Seán Cannon (born 29 November 1940) is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for

The Dubliners The Dubliners () were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in pers ...

and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends.

Early life

Seán Cannon was born in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He travelled around

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

at an early age, rambling in England, Germany,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and Spain. It was during these trips that Cannon learned to speak several languages. He moved to England and became a renowned solo artist, playing in almost every folk club in Britain.

Family

Cannon married Pamela Blick and has two sons, James and Robert Cannon. They later divorced. Seán Cannon lives in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, United Kingdom. His father, Jim Cannon, was born in Donegal, but moved to Galway City and married Kathleen Byrne, who came from Ballinue, Aughrim, Co Galway. Family still living in Ireland: cousin Martin Byrne, living in Banagher Co Offaly, Seamus Byrne Florencecourt Enniskillen Co Fermanagh, cousin Tom Forde living in Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

Career

By 1969, Cannon had joined an England-based folk group called "The Gaels". The Gaels consisted of three Irishmen and a Scotsman. They released an album. Cannon also released three solo albums in the 1970s. Seán Cannon had known

for years and, like Eamonn Campbell, joined them on stage on numerous occasions. When lead singer

Luke Kelly Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become ...

became ill in 1980, he stepped in, and became a full-time Dubliner in 1983 when Kelly departed. Cannon is known for singing songs in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

(" Peggy Lettermore", "Fáinne Gael an Lae", "Cill Chais") and humorous

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

songs like "The Waterford Boys", "The Pool Song" or "The Sick Note". When The Dubliners announced their retirement in 2012 after finishing their 50th Anniversary Tour, Seán Cannon decided to keep on touring with former band members Patsy Watchorn and Eamonn Campbell and Banjo player Gerry O'Connor under the name of "The Dublin Legends". Cannon still manages to do some solo work in between the touring. He played gigs with Irish songwriter Pat Cooksey and more recently with his sons, James and Robert Cannon. They call themselves "The Cannons" and perform traditional Irish folk music as well as songs by

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

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Discography

The Gaels

* The Gaels (Midland Sound, 1969)

As a solo artist

* Woes of War (Mount Recording Studio, 1974) * The Roving Journeyman (Cottage Records, 1977) * Erin the Green (Ogham Records, 1979)

The Dubliners

* All albums from 1983 to 2012—see The Dubliners discography

The Dublin Legends

* An Evening with The Dublin Legends: Live in Vienna (2014) * The Dublin Legends Perform The Dublin Sessions (2016) * The Dublin Legends Perform The Dublin Sessions Vol. 2 (2017)

The Cannons

* The Cannons (2011) * Live in Salzgitter, Germany 2015 (double CD, 2016)

Trivia

Cannon is immortalised in the

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

song " Lisdoonvarna". The line "Seán Cannon Doing Back Stage Cooking" is a direct reference to when Seán travelled to all the music festivals in the late 1970s with a converted caravan and sold curry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Sean 1940 births Living people Irish male singers Irish male guitarists Musicians from County Galway People from Galway (city) The Dubliners members 20th-century Irish guitarists 21st-century Irish guitarists 20th-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish male musicians 20th-century Irish folk musicians 21st-century Irish folk musicians 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music