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{{Short description|Irish musician, song-writer and artist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{distinguish|Joe Dolan}}
''' Joseph "Galway Joe" Dolan''' (1942 – 7 January 2008) was an Irish [[musician]], song-writer and [[artist]]. Known as "Galway Joe" to distinguish him from [[Joe Dolan]] of [[Mullingar]], he was born in [[Galway]], [[County Galway]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
''' Joseph "Galway Joe" Dolan''' (25 May 1942 7 January 2008) was an Irish musician, songwriter and artist. Known as "Galway Joe" to distinguish him from [[Joe Dolan]] of [[Mullingar]], he was born in [[Galway]], [[County Galway]], Ireland.


Dolan was an arts student in [[Dublin]] before becoming involved in the [[Irish showband]]s of the 1960s, playing guitar with The Capitol Showband and The Swingtime Aces.<ref name="capp">{{cite web | url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/capitolf.htm | title=The Capitol Showband (1960-1972) | publisher=GMS Productions | work=Showbands | accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref><ref name="send">{{cite book | title=Send 'Em Home Sweatin': The Showband Story | publisher=Mercier Press; Revised edition (31 December 2000) | author=Power, Vincent | location=Cork | isbn=978-1856353304}}</ref>
Dolan was an arts student in [[Dublin]] before becoming involved in the [[Irish showband]]s of the 1960s, playing guitar with The Capitol Showband and The Swingtime Aces.<ref name="capp">{{cite web|url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/capitolf.htm|title=The Capitol Showband (1960–1972)|publisher=GMS Productions|work=Showbands|accessdate=23 June 2012}}</ref><ref name="send">{{cite book|title=Send 'Em Home Sweatin': The Showband Story|publisher=Mercier Press; Revised edition (31 December 2000)|author=Power, Vincent|year=2000 |location=Cork|isbn=978-1-85635-330-4}}</ref>


He is best known as one of the three founding members, together with [[Andy Irvine (musician)|Andy Irvine]] and [[Johnny Moynihan]], of the highly influential [[folk music|folk]] group [[Sweeney's Men]], which was formed in Galway in May 1966; Dolan also chose the group's name. Sweeney's Men invigorated the Irish folk scene, and had an unexpected Irish top 10 hit with ''Old Maid in the Garret'' in 1967.<ref>''Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History'', Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett, 2005</ref>
He is best known as one of the three founding members, together with [[Andy Irvine (musician)|Andy Irvine]] and [[Johnny Moynihan]], of the highly influential [[folk music|folk]] group [[Sweeney's Men]], which was formed in Galway in May 1966; Dolan also chose the group's name. Sweeney's Men invigorated the Irish folk scene, and had an unexpected Irish top 10 hit with "Old Maid in the Garret" in 1967.<ref>''Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History'', Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett, p. 2005.<!-- publisher; ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>


He quit the band with the intention of travelling to [[Israel]], to take part in the [[Six-Day War]]. For many years afterwards he was presumed to have been killed in the fighting, but in fact never reached Israel at all; it was joked that Dolan had arrived on the seventh day. He then went on an archaeological expedition to the Negev desert.<ref>Joe Dolan, notes to Christy Moore's ''The Iron Behind the Velvet'', 2002</ref> He wrote "The Trip to Jerusalem" (recorded by [[Christy Moore]] in 2002 on ''[[The Iron Behind the Velvet]]'') about his trip.<ref name=moo>{{cite book|last=Moore|first= Christy |year=2000|title= One Voice|location=London|page =64|publisher= Lir/Hodder and Stoughton|isbn= 0-340-76839-8}}</ref> His song "The Foxy Devil" was also recorded by Moore. The Dubliners covered "Nelson's Farewell", which was a hit in Ireland, and the trio Ardvarna released a beautiful version of "Mayfly Days".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/mar/26/obituaries.mainsection1|title=Obituary - 'Galway' Joe Dolan|author=John Rabbetts|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=26 March 2008|accessdate=23 October 2012}}</ref>
The week "Old Maid in the Garret" was in the Top Ten, Dolan left the band to go to [[Israel]] with the intention of taking part in the [[Six-Day War]]. Later on, Des Kelly—Sweeney's Men's manager—joked that Dolan had arrived on the seventh day,<ref name="O'Toole">{{cite book|last=O'Toole|first=Leagues|year=2006|title=The Humours of Planxty|location=Ireland|publisher= Hodder Headline|isbn=0-340-83796-9}}</ref>{{rp|72}} "but it took him a year to get down there".<ref name="Moore">{{cite book|last=Moore|first= Christy|year=2003|orig-year=First published 2000|title=One Voice|location=London|publisher= Lir/Hodder and Stoughton|isbn=978-0-340-83073-4}}</ref>{{rp|91}} He wrote the song "The Trip to Jerusalem" about his journey there, which was later recorded by [[Christy Moore]] in 1978 on the album ''[[The Iron Behind the Velvet]]''.<ref name="Moore"/>{{rp|90–91}}


In that album's sleeve notes, Moore quoted Dolan's explanation of the genesis of the song:{{quote box|border=none|fontsize=90%|quote=I wrote this song in my salad days (back in 1965){{sic}} when I worked on an archeological expedition to [[Masada]] in the Negev desert. I was on general duty on top of the mountain with a walkie-talkie and a weapon and the temperature was about 120 degrees in the shade. I was thinking of how I'd got there.|salign=right|source=—Sleeve notes from ''The Iron Behind the Velvet''.<ref name="MooreIron">Sleeve notes from ''The Iron Behind the Velvet'', Tara Records, TARA 2002, 1978.</ref>}}
Dolan subsequently dropped professional music in favour of painting, but continued to compose robust, bitter-sweet songs, and would pass on [[cassette tape|tapes]] to anyone who was interested; he also continued to play in local sessions.


