Dermot O'Brien and his Clubmen
(1959-1972)
Dermot O'Brien Solo - 1972-2007
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
 Dermot O'Brien, Ireland's "Merry Ploughboy," is one of the few stars
to have done it all, from Ceili band to Showband and finally,
success as a solo cabaret star which continued until his death in
May, 2007.
Dermot's showband success can be traced back to
his teen years when (at age 14) he was learning piano at the local
school in Ardee, Co. Louth.
On leaving school he joined the
Emerald Ceili Band
out of Slane, Co. Meath in 1951. He also got a job with the County
Council as a clerk and spent his spare time learning to play the
accordion. In
1953 he joined the Vincent Lowe Trio, who were "big time" in those
days. The
trio was Vincent Lowe (piano), Dermot (accordion) and Gabriel
McGuigan (drums). Vincent and Gabriel were from the Newry area and
Dermot stayed with them for two years before getting the itch to
start his own band.
In 1955,
Dermot put together the St. Malachy's Ceili Band. He named the
group after his piano teacher, Sister Malachy in the local
convent. The band did very well as Dermot's reputation as one of
the country's finest accordion players continued to grow. Lead
singer with the band was John Fowler. They
also did two tours of the United States during this time. At the
same time, Dermot was playing football for his native County
Louth and in 1957 heended up playing in the All Ireland
final at Croke Park...every footballers dream.
By 1958, it appears the
St. Malachy band was no more as adverts now touted Dermot
O'Brien and his Broadcasting Ceili Band. As an aside, any
time any band appeared on radio or television back in the early
days of the era, the term "Broadcasting"
was immediately applied to all their newspaper adverts.
In 1959, the winds of
change were blowing across the Irish entertainment scene and
Dermot could see that the Ceili bands would have limited appeal
in the new landscape. He started the
Clubmen in 1959,
initially as a semi-pro outfit. The band was made up of local
lads and a female vocalist, Lillian Campbell. It was during this
time that all the members of the band were members of Our Lady
of Lourdes Boys' Club in Drogheda, hence (we think) the name,
The Clubmen. This would be a gig they did on a regular basis for
the first couple of years. In 1960, the band undertook its first
tour of England.
By early 1961, the band
status and reputation was growing and they started to play in
Dublin ballrooms like the Crystal while still playing their
usual gigs in the local boys club. It was becoming obvious the
band could do better if they were professional and later that
year
Dermot gave up football for music.
 In
1962, the band turned
professional but all the old members had to be replaced and a
brand new set of musicians made up the Clubmen.
The band's popularity
grew along with the Showband era. In the mid sixties, Dermot
finally got around to making his first record, Johnny Cash's I
Walk The Line in 1966. The record did very well, and made it to
number three in the Irish Charts. Instead of following up with
another American country song, the story goes that the
band's manager, George O'Reilly, suggested that Dermot's follow up
should be The Merry Ploughboy, a song which would define his career for a generation.
The record shot up the Irish Charts and reached Number One and
stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. After the success of
Ploughboy, the band went from playing to crowds of hundreds to
over a thousand a night.
In 1967, after the
success of Ploughboy, the Clubmen became one of the first Irish
bands to undertake a concert tour of Britain. Previously, Irish
outfits were limited to appearing in the Irish halls. In April,
1968, Dermot and the Clubmen went their separate ways, as did so
many bands at the time. The band left behind their country and
western roots as Dermot's backing band and went in a new pop
direction. The band included five of the original Clubmen: Timmy
Regan (guitar and lead vocals), Eamonn Campbell (RIP-guitar), Johnny
Barton (drums), Denis O'Loughlin (sax) and Willie Healy
(trumpet). The band was rounded out by two new members: Jim
Newman on bass and Kenny Doyle on keyboards.
In a blurb in the Insider
column of Spotlight on July 13, 1968, it was revealed that the
Clubmen were changing their name to the Tigermen. As an
aside, In December 1970, the Tigermen were absorbed into the new
band, Jubilee, which was a ten piece big band.
In 1969, Dermot had his
own show on RTE radio called The Styles of O'Brien on
Friday's at 7:15 p.m. At the same time, his new Clubmen featured
some pretty heavy hitters including Sonny Knowles (formerly
of the Pacific) and the late Mike Nolan on trumpet.
 The
"new" Clubmen toured the USA, did stints in Germany and
of course numerous tours in England, Scotland and Wales. In
March, 1970, an article in Spotlight reported that Dermot had
purchased a building site in Killarney, Co. Kerry and would be moving out
of Dublin. Said Dermot, "I find Dublin too crowded for my
liking...if I want, for instance, to bring my wife and children
to the country or the sea, it takes about two hours to fight
through traffic, and then when you get to the beach around
Dublin or Wicklow, it's overcrowded."
In late 1970, Dermot became ill and had to leave the road. He
was hospitalized for three months, until March, 1971 and he had
to disband the Clubmen. When he was well enough to tour, he put
together a new version of the band and hit the road again,
albeit with a scaled back schedule...doctor's orders.
