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
Young Dubliners directly influenced by Celtic musician Christy Moore and Irish band The Fureys, the Young Dubliners released their second original song "Home", on an eponymously titled second record. Unlike their first cassette, their second one was recorded in a studio and featured additional musicians and overdubs but otherwise had a similar mix of Irish folk and pop songs. After this, they stopped playing at The Irish Rover exclusively and branched out to other venues. In 1993, Roberts became part owner and operator of Fair City Dublin, an Irish pub and live music venue in Santa Monica. By this time the lineup