His song "The Foxy Devil" was also recorded by Moore on the same album. The Dubliners covered "Nelson's Farewell", which was a hit in Ireland, and the trio Ardvarna released a beautiful version of "Mayfly Days".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/mar/26/obituaries.mainsection1|title=Obituary – 'Galway' Joe Dolan|author=John Rabbetts|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=26 March 2008|accessdate=23 October 2012}}</ref>
Dolan died of cancer in January 2008, survived by his son Andy and sister Chris. His autobiography, ''Lost Miles and Broken Strings'', has not yet been published.

Dolan subsequently dropped professional music in favour of painting, but continued to compose and would pass on [[cassette tape|tapes]] to anyone who was interested. He continued to play in local sessions.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

==Death==
Dolan died of cancer in January 2008, {{Where|date=December 2016}} survived by his son Andy, sister Chris (Christine), brother-in-law Wim, and nieces Eileen and Jessica. His autobiography, ''Lost Miles and Broken Strings'', has not yet been published.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.irish-showbands.com/inmemory.htm]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/inmemory.htm|title=In Memory A-D}}
* http://www.irish-showbands.com/images/folk/sweeneysmen-67.htm
* {{cite web|url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/images/folk/sweeneysmen-67.htm|title=Sweeney's Men}}

* http://www.capitolmemories.net/beginnings_1.html
{{Sweeney's Men}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Dolan, Galway Joe
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Irish Musician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1942
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 7 January 2008
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Galway Joe}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Galway Joe}}
[[Category:Musicians from County Galway]]
[[Category:1940s births]]
[[Category:Irish artists]]
[[Category:Irish songwriters]]
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish male songwriters]]
[[Category:Irish male composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from County Galway]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Ireland]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish composers]]
[[Category:Articles with quotation marks in the title]]

Latest revision as of 09:02, 5 December 2024

Joseph "Galway Joe" Dolan (25 May 1942 – 7 January 2008) was an Irish musician, songwriter and artist. Known as "Galway Joe" to distinguish him from Joe Dolan of Mullingar, he was born in Galway, County Galway, Ireland.

Dolan was an arts student in Dublin before becoming involved in the Irish showbands of the 1960s, playing guitar with The Capitol Showband and The Swingtime Aces.[1][2]

He is best known as one of the three founding members, together with Andy Irvine and Johnny Moynihan, of the highly influential folk group Sweeney's Men, which was formed in Galway in May 1966; Dolan also chose the group's name. Sweeney's Men invigorated the Irish folk scene, and had an unexpected Irish top 10 hit with "Old Maid in the Garret" in 1967.[3]

The week "Old Maid in the Garret" was in the Top Ten, Dolan left the band to go to Israel with the intention of taking part in the Six-Day War. Later on, Des Kelly—Sweeney's Men's manager—joked that Dolan had arrived on the seventh day,[4]: 72  "but it took him a year to get down there".[5]: 91  He wrote the song "The Trip to Jerusalem" about his journey there, which was later recorded by Christy Moore in 1978 on the album The Iron Behind the Velvet.[5]: 90–91 

In that album's sleeve notes, Moore quoted Dolan's explanation of the genesis of the song:

I wrote this song in my salad days (back in 1965) [sic] when I worked on an archeological expedition to Masada in the Negev desert. I was on general duty on top of the mountain with a walkie-talkie and a weapon and the temperature was about 120 degrees in the shade. I was thinking of how I'd got there.

—Sleeve notes from The Iron Behind the Velvet.[6]

His song "The Foxy Devil" was also recorded by Moore on the same album. The Dubliners covered "Nelson's Farewell", which was a hit in Ireland, and the trio Ardvarna released a beautiful version of "Mayfly Days".[7]

Dolan subsequently dropped professional music in favour of painting, but continued to compose and would pass on tapes to anyone who was interested. He continued to play in local sessions.[citation needed]

Death

[edit]

Dolan died of cancer in January 2008, [where?] survived by his son Andy, sister Chris (Christine), brother-in-law Wim, and nieces Eileen and Jessica. His autobiography, Lost Miles and Broken Strings, has not yet been published.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Capitol Showband (1960–1972)". Showbands. GMS Productions. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  2. ^ Power, Vincent (2000). Send 'Em Home Sweatin': The Showband Story. Cork: Mercier Press; Revised edition (31 December 2000). ISBN 978-1-85635-330-4.
  3. ^ Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History, Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett, p. 2005.
  4. ^ O'Toole, Leagues (2006). The Humours of Planxty. Ireland: Hodder Headline. ISBN 0-340-83796-9.
  5. ^ a b Moore, Christy (2003) [First published 2000]. One Voice. London: Lir/Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-83073-4.
  6. ^ Sleeve notes from The Iron Behind the Velvet, Tara Records, TARA 2002, 1978.
  7. ^ John Rabbetts (26 March 2008). "Obituary – 'Galway' Joe Dolan". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
[edit]