George Millar (born 14 April 1947) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist and co-founder and leader of the Irish folk group

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the ...

, which formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the traditional song "

The Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" ( Roud 4379) is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, with the lyrics changing over time due to the folk process. T ...

". They are best known for their international television series, contributing to the popularization of

Irish Music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music (or Irish folk music). It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st ...

in North America, and for the songs " The Unicorn", "

Drunken Sailor "Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?" or "Up She Rises", is a traditional sea shanty, listed as List of folk songs by Roud number, No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It was sung aboard sailing ships at ...

", "Wasn't That a Party", " The Orange and the Green", " Whiskey on a Sunday", " Lily the Pink", "

Finnegan's Wake "Finnegan's Wake" ( Roud 1009) is an Irish-American comic folk ballad, first published in New York in 1864. Various 19th-century variety theatre performers, including Dan Bryant of Bryant's Minstrels, claimed authorship but a definitive account ...

" and "

The Black Velvet Band "The Black Velvet Band" ( Roud number 2146) is a traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a common punishment in the British Empire during th ...

". George became a Canadian citizen after Canada's Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, asked The Irish Rovers to do so, in order to officially represent Canada around the world. Millar and The Irish Rovers represented Canada at five World Expos, and in 2018 were honoured as one of Ireland's greatest exports at Dublin, Ireland's

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, located in Dublin's Dublin Docklands, Docklands, covers the history of the Irish diaspora and emigration to other countries. The museum, which is privately owned, was designed by the London-based design firm Ev ...

Biography

Millar is the brother of

Will Millar Will Millar (born 1940) is a Northern Irish-Canadian singer best known as a co-founding member of The Irish Rovers. Until his departure in 1995, he was the group's front man. He plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and tin whistle. Early life and car ...

and

Sandra Beech Sandra Beech (born Sandra Millar 1942 Indicated age 48. in Ballymena, Northern Ireland) is an Irish-Canadian children's musician. She was a member of the family music group The Musical Millars after relocating to Canada in 1953. After her 1964 m ...

. As children, Will and Sandra performed as "The Millar Kids" (George sometimes joined them on spoons) in Ireland before the family emigrated to Canada. While in his teens, he met

Jimmy Ferguson James Francis Ferguson (February 26, 1940 – October 8, 1997) was a founding member of the Irish-Canadian folk group The Irish Rovers. He was the only member who did not play an instrument. He sang in a rich baritone voice, in contrast to ...

at an Irish function in Toronto in 1963. They began playing as The Irish Rovers and were soon joined by George's cousin Joe Millar who also emigrated to Canada. After touring around Ontario playing in cafes, clubs and hotels, George, Jim and Joe left Toronto for Calgary where they joined brother Will Millar who was performing on ''Just 4 Fun'', a children's TV show. With the addition of Will, The Irish Rovers became four and played at The Depression Coffee House in Calgary.'The Irish Rovers', Canadian Music Magazine, 1979 Later, they headed to California and were joined by

Wilcil McDowell The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the ...

. Millar sings lead vocal on most of their recordings, including the original 1967 recording of "

". He is also lead on " Lord of the Dance", "No More Bread and Butter", "The Lass With The Bonny Brown Hair", "Home To Bantry Bay", and the ballad which we wrote after the death of his wife Betsy, "And The Sun It Still Rises". Millar has performed on television throughout the 1970s and 1980s on three international Irish Rovers television series and more recently on three additional Irish Rovers television specials in the last few decade. In 2012, George's song, "The Titanic", was released from the Rovers ''Drunken Sailor'' album, focusing attention on Belfast and the

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

shipyard that had built the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' a century before. After the song, and accompanyin
video
made headlines in Belfast, N. Ireland, George and the song were featured in a Canadian documentary for the CBC which aided in returning the credit of building the ship to the Northern Ireland shipyards of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. The album was produced in response to YouTube activity. As of 2025, Millar is still touring with the Irish Rovers as its bandleader.

Compositions

Millar's dozens of compositions include "No More Bread and Butter" which appeared in the film, ''Dudley Do-Right'', the title track from their album/cd, "

Gracehill Fair ''Gracehill Fair'' is the 2010 album release by The Irish Rovers, Rover Records. The album and title track are named after an annual fair in the County Antrim of Northern Ireland. It was recorded in Canada and Ireland, and mixed in Nanaimo, Bri ...

", as well as "Bells Over Belfast", "The Girls of Derry", "The Boys of Belfast", "Rambling Boys of Pleasure", "And The Sun It Still Rises". His more recent songs include "The Titanic", "The Dublin Pub Crawl", "Whores and Hounds" and the Canadian Folk Music Award nominated, "Hey Boys Sing Us A Song". George has written several children's songs for The Irish Rovers album ''Songs for the Wee Folk'', as well as "The Rovers Farewell" and "Her Wonderful Ass" on the Rovers' Greatest Hits album, ''The Irish Rovers, 50 Years''. Covid cut short the 2020 release of "Saints And Sinners" album which George wrote and feature
"The Banshee's Cry"
an
"Band Without A Country"
both released with videos. During those Covid years, Millar wrote a new album, "No End In Sight" for the Rovers, which included the song
"Hey Boys Sing Us A Song"
The song was written in response to life away from performing and being forced to listen to the news reports of the day. It became an anthem during their 2023 tour and was nominated "Single of the Year" in the 2023

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

Music producer

Millar has produced all of The Irish Rovers albums since 1993 for Rover Records. He has also produced albums for his brother and sister.

Awards and recognition

* 1982: winner, Producer, Juno Award for Best Children's Album, ''Inch By Inch'' * 2011: winner, Producer/Songwriter, Vancouver Island Music Awards,

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

- Song of the Year, ''Gracehill Fair''

Honours - As Member of The Irish Rovers

* 1968 Winners, RPM Awards (predecessor of the

JUNO Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

), "Folk Group of the Year" * 1968

GRAMMY Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Nomination, "Folk Performance of the Year” * 1971 Winners

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.JUNO Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

Nomination, Best Album Cover, "Emigrate! Emigrate!” * 1979 Winners, PROCAN Harold Moon Award for International Achievement for TV Program * 1981

Nomination, Single of the Year, "Wasn’t That A Party” * 1981

Nomination, Folk Artist of the Year * 1982

Nomination, Group of the Year * 1982

Nomination, Country Group of the Year * 1982

Nomination, Folk Artist of the Year * 1983

Nomination, Country Group of the Year * 2010 Winners, VIMA Award (Vancouver Island Music Awards),

Song of the Year, "Gracehill Fair" * 2023

Nomination, Single of the Year, "Hey Boys Sing Us A Song”

References

Nanaimo News Bulletin - Irish Pride By Melissa Fryer

External links