John Sheahan

John Sheahan (born 19 May 1939) is an Irish violinist, tin whistle player, folk musician and composer and the last surviving member of the original and definitive five member line-up of The Dubliners. He joined The Dubliners in 1964, until 2012 when The Dubliners' name was retired following the death of the founding member Barney McKenna. John Sheahan played with a number of bands around the country until he met The Dubliners in the early 1960s. At that time, the group was formed by Ronnie Drew, Barney McKenna, Ciarán Bourke and Luke Kelly. He joined the band in 1964, together with Bobby Lynch. Both musicians had been playing during the interval at concerts and usually stayed on stage for the second half of the show. When Luke Kelly moved to England in 1964, Lynch was taken on as his temporary replacement; when Kelly returned in 1965, Lynch left the band and Sheahan stayed. He is the only member of the Dubliners to have had a formal musical education. After 50 years of playing and after the death of founding member Barney McKenna, in the fall of 2012 Sheahan announced the retirement of The Dubliners by the end of the 50th anniversary tour. The last formation of the band featured Sheahan himself, Sean Cannon, Eamonn Campbell, Patsy Watchorn and Gerry O'Connor. He was a steady member of the band for 48 years and the high standards of his playing strongly contributed to forge the Dubliners' sound. Composing his own music has been one of Sheahan's interests for many years. This led in the 1980s to a big chart hit with "The Marino Waltz" charting at No.4 in Ireland. The tune was subsequently covered by a number of other artists and was followed by the release of an album of original instrumental pieces, written and recorded together with classical guitarist Michael Howard. The album, entitled "In Our Own Time", was released in 1987. Another album, entirely of John Sheahan's compositions, was released in 2008 with the title "The Marino Suite" and features the Young European Strings Chamber Orchestra as a supporting ensemble to his fiddle playing.