With a less hectic touring schedule, Dermot was able
to devote more time to songwriting and production and gained a
reputation as one of the country's best. He wrote and produced
songs for Larry Cunningham, Mike Murphy and, of course, himself.
A cover story article in Spotlight magazine on July 6, 1972
claimed he was "having his busiest summer in years, playing his
box (accordion) in tents throughout the country."
 Yet, a change was in the air, by the end of
1972,
Dermot had disbanded the Clubmen and announced he was moving into the less hectic
world of cabaret. For the next decade, Dermot was one of the
most sought after record producers and songwriters in Ireland.
He produced recording sessions for many of the top names on the
Irish country and traditional scenes. At the same time, his own
performing reputation continued to grow and he continued to
release hit records including
Spancil Hill
which reached number 3 in the Irish Charts in 1974, Green Fields Round Ferbane
(#11 Irish Charts in 1975), The Boys of Killybegs
(reached
#8 in the Irish Charts in 1975),
and Skibbereen which peaked at number five in late 1976.
Like many of the showband era greats, Dermot saw the
writing on the wall in the early 1980's as both ballrooms and
cabaret succumbed to the power of the discos and night clubs
across Ireland. He emigrated to New York in 1983 along with his
wife, Rosemary. Although he had moved away from Ireland, he did
not leave the country. Every year he would tour Ireland and the
UK performing for new generations of fans.
Dermot joined the renowned Jury's Irish Cabaret in 1995 and
spent six years performing with them in Dublin and on
their US tours. After the 2000 season, Dermot left to once
again focus on his
solo career. He spent the summers performing in Ireland, after
which he returned to his home base in New York. Dermot toured the U.S. in 2002 with a very successful Christmas
Tour featuring himself and Deirdre Reilly.
Sadly, Dermot's beloved wife, Rosemary, died on January 15, 2005.
Following this, Dermot returned to Ireland and his family home in Ardee, Co.
Louth. He himself battled cancer for the last few years of his life and sadly
passed away on May 22, 2007. One of the true legends of the showband era, Dermot
left us with a vast collection of recordings which continue to sell today.
Our condolences to
Dermot's daughters, Catheryne, Grace and Roisin, his sons Ronan and Dermot, and
the rest of his family and friends.
click on thumbnails for full image
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| Dermot - 1958 |
Dermot - 1958 |
Clubmen - 1959 |
Clubmen - 1972 |
Clubmen - 1965 |
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| Clubmen
(LR) |
Clubmen
(KS) |
Clubmen
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Clubmen
(JB) |
Clubmen - 1966
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| Cover Story - 1972 |
Dermot
(LR) |
Clubmen - 1966 |
Clubmen
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Clubmen
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| Clubmen
(LR) |
Dermot
O'Brien
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Clubmen |
Dermot - 1967 |
Dermot - 1969 |
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| Clubmen - 1969 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1969 |
Dermot O'Brien |
Dermot O'Brien - 1968 |
Clubmen
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| Clubmen
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Clubmen
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Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen
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| Clubmen
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Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen
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| Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen - 1968
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Clubmen
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| Clubmen
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Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen
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| Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Clubmen
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Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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| Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1971 |
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| Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1971 |
Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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| Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien
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Dermot O'Brien - 1974 |
Dermot O'Brien - 1972 |
Dermot & Maisie - 1969 |
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| Clubmen - 1964 |
Clubmen - 1968 |
Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
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| Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
Coming Soon |
|
Years |
Acc/Voc/Trmb |
Guitar |
Guitar/Banjo |
Bass |
Drums |
Sax |
Trumpet |
|
1959 |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Tom
Finglas |
Lillian (vocals)
Campbell |
Jimmy
Fitzpatrick |
John
Donnelly |
Pat
Jackson |
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1962 |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Paddy
Farrell |
Billy
O'Neill |
Reggie
Lloyd |
Johnny
Barton |
Denis
O'Loughlin |
Willie
Healy |
|
1965 |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Paddy
Farrell |
Eamonn
Campbell |
Reggie
Lloyd |
Johnny
Barton |
Denis
O'Loughlin |
Willie
Healy |
|
1966 |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Timmy
