We list some of the most famous irish rock bands of all time. Rock music in Ireland, also known as Irish rock, has been a part of the music of Ireland since the 1960s, when the British Invasion