Finbarr Donnelly
Finbarr Donnelly (25 April 1962 – 18 June 1989) was a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland, who moved to Cork city at a young age. He is best known as the vocalist with the post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea? (earlier known as Nun Attax, later as Beethoven Fucking Beethoven). Known for his striking stage presence and absurdist, surreal lyrics, he and the band were hugely influential on later generations of Irish musicians. Mark McAvoy, author of "Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping", said in a 2017 interview that "Donnelly probably would have been the most influential musician and songwriter in...the Cork music scene and the bands that stemmed from it."
Finbarr Donnelly | |
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Donnelly in the late 1980s | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Finbarr Donnelly |
| Born | 25 April 1962 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 18 June 1989 (aged 27) Hyde Park, London |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | vocalist |
| Years active | 1978–1989 |
| Labels | Reekus Records Abstract Sounds Kabuki Records Creation Records Setanta Records |
Their most widely regarded work, the EP Knot a Fish, was released in 1983. Donnelly's career peaked again in June 1989 when the EP Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem was named "Single of the Week" by the NME. Before he could build on this success, he drowned in a swimming accident on 18 June 1989 in Hyde Park's Serpentine Pond, aged 27.