Regan |
Eamonn
Campbell |
John
Moore |
Johnny
Barton |
Denis
O'Loughlin |
Willie
Healy |
|
In 1968, the Clubmen split with
Dermot and changed their name to the Tigermen, a pop band |
Feb
1968 |
Tim
Goggin |
Timmy
Regan |
Eamonn
Campbell |
Jim
Newman |
Johnny
Barton |
Denis
O'Loughlin |
Willie
Healy |
|
In March 1968, the Clubmen split with
Dermot he recruited a new band |
April
1968 |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Benny
Kindillon |
Donal
O'Dowd |
Fergie
Gibson |
Frank
Darcy |
Sonny
Knowles |
Mike
Nolan |
|
1970? |
Dermot
O'Brien |
Paddy
Farrell |
Eamonn
Campbell |
Derek
McCormack |
Johnny
Barton |
Denis
O'Loughlin |
Willie
Healy |
Discography
Singles:
I Walk The Line - #3 Irish
Charts
Envoy Records - Unknown - August, 1966
The Merry Ploughboy / Come Down The Mountain Katy Daly - #1
Irish Charts
Envoy Records - ENV.016 - September, 1966
Home Boys Home / Alpine Slopes - #13 Irish
Charts
Envoy Records - ENV.020 - December, 1966
The Ballad of Brian Boru
Envoy Records - Unknown - June, 1969
The Middle of Nowhere / Orange Blossom Special
Envoy Records - ENV.031 - May, 1970
Galway Shawl / The Flying Scotsman / The Turfman from Ardee - #13 Irish
Charts
Release Records - RL.567 - May, 1971
Old Claddagh Ring / Connemara Rose - #7 Irish
Charts
Release Records - RL.597 - October, 1971
Mother Malone - #17
Irish Charts
Release Records - RL.621 - April, 1972
4 Great Irish Hits EP -
#4 Irish Charts
Release Records - Unknown - July, 1972
Rocks of Bawn - #14
Irish Charts
Release Records - Unknown - October, 1972
Mary Ann Regrets
Release Records - Unknown - August, 1973
Spancil Hill - #3
Irish Charts
Release Records - Unknown - May, 1974
Green Fields Round Ferbane -
#11 Irish Charts
Release Records - RL.756 - March, 1975
The Boys of Killybegs -
#8 Irish Charts
Release Records - RL.779 - August, 1975
Sailing Home
Release Records - RL.813 - 1976
Skibbereen - #5 Irish
Charts
Release Records - Unknown - September, 1976
Tribute To O'Carolan
Unknown Records - Unknown - October, 1979
Neansai
/
Rince Pilib A' Cheoil
Gael Linn Records - CESN.003 - October, 1980
What's Going To Happen To Us / A Bunch of Thyme
Ritz Records - RIRZ 021 - 1982
Albums:
Dermot O'Brien
Himself
Envoy Records - VOY 9145 - 1964
Jamboree
Envoy Records - VOY.9150 - 1965
Off To Dublin In The Green
Envoy Records - VOY.9178 - 1967
The Kindest Conversation
Target Records - NPL.18280 - March, 1969
Listen, They're Playing Our Song
Target Records - VOY.9187? - June, 1970
O'Brien's
Cross-Road Ceili
Release Records - BRL.4014 - August, 1971
The Laughing Accordion
Release Records - BRL.4020 - 1972
The Merry Ploughboy
Release Records - BRL.4021 - 1972
The Accordion Sounds of Dermot O'Brien
Release Records - BRL.4022 - 1972
Dance - With Dermot O'Brien
Release Records - BRL.4024 - 1973?
The Enchanting World of Country Music
Release Records - DRL 2002 -
Dermot O'Brien Himself (re-release)
Release Records - DRL 2003 -
Songs of Ireland
Release Records - BRL.4032 - August, 1973
Tribute To Scotland
Release Records - BRL.4049 - September, 1974
Songs of Ireland, Volume II
Release Records - BRL.4050 - September, 1974
Old Claddagh Ring
Harp Records - HPE.628 - January, 1980
Roving Boy
Ritz Records - RITZLP.00007 - 1982
Audio Clips
Coming Soon
Where Are They Now?
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Dermot O'Brien -
RIP: Dermot sadly passed
away on May 22, 2007. |
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Paddy Farrell - RIP:
Paddy sadly passed away. |
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Billy O'Neill - RIP:
Billy sadly passed away. |
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Eamonn Campbell -
RIP:
After leaving the Clubmen, Eamonn went on to become one of Ireland's
best known session musicians. He appeared on many recordings
and was a regular with "house" bands on RTE shows and bands
for shows on the Dublin stage. He played with Dermot in
cabaret before joining the Dubliners. He became a well known
producer and produced the Dubliner's 1987 album 25 Years
Celebration (and every one since). He continues to be a
mainstay of the group's current lineup as well as continuing
to release music as a solo artist. When the John Sheehan
retired in 2012, so did the Dubliners name, but Eamonn
lead the Dublin Legends (formerly the Dubliners) and was
keeping their music alive for future generations until his
death on October 16th, 2017 after a short illness. He was 70
years old.. |
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Reggie Lloyd: |
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Johnny Barton - RIP:Johnny
sadly passed away. |
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Denis O'Loughlin -
RIP: Denis sadly passed away. |
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Willie Healy: |
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Timmy Regan: |
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John Moore: |
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Donal O'Dowda - RIP:
Donal sadly passed away |
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Derek McCormack -
RIP: Derek sadly passed away |
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Mike Nolan - RIP:
Mike sadly passed away |
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Sonny Knowles- RIP: Sonny
left the band in 1968 and joined Dermot O'Brien's Clubmen.
He later pursued a solo career on the growing cabaret
circuit and became one of Ireland's most enduring
entertainers. In the 2000's Sonny faced two bouts of cancer
(prostrate and ashophyen) and survived both, releasing a
best selling collection of his greatest hits in 2007. Sonny
sadly passed away on November 15, 2018 at the age of 86.
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