The Pecker Dunne

Pecker Dunne was born into a travelling family in Wexford c1933. Like other travellers, he used to play on a fiddle he made himself. He performed outside hurling and football matches. He also busked widely in Ireland, England and France. Resembling a Mexican bandit with his trademark beard and stocky build, he is a colourful character, as widely known around Ireland as Margaret Barry was to a previous generation. He is best known for The Miximatosis Rabbit and a version of The Black Velvet Band called The Old Morris Van. It was from him that Sweeney's Men got Sullivan's John. For the past 20 years or so he could be heard singing and playing the banjo in Killarney and at Munster Final day in Thurles. He featured in the film Trojan Eddie with Richard Harris and Stephen Rea. Nowadays he lives in County Clare. Aged 74, he was treated in a local hospital in 2007 for a throat illness. His spirit was as high as ever. Sr Carmel O'Sullivan said: "Part of his healing process is playing music and we've found that he has brought a lot of pleasure to other patients in the hospital as well. He has been playing the banjo behind his back, playing it with a biro and also with a part of a bicycle pump."

Channel: Music
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: clarebannerman

Length: 09:55
Rating: 4.92
Views: 14300

Tags: Ballad  Dunne  Folk  Ireland  Irish  Pecker  Song  Traveller  

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