Celtic Music: De Dannan

The four original members invited singer Dolores Keane to join them for their first self-titled album released in 1975. Keane left in 1977 to marry John Faulkner. She has been succeeded over the years by Mary Black, Maura O' Connell, Johnny Moynihan, Eleanor Shanley, Tomie Fleming and Andrew Murray. Most of the singers have gone on to successful solo careers.

While there were several lineup changes over the years, Frankie Gavin's virtuoso fiddle playing, along with Alec Finn's bouzouki and guitar playing, remained constant. Finn can lay claim to being one of the people who helped introduce the bouzouki, a Greek instrument, to Irish music. While most other players adopted an eight-string Irish version, Finn stuck with the traditional six-string bouzouki.

Champion accordionist Jackie Daly was with the group for a while. He has also recorded with Kevin Burke, Buttons & Bows and Patrick Street.

Other group members have included Colm Murphy on bodhran, as well as Aidan Coffey and Derek Hickey, both on accordion.

Like many Irish groups, Dé Danann began with traditional songs and tunes, then expanded to include other influences. Half Set in Harlem, for example, includes American gospel and Klezmer tunes with guest singers and musicians from those genres. They have also recorded Handel's "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" adding "in Galway" to that title, and their version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is called "Hibernian Rhapsody." Their last release, "Welcome to the Hotel Connemara" consists of 15 rock 'n' roll tracks done with the instruments of a traditional Irish group.

After the band broke up in 2003, Alec Finn copyrighted the name De Dannan. In 2009, Frankie Gavin formed a new band using the original spelling from the group's early years. This led to a rather high-level dispute and may account for some fairly ascerbic comments on the YouTube video pages for the new lineup. The last video features the new group.