See also Andy Irvine (rugby player) Andy Irvine was born in Edinburgh on September 16, 1951. ...

Andy Irvine (b. 1942) is an Irish folk musician, singer, and songwriter, and former member of the popular band Planxty. He is an accomplished player of the mandolin, bouzouki, mandola, guitar, cittern, and harmonica. This article is about the year. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Planxty was an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s by Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine (a founder of the Irish mid-sixties group Sweeneys Men), and Liam OFlynn (piper). ... Carved and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument. ... An Irish Bouzouki The bouzouki (gr. ... A mandola is a stringed musical instrument. ... The classical guitar typically has 3 nylon and 3 nickel-wound strings. ... The cittern is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance, having evolved considerably since that time. ... A harmonica A harmonica is a free reed musical wind instrument (also known, among other things, as a mouth organ, french harp, simply harp, or Mississippi saxophone), having multiple, variably-tuned brass or bronze reeds, each secured at one end over an airway slot of like dimension into which it...

Irvine was born in London to Irish/Scots parents. As a child he took to acting, but gave it up when he reached adolescence. He studied classical guitar, but forsook it for the traditional method upon discovering Lonnie Donegan and the Skiffle boom of the 50s, and later Woody Guthrie. St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Lonnie Donegan (April 29, 1931-November 3, 2002) was a skiffle musician, possibly the most famous of them all. ... Skiffle music is a type of folk music with a jazz and blues influence, usually using homemade or improvised instruments such as the washboard, tea-chest bass, kazoo, cigar-box fiddle, or a comb and paper, and so forth. ... Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967), known almost universally as Woody, was a folk singer and raconteur who wrote some of Americas best-loved songs. ...

In the 1960s he found himself in Dublin, and began an itinerant life of a musician. He found musical influences in the likes of Ewan MacColl (notably the songs he wrote for his radio-ballads), and the Child Ballads. There he met Johnny Moynihan, with whom he formed a musical partnership, which, with the addition of Joe Dolan, turned into Sweeney's Men in 1966. A year later Dolan departed, and was replaced with Terry Woods (later of Steeleye Span and The Pogues). After recording several singles and an album Irvine left the band, and headed to Eastern Europe (he later wrote a song about his experiences there: "Baneasa's Green Galde", which was recorded years later by Planxty). The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath1),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located2 near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region3. ... Ewan MacColl (1915- October 22, 1989) was a Scottish playwright, poet, actor, folk-singer, and record producer. ... The radio-ballad is an audio documentary format created by Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, and Charles Parker in 1958. ... The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child. ... Johnny Moynihan is a folk singer based in Dublin, Ireland. ... Sweeneys Men was an Irish traditional band. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Steeleye Span is a British folk-rock band that has been active since 1970. ... The Pogues were a popular Irish folk rock band of the 1980s and 90s. ...

When he returned to Dublin, Sweeney's Men was breaking up, and the music scene had changed. He met Donal Lunny, and played with him for a while, but he got his big break when Christy Moore, an established musician in the folk music scene, decided to record his first album in Dublin. Among the musicians he chose to perform were Irvine, Lunny, and uilleann piper Liam O'Flynn. The album, Prosperous, was released as an album by Moore, but the four musicians thereafter formed Planxty. Dónal Lunny is an Irish musician The early years Dónal Lunny was born in 1947 in Tullamore, then moved to Newbridge, Country Kildare. ... Christy Moore (b. ... The Uilleann pipes are a unique form of bagpipes originating in Ireland. ... Liam OFlynn (b. ... Prosperous is the first album by Irish folk musican Christy Moore, released in 1972. ...

The group was an instant success, signing a six record contract and touring throughout Europe. They played mostly traditional songs and tunes, but several were Irvine compositions, making him the lone composer of the band. After two albums Lunny left the group, and was replaced by Moynihan. After a third album together Moore departed and was replaced by Paul Brady, but soon Planxty broke up, substantially in debt.

Irvine continued to play with Brady, and briefly with De Dannan (he soon left due to scheduling conflicts). But by 1978 Christy Moore was ready to reform the original Planxty lineup, complete with Lunny, who brought along flutist Matt Molloy from The Bothy Band. Planxty again broke up in 1982, and Irvine gathered a collection of musicians from throughout Europe and formed Mosiac, who were short-lived. De Dannan is an Irish folk music group. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Matt Molloy is an Irish musician, from Ballaghadereen, County Roscommon, a region known for producing talented flautists. ... The Bothy Band was an Irish traditional band from the 1970s, one of the most prominent and best-loved from the roots revival of that era. ...

In 1985 Irvine joined up with fiddler Kevin Burke, guitarist/vocalist Gerry O'Beirne and accordionist Jackie Daly. Originally billed on an American tour as "The Legends of Irish Music", they soon chose to call themselves Patrick Street. The lineup for the band underwent several changes, but always included Irvine, Burke, and Daly. Agreed to as a "part time" band, they nevertheless recorded seven studio albums together. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Patrick Street was one of the top Irish traditional bands of the 1980s, formed in Dublin in 1986 by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, Andy Irvine (Sweeneys Men, Planxty) on bouzouki and vocals, and Arty McGlynn (Van Morrison...

Partial discography

Solo

• Rainy Sundays, Windy Dreams (1980)
• Rude Awakening (1991)
• Way Over Yonder (2001)
• Rain on the Rooftop (2003)

With Planxty

• Planxty (1973)
• The Well Below the Valley (1973)
• Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (1974)
• After the Break (1979)
• The Woman I Loved So Well (1980)
• Words and Music (1983)

With Patrick Street

• Patrick Street
• No. 2 Patrick Street
• Irish Times
• All in Good Time
• Cornerboys
• Made in Cork
• Street Life

With Sweeney's Men

• Sweeney's Men (1968)

With Davy Spillane

• East Wind (1993)

With Dick Gaughan

• Parallel Lines (1983)

With Paul Brady

• Andy Irvine and Paul Brady (1976)