Robbie Peter Dunn (born 28 October 1951, in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

) is a well-known Irish folk singer songwriter based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Early life

Robbie was born into a musical family where singing was the norm. He left school at the age of 15 and became a chef working in Donegal where he also sang in small bands. He worked at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin before moving to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he trained in French and

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Ancient Roman cuisine, Roman times, and later spread ...

under French Masterchef, Raymond Zarb. While in London he sang in a blues band. During the late 1960s and early 1970s in London he became aware of racism for the first time when people turned their backs on him when they heard his Irish accent.

Musical career

Although being a successful chef, singing was always part of his life and he did so in many of Dublin's famous pubs It was not until he met the Irish Seanchai,

Liam Weldon Liam Weldon (15 October 1933 - 28 November 1995) was a singer and songwriter in the Irish folk tradition. Life Born in Dublin, Ireland, Liam, like many people in inner city Dublin at that time, was moved out of the developing city to Ballyfermot ...

Tailors' Hall Tailors' Hall is the oldest of two surviving guildhalls in Dublin, Ireland. It is located on Back Lane, off High Street, in the part of the city known as the Liberties. Aside from meetings of its own and many other of the guilds of Dublin, th ...

, Dublin in 1978 that his true musical and writing career took off. Liam's influence on Robbie through his lyrics and singing was profound. Liam Weldon's lyrics took on a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

spiritual dimension,

Pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

, that Robbie had been searching for. This was the trend that was to run through Robbie's writings from then on.

Message in his songs

In all his albums there are messages of love and compassion most of his songs have a Celtic spiritual message about discovering the wonders that exist inside every human being.ABC Radio Interview
accessed 4 July 2011 From the ''Irish Wedding Song'' comes the lyrics ''The wonders of creation, the salmon in the pool, the essence of the love that permeates this room, the riddle of the universe was carved upon the stones, when you comprehend the oneness you will never walk alone.''Robbie Dunn: Jango Radio
accessed 4 July 2011 From his song ''Pick Up The Phone'' comes the lyrics ''Everybody needs a little time and space, to put life's trials and tribulations back in their place, to heal the spirit to touch the soul, to find the inner peace that will fill that hole.'' He believes that it is only by loving ourselves can we bring an end to violence in the world.

Musical styles

Robbie is a traditional Dublin balladeer who tells stories through songs and music, carrying the message as many

folk singers Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has been ...

have before him. His major influences have been his mother Rose, Liam Weldon,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...

and Jock Montgomery. He has many musical styles and has also written many comic songs.

Political and social agenda

Robbie became politically aware in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in 1967 while staying at a friends house in the

Bogside The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile (an annual music and arts festival held in a former gasyard) are ...

. On a Monday morning, the mother of one of his friends left for work and the father stayed at home to look after the kids. When asked why his dad did not work he was told "We are nationalists, they will not give us work." On returning to Dublin he became involved with social issues and has continued working for civil rights for people whenever he can. He took part in many peace rallies and protest marches through the 1970s and 1980s. One of his early songs was in reference to a young girl, Carol Kelly, being shot dead by a plastic bullet in

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 ...

. Many of his songs refer to the futility of war, including ''War Is Just For Losers'', ''Only Fools Talk Of War'', which have both been performed at many peace rallies and concerts. One of his more recent songs is entitled ''War Is A Mental Disease''. He does not believe in

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

or man-made

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

as he feels they only divide people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Robbie Irish folk singers Irish male singer-songwriters Irish singer-songwriters Living people 1951 births Musicians from Dublin (city)