Former Sweeney’s Men Singer Al O'Donnell Dies

Hot Press is saddened to hear the news of the death of the well-known folk singer Al O’Donnell

Al, who worked in the graphics department in RTE, came to prominence during the folk boom in Dublin, in the 1960s. He played the 'coffee house’ circuit, which suited his relatively restrained style, as well as the bars and pubs which were an essential breeding ground for the free spirits of the folk revival movement.

O'Donnell was a fine singer, as well as a guitar and banjo player of considerable skill. At one point, he joined Sweeney’s Men, the legendary Dublin-based group, replacing Henry McCullough in the band alongside Terry Woods and Johnny Moynihan. But it was a dalliance which lasted only a short time, and he subsequently returned to solo gigging.

Al released two solo albums, the first containing versions of Irish classics ‘Avondale’ and ‘The Green Linnet’, as well as the ballad ‘James Connolly’, about the Labour leader, who was executed for his part in the 1916 rising. The selection of tunes on the second album, released by Transatlantic Records, was less familiar, though it did contain 'An Bunnán Buí', or ‘The Yellow Bittern’, the classic Irish poem written by the poet Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Gunna. The poem, about the death of a Yellow Bittern from thirst, has been variously translated by Seamus Heaney, Thomas Kinsella and Thomas McDonagh – who like Connolly was executed for his part in the 1916 rising.

Al is survived by his wife June and children Ruán, Conor and Melissa.