The Dubliners of 2018, Seán Cannon is the only former member still in this group, following Eamonn Campbell's death in October 2017. The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin. The change of name came about because of Ronnie Drew's unhappiness with it, together with the fact that Luke Kelly was reading "Dubliners" by James Joyce at the time. Founding members were Drew, Kelly, Ciarán Bourke and Barney McKenna. Drew, McKenna and Thomas Whelan had originally teamed up for a fundraising concert and then
The Dubliners led them to drop most of these from their repertoire. They resumed performing such songs occasionally towards the end of their career. They have also recorded satirical protest songs against nuclear weapons such as "The Button Pusher" and "Protect and Survive", feminist songs such as "Don't Get Married", and socialist songs such as "Joe Hill". On 8 February 2012, The Dubliners received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group after its founding member; they subsequently