Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners is now touring the United Kingdom and Ireland until 7 June 2025. For tour dates and tickets, visit the official website.
When The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group formed in Dublin back in 1962, I wonder whether any of the founding members, Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Barney McKenna or Ciarán Bourke, dreamed they would perform on the David Frost Show live in New York just six years later. The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group (often misspelt at gigs as Ballet, which must have led to more than a few surprised ticket holders) would sensibly opt for the name The Dubliners as a homage to James Joyce, and by 1967, they had become household names with appearances on Top of the Pops, extensive airplay on radio and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in the United States.
Their unique brand of classic and contemporary Irish folk music wasn’t without controversy or pain as they sped toward the seventies with a winning formula. The Irish state broadcaster RTE banned their hit “Seven Drunken Nights” for sexually explicit lyrics, with Ronnie Drew later commenting, “In 1967 parts of Ireland were living in the ’30s where you couldn’t mention such things as S.E.X…..you could spell it, but you certainly couldn’t say it.” The group also found themselves walking a difficult line as the escalation of the Northern Ireland conflict saw them drop several songs from their setlists by choice. But it was in 1974 that everything changed as Ciarán Bourke collapsed on stage after suffering a severe brain haemorrhage. Bourke would die in 1988, and his departure from the band in 1974 sent shockwaves through his bandmates.
Despite the pain of losing Ciarán from the band, The Dubliners continued and reformed and remoulded themselves several times during the 80s, 90s and 00s, but more losses would follow, including its founding members Luke Kelly in 1984, Ronnie Drew in 2008, and Barney McKenna in 2012. Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners is a celebration of Ciarán, Ronnie, Barney and Luke, and the subsequent members of the group, their talent, and their music: music that continues to demand you tap your feet, clap and join in, its appeal, eternal even if those who led the charge were not.
Now embarking on a UK and Ireland tour with an uber-talented lineup of musicians including, Ged Graham, Luc Power, Eoghan Burke, Aidan Keene, Peet Jackson, Conor Kenny, Aidan Burke, Dylan Graham and Shane Morgan, Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners can best be described as a joyful, loving and feet tapping tribute to the music, the men, and the lasting legacy of The Dubliners. It’s a show that demands audience interaction, from singing to clapping and dancing and leaves you feeling like you stepped out of a legendary night at O’Donoghue’s Pub in Dublin. Some would ask whether it’s possible to take a sprawling Art Deco ex-cinema and theatre like The Dominion and transform it into an intimate performance space where people are encouraged to talk to the person next to them, sing and celebrate music: Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners proves it is, indeed, possible within the first fifteen minutes!
Weaving the story of The Dubliners with a back catalogue of songs that includes “The Wild Rover”, “Finnegan’s Wake”, “The Town I Love So Well”, “Whiskey In The Jar”, “Seven Drunken Nights,” and a whole lot more, even those unaware of all the music can’t help but fall under this shows spell. So grab a Guinness, prepare to sing your heart out, and soak up the craic because this show will leave you with a broad smile, a positive outlook, and a whole load of Dubliners tracks playing on repeat in your head on the way home.
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