In their words, "formed from the ashes of a dream" in Dublin in the mid 1980's. Led by lyricist Dave Couse (vocals), with Fergal Bunbury (guitar), - Martin Healy (bass), David Morrissey (keyboards/backing vocals), David Dawson (drums), and Susan Kavanagh - vocals. Released the controversial "Endless Art" single. This attracted the wrath of feminists who noted that, of the dozens of names recounted by Couse in a spoken tribute to individuals who had furthered humanity, none were female. The result was a second "list," this time composed entirely of women.


Altan (the name was taken from a deep and mysterious lake behind Errigal Mountain in Donegal), have played their exquisitely produced award-winning recordings, ranging from the most sensitive and touching old Irish songs all the way to hard hitting reels andjigs, to audiences from Donegal to Tokyo to Seattle. The seeds of the band lie in the music and fun of gatherings and sessions in kitchens and pubs in Donegal where music was heard in an atmosphere of respect and intimacy.

The band's founders are; Belfast fluteplayer, Frankie Kennedy, and Gweedore singer and fiddler, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. Their repertoire is a combination of old Donegal fiddle music and of unusual Northern flute tunes. Gradually the duo grew into a band in the mid-eighties. Sadly, in the early nineties Altan was dealt a devastating blow, when band leader and manager, Frankie Kennedy died in September 1994 after a battle with cancer, but the band continues to record and perform. Altan were signed in 1996 to Virgin Records, the first Irish band of their kind to be signed by a major label.

This four-piece power pop band in the mould of U2 or INXS, was formed in Dublin, with a line-up of Gerard Whelan (vocals), Enda Wyatt (bass), Dave Frew (guitar) and Martin Murphy (drums). They began with two Irish hits on U2's Mother label, the second of which, "Celebrate", was given a UK release. BBC disc jockey Mark Goodier invited them to do a session, and Radio 1 was so impressed by the band that they sponsored their UK tour.


Founded by Dublin composer Michael McGlynn in 1987 in order to explore and redefine the music of the ancient Celts. Identical twin brother John McGlynn provides all of the artistic staging that has captivated audiences worldwide with the use of cloaked, candle-lit procession plus the unique ability to adapt any space to the special needs of the group. Under the direction of the McGlynn brothers, the group has produced ten acclaimed studio albums.

Anuna possesses a haunting sound and repertoire that ranges from the spiritual to contemporary to traditional. Some of the songs are over a thousand years old and are sung in several languages, including English, Irish, Scots Gaelic and Latin. The name Anuna derives from the ancient Irish names An Uaithne, which collectively describes the three ancient types of Celtic music: Suantrai (lullaby), Geantrai (happy song) and Goltrai (lament).

The group has sung all over the world - from Morocco to Italy to Poland - and has performed and recorded with artists as diverse as Sting, Barry Manilow, Secret Garden, Elvis Costello, Michael Crawford, Jeff Buckley, Sinead O Connor, The Chieftains and Andrea Corr.

As the All Ireland Football and Hurling Championships reach the final four teams, one can never predict with 100% accuracy which county will lift the Maguire or McCarthy Cups. One thing is certain though; the Artane Boys Band will take the field before the competing teams to entertain the thousands of supporters gathered in Croke Park. The Artane Boys band - "the biggest little band in the world" - was founded in 1872 and gave its first public performance two years later. On the 14th June 1886 the band gave it's first G.A.A. performance and since then has become loved all over Ireland and beyond. The band performs regularly at events throughout Ireland but has performed outside of Ireland on many occasions - beginning with the London Exhibition in 1884. Originally members were drawn from pupils of the Artane Boys' School but when the school dosed down in 1969 Band Director Rev. Brother Joe O'Connor was allowed to keep it going by recruiting boys from other schools in Dublin. The band's reputation was mainly achieved through it's appearance on major G.A.A. match days, particularly the All-Ireland Semi-Finals and Final. One of the abiding memories for spectators at these games is of the Artane Boys Band parading the teams round the ground in their distinctive blue and scarlet uniforms to be greeted by a full house of 80,000 supporters.


In 1991 two lads from Downpatrick, County Down, Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton decided to form a band called Vietnam. In 1992 Wheeler and Hamilton left the other members of Vietnam and persuaded Rick McMurray, a boy at their school, to join on drums and Ash was born. The excellent "Girl From Mars" was to be the band's first U.K. smash in the summer of 1995 (reaching #12) followed by the Wheeler/McMurray penned '~Angel Interceptor" a few months later.

In 1996, Ash released their full-length debut LP, 1977, boasting the "Kung Fu," "Girl From Mars," 'Angel Interceptor" and "Goldfinger' singles. After numerous tours and festival performances, Ash released their first single in what seemed like an eternity in 1997:'A Life Less Ordinary". The track was written by the band for the feature film of the same name, starring Trainspotting's Ewan McGregor. Ash have since been joined by guitarist and vocalist Charlotte Hatherley, formerly of London based outfit Night Nurse. Ash played the historic Waterfront Hall gig in Belfast with U2 in May 1998 during which John Hume and David Trimble were led onto stage by Bono.

Asian, the Turkish for 'Lion', took their name from the heroic lion in the C.S. Lewis series of books chronicling the fictional land of Narnia. Coming out of the working class areas of Finglas and Ballymun in Dublin's Northside, the band formed in 1982, but It wasn't until 4 years later, when they released their first single, that their meteoric rise to success really started. In May 1986 they released a demo single, "This Is" which was an instant hit and became the longest ever play-listed single on Ireland's pop music radio station, 2 FM. During the height of their success in August 1988 with the option for their 2nd album having already been taken up, Asian split up. Five years and a day to the last time they gigged together (in 1993) they played what was supposed to be a once off charity gig in Finglas, Dublin. The spark was reignited. They went on to release the single "Crazy World" which entered the charts at #4 and won the "Single of The Year" in 1993's Hot Press Awards. Moonhead: The Best of Asian was released in 1998 and shot into the Irish albums charts at #1 and has since turned double platinum.


Formed in 1980 by Gay Woods and Trevor Knight. Gay was one of five founder members of folk-rock band Steeleye Span (in 1969) and she subsequently worked with long-time musical partner Terry Woods in The Woods Band.

As Auto Da Fe, Gay Woods and Trevor Knight worked solidly in Ireland with only a handful of English live dates. Auto Da Fe released their one proper album Tatitllm in 1985 and this included all of the band's six singles. Gay Woods then retreated to Ireland to raise her daughter. In 1994 she received a call to rejoin Steeleye Span. She appeared on three of that band's studio albums Time, Horkstow Grange and Bedlam Born.

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