Remembering Dolores Keane

Today I thought I’d say a few words as a little tribute to Dolores Keane who sadly passed away the day before St Patrick’s Day. Dolores was a wonderful person with a lovable personality, as well as being one of the greatest singers Ireland ever produced. Nanci Griffith described her as the ‘voice of Ireland’. I hadn’t thought about Dolores for a long while until I heard that she had passed away. That is often the case, we sometimes don’t miss people until they are gone. I first became aware of Dolores and her band from Galway De Dannan in 1981 when I heard them on a compilation album called All The Folk That Fits. That was also the record that introduced me to Christy Moore, Planxty, and The Bothy Band. Dolores was brought up by her aunts Rita & Sarah whose home was an open house to any musicians who arrived. Music sessions would often go on for days. This is how Dolores without even trying, soaked up the traditional music and songs of Ireland. I well remember the Mike Harding Show on Radio 2 dedicating a whole show to the Keane household, and as well as the great music, some of the stories they related were hilarious.  Dolores was well known for her sense of fun and good humour.

I regret that I never saw Dolores perform on stage. That is annoying because she played with De Dannan and Mary Black just down the road from here in 1985 at the Village Pump Folk Festival. (See photo below) Also, sadly I only have one album by her called Solid Ground from 1993. I hadn’t played it for years until I heard of her passing. Listening to it again the last few days reminded me of what a wonderful singer she was. There are also some excellent musicians accompanying Dolores including her good friend Emmylou Harris.  One of my favourite tracks is called Emigrant Eyes which is the story of one among millions of Irish people who were forced by hardship to emigrate to America, but they always thought of Ireland as home. Another favourite track is called Never Be The Sun which Dolores dedicated to her son Joseph who was born with a rare condition called Bardet–Biedl syndrome. 

Dolores had a lot of sadness in her life and suffered with depression, alcoholism, and overcame cancer. This shows what a courageous person she was. I recently watched an interview she gave to Tommy Tiernan on Irish TV where her good nature and humour shone through despite all that she had to overcome in life. Her funeral in Galway was attended by the Irish President Catherine Connolly, and the previous President Michael D Higgins which shows the esteem in which she was held by the Irish nation. Although she is now gone Dolores has left a great legacy of timeless music and she will never be forgotten, especially in Ireland.