Irish Rovers, The

The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover" they are best known for their international television series, contributing to the popularization of Irish Music in North America, and for the songs "The Unicorn", "Drunken Sailor", "Wasn't That a Party", "The Orange and the Green", "Whiskey on a Sunday", "Lily the Pink", "Finnegan's Wake" and "The Black Velvet Band".

The primary voices heard in the group's early songs were Will Millar (tenor), Jimmy Ferguson (baritone), George Millar and Joe Millar, and in the last twenty years, also John Reynolds and Ian Millar. Wilcil McDowell's accordion has been a signature sound of the band throughout their more than fifty years.

Founding member George Millar and his cousin Ian are both from Ballymena, Davey Walker from Armagh, Sean O'Driscoll from Cork, Gerry O'Connor from Dundalk, with Morris Crum from Carnlough and percussionist Fred Graham from Belfast. Flute and whistle player Geoffrey Kelly was born in Dumfries, Scotland.

In the 1980s, the group briefly renamed itself The Rovers. During this period, their "Wasn't That a Party" led to crossover success in the country rock genre.

The Irish Rovers have represented Canada at five World Expos, and in 2018 were honoured as one of Ireland's greatest exports at Dublin, Ireland's EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum.

In 2023, they sang their 50th Anniversary, which featured a two-disc CD.

Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1963

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1959 - 1971

Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 120727 8/27/1968 Stop, look, listen Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 120728 8/27/1968 The village of Brambleshire Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 120729 8/27/1968 Our little boy blue Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 120730 8/27/1968 Ally Bally Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 121043 1/9/1969 Lily the pink Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 121044 1/9/1969 Mrs. Crandell's boardinghouse Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 122197 12/29/1969 Rhymes and reasons Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 122256 12/29/1969 Emperors of ice cream Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 122505 2/26/1970 Lament for Molly McGuires Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 122937 7/15/1970 Years may come, years may go Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 122938 7/15/1970 Two little boys Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123197 10/27/1970 Marika's lullaby Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123198 10/27/1970 The marvelous toy Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123594 7/6/1971 Mountain tay Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123595 7/6/1971 Goodbye Mick and goodbye Pat Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123596 7/6/1971 Fiddlers green Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123597 7/6/1971 Bonnie Woodgreen Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca 123610 8/9/1971 You're mine Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 11422 3/12/1959 Imagination Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14128 10/10/1966 My old man's a dustman Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14214 10/10/1966 The Irish rover Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14215 10/10/1966 My boy Willie Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14216 10/10/1966 The rattling dog Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14217 10/10/1966 Coulter's candy Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14218 10/10/1966 My old man's a dustman Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14219 10/10/1966 Patsy Fagan Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14220 10/10/1966 I don't mind if I do Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14221 10/10/1966 Many young men of twenty Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14222 10/10/1966 Mick Maguire Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14223 10/10/1966 Donald where's your trousers Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14224 10/10/1966 Nancy whiskey Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14225 10/10/1966 The flag of Sinn Fein Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14574 7/31/1967 Goodbye Mrs. Durkin Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14575 7/31/1967 Bonnie Kellswater Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14576 7/31/1967 Black velvet band Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14577 7/31/1967 Come in Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14578 7/31/1967 The wind that shakes the corn Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14579 7/31/1967 The first love in life Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14613 8/15/1967 The unicorn Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14614 8/15/1967 Pat of Mullingar Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14615 8/15/1967 Bridget Flynn Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14616 8/15/1967 Hiring fair Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14617 8/15/1967 The orange and the green Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14913 3/28/1968 (The puppet song) Whiskey on a Sunday Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14914 3/28/1968 The biplane, ever more Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14929 5/27/1968 My little Maureen Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14930 5/27/1968 Bare legged Joe Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14931 5/27/1968 Cold Winter shadows Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14937 5/28/1968 Liverpool Lou Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14938 5/28/1968 Henry Joy McCracken Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14939 5/28/1968 Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost over night? Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14940 5/28/1968 Goodnight Irene Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14941 5/28/1968 The shores of America Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14942 5/28/1968 Rovers fancy Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14943 5/28/1968 Shamrock shore Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14944 5/28/1968 Up among the heather Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14986 8/9/1968 Oh you Mucky kid Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 14987 8/9/1968 The Rovers Street song medley Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15031 11/5/1968 The minstrel of Cranberry Lane Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15032 11/5/1968 Mrs. Crandall's boardinghouse Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15033 11/5/1968 The stolen child Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15034 11/5/1968 Pennywhistle peddlers Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15035 11/5/1968 Pigs can't fly Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15165 5/1/1969 Orange nickelodeon Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15166 5/19/1969 Peter Knight Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15199 5/1/1969 Fifi O'Toole Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15200 5/1/1969 Make believe days Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15201 5/2/1969 Sullivan's John Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15202 5/2/1969 Did she mention my name? Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15265 7/29/1969 Shanksbridge Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15266 7/29/1969 The life of the Rover Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15267 7/29/1969 King of the fairies Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15268 7/29/1969 Pleasant and delightful Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15269 7/29/1969 Banks of Newfoundland Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15270 7/29/1969 Farewell to Nova Scotia Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15271 7/29/1969 Sam Hall Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15272 7/29/1969 Bunclody cuckoo Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15273 7/26/1969 Molecatcher Irish Rovers, The Musical group  
Decca L 15287 8/21/1969 Winkin' blinkin' & nod Irish Rovers, The Musical group  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Irish Rovers, The," accessed November 23, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/322571.

Irish Rovers, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/322571.

"Irish Rovers, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/322571

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.