Down through the decades, Irish bands have kept it in the clan. Again and again, you find acts with brothers or sisters – and even fathers and sons or mothers and daughters – in the mix. So much so that a TV show looking at Ireland’s musical families is back for a second series.
The first time around, Ceol ón Chlann (TG4, Sundays, 10pm) looked at the influence of the Keanes, the Blacks, the Ó Snodaighs, the McPeakes, the Pattersons and the Sands on Irish music at home and abroad. As you can see, the traditional players are well placed at keeping it in the family, but they're not the only ones, as the new series shows.
Forthcoming episodes will look at the part played by members of the McManus, Murphy and Cluskey families in the rise of Mama’s Boys, The Four of Us and The Bachelors.
The story of Mama's Boys, in particular, is hugely poignant, telling how the Co Fermanagh brothers became hard- rock kingpins with Needle in the Groove before tragedies, such as the death of Tommy McManus, ended their run.
The trio of Murphy brothers were three-fourths of The Four of Us, which enjoyed a huge success in Ireland with singles such as Mary back in the 1980s. Today The Four of Us is just Brendan and Declan Murphy, but the band are still very much a going concern.
