PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Michael D Higgins has led the tributes to Barney McKenna, a founding member of the Dubliners, who passed away today.
The popular folk musician died suddenly at his Dublin home this morning, aged 72.
President Higgins said he heard the news with great sadness.
“Throughout his life and as a founding member of the Dubliners Barney McKenna made a major contribution to music and song and above all to the banjo as an instrument. His influence on and generosity to other instrumentalists was immense,” he said in a statement.
Sabina and I were fortunate enough to have known him as a friend and to hear him play recently in St. Patrick’s Cathedral when Then Dubliners celebrated 50 years as a band. I recall he sang ‘I wish I had someone to love me’ with John Sheahan accompanying him on violin. We were especially pleased to have time with him after the performance.
Higgins also remembered McKenna playing to a packed Albert Hall in 1967 and more recently on 13 March this year.
As part of those Dubliners 50th anniversary celebrations, the band played to an audience at Croke Park on 24 March. Kieran Murray sent these images of that concert to TheJournal.ie earlier today.
John Sheahan of The Dubliners told RTÉ earlier today about how Barney was like a brother to him and that the band became a family.
“He is a huge loss to everybody,” he said. “We are all very sad here.”
“He could make a banjo talk,” said former manager Noel Pearson. “He was the real deal.”
As part of our own tribute here at TheJournal.ie, we’ve compiled a few of our favourite Banjo Barney performances:
First up, an unbelievable banjo solo:
And there’s two of them playing this solo because it’s an “Irish solo”, according to McKenna himself.
Here’s one from 1980 in Norway with Ronnie Drew:
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