Newfoundlander folk-favourites The Irish Descendants celebrate their 35th anniversary of existence next year.
Beloved in Alberta, they’re on their way here again! We had a chat with founder Con O’Brien, from his home in Witless Bay, NL, to hear about life three and a half decades since his band began.
Even with all the years that have passed Con says he’s not remotely tired of Irish Descendants life.
“I’ve always been excited by new music, always excited by fans who come out and are looking for particular songs,” he says. “And you learn new things, you go to new places and you meet new people and that always makes it good.”
The band started in 1990, for fun, when two bands—The Descendants and Irish Coffee—joined forces. “I’m the lowest common denominator,” Con jokes, i.e. he is the sole member who’s been with the group since Day One.
The Irish Descendants swiftly became a professional pursuit for the band members, partly out of necessity. The cod fishery, the crucial industry where the band members lived in Newfoundland, was shut down in 1992.
“My generation was the last one to see the fishery occur,” Con says. “We’ve been fortunate enough to have the music.”
Luckily, the band swiftly became a success as they brought traditional Irish Newfoundlander music to the masses. Their second album, Gypsies and Lovers, won a JUNO Award. Four East Coast Music Awards have followed. They’ve now released more than 15 albums, toured extensively and played for Queen Elizabeth II.
“We have a built-in audience,” Con says. “No matter where we go, there are Newfoundlanders, and the Newfoundlanders like to have a little bit of home and they come out and support us.”
Their popularity certainly reaches to non-Newfoundlanders as well, as their regularly sold-out shows will attest.
Con says it’s similar to a game marked “for ages nine to 90” on the box. “We’re good in a kindergarten classroom and we can perform at a seniors’ residence. Our demographic is varied and we appeal to a broad range of age.”
And now the Irish Descendants are once more coming through Alberta. See them live in Fort McMurray on March 14, St. Albert on March 15, Fort Saskatchewan on March 16 and Camrose on March 17. Tickets and details can be found here.
“Rattlin’ Bog,” a perennial Irish Descendants crowd favourite:
