Dominic Behan (Irish: Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family (brother being Brendan Behan), Dominic Behan was one of the…
MacDonagh was born in Dublin on St Cecilia’s Day in 1912. He was still a young child when his father Thomas MacDonagh, an Irish nationalist and poet, was executed in 1916. Tragedy struck again when his mother, Muriel Gifford, died of a heart attack a year afterwards while swimming at Skerries to Lambay, County Dublin…
Dougie MacLean, OBE (born 27 September 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Described by AllMusic as “one of Scotland’s premier singer-songwriters”, MacLean has performed under both his own name, and as part of multiple folk bands, since the mid 1970s.
Arthur Nicholas Whistler Colahan (12 August 1884 – 15 September 1952) was an Irish doctor, British Army officer and songwriter. His most famous work is “Galway Bay”, which, popularised by Bing Crosby, was the biggest selling record of all time at one stage. Theories abound as to where the song was written or where it…
Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (with Jay Gorney), “April in Paris”, and “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, as well…
