (or better yet, STOMPING) and if it doesn’t make you laugh often, they’re not doing it right. The Dubliners almost always did it right! ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411/20 "2002-11-19T15:52:36Z")
The difference between folk and traditional? If you can’t beat a beertray off your head in time to the music, its folk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-irish-folk-musicians/137411.md?page=2)