De Dannan
De Dannan (originally Dé Danann) is an Irish folk music group. It was formed in 1975 by Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott (banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in Spiddal, County Galway, Ireland, with Dolores Keane (vocals) subsequently being invited to join the band. The fiddler Mickey Finn (1951–1987) is also acknowledged to have been a founder member.
De Dannan | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Galway, Ireland |
| Genres | Folk Celtic |
| Years active | 1975–2003 |
| Labels | Gael-Linn, Shanachie Records |
| Spinoffs | Frankie Gavin with Hibernian Rhapsody a.k.a Frankie Gavin & The New De Dannan |
| Past members | Alec Finn Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh Charlie Piggott Mickey Finn Dolores Keane Andy Irvine Johnny Moynihan Tim Lyons Jackie Daly Maura O'Connell Mary Black Martin O'Connor Aidan Coffey Eleanor Shanley Colm Murphy Tommy Fleming Derek Hickey Andrew Murray |
The band was named after the legendary Irish tribe Tuatha Dé Danann. In 1985 the spelling of the name was changed from "Dé Danann" to "De Dannan" for reasons that have never been made clear. Since 2010, however, Finn and McDonagh have recorded and performed with a line-up named "De Danann", and, since 2012, Gavin has recorded and performed with another line-up named "De Dannan".