FOUR MEN & A DOG have made a huge name for themselves with their eclectic blend of traditional Irish traditional music across a wide spectrum of other genres, including rap, Southern rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, polka, country swing, and even salsa. They made their debut performance as a band in Murphy's Bar, Dungiven, County Derry, in 1991 before going on to steal the show at the Belfast Folk Festival later that year.
Barking Mad, their debut album from Cross Border Media, won the Album of the Year Award from Folk Roots magazine in 1991, marking the first time that an Irish group had ever won the prize. Four Men & a Dog's music is enthusiastic and infectious. The band have headlined some of the largest music festivals around the globe.
The Dogs’ biogs are:
Gino Lupari – percussion, bodhrán, vocals
From Co. Derry, Gino told The Irish Post: “I’m from Magherafelt. All my family live in town except my sister who moved to Dungannon. My grandparents are from Bologna, and came to Northern Ireland at the end of the Second World War.
“My grandmother remembers hearing the German bombs exploding on Belfast in the final years of the war. They moved from Belfast and settled in Magherafelt, and did what Italians do: chip shop, ice cream. But my grandfather was also a skilled tradesman and worked on marble floors, as far away as Belfast. My family are still involved in the business to this day.”
Gino is in constant demand as a session player.
Cathal Hayden – fiddle, banjo
From Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone, Cathal’s eponymously titled solo album, released in 1999 is, according to Irish Music Magazine, ‘spiced by generous touches of blues from Hayden and (guest musician and honorary ‘Dog’) Arty McGlynn, taking just enough from their folk-funk experiences to turn an outstanding traditional fiddle album into a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, knee-wobbling tour de force’. Cathal is also a member of the Máirtín O’Connor band and has released two hugely successful albums.
Stephen Hayden – fiddle
Stephen, the newest member of the band, is younger brother to Cathals — they come from a family steeped in the traditional fiddle music in Co. Tyrone. His style is vibrant and very dynamic, the very hallmark of the Four Men and a Dog sound. His duet fiddles along with Cathal, creates a ferocious, all-energy sound which is utterly captivating. Stephen has recorded with Cathal on his solo projects. He also runs Hayden’s Bar in Co. Tyrone renowned for music sessions — usually steered by Stephen himself.
Kevin Doherty – vocals, guitar
From Buncrana in Co. Donegal, Kevin’s debut album Strange Weather was acclaimed as ‘nothing short of a revelation’ by Country Music International while his classic offering Sweet Water has become popularised as the soundtrack to the hit TV series Watermelon - starring Anna Friel, Brenda Fricker and Sean McGinley. Kevin’s lyrical creativity has long been central to the success of Four Men and a dog, an irresistible synergy of Irish trad and bluegrass.
Dónal Murphy - accordion
From Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, Dónal is one of the founder members of the original Dogs. An original Dog.
He is also a member of three-piece Breaking Trad with Niall Murphy (fiddle) & Mike Galvin (guitar/vocals).
Dónal also played with Sliabh Notes, alongside Matt Cranitch and Tommy O’Sullivan. They recorded three albums: Sliabh Notes, Along Blackwater’s Banks and Gleanntan — about which Hot Press writer Siobhan Long reported that Donal’s accordion merited particular mention for its ‘double jointed manoeuvres that somehow sound like they were born and reared in the ether, with neither hide nor hair of human interference.’
Donal released solo album Happy Hour in 2009.
Four Men and a Dog at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith
London
Saturday, March 15
Sunday, March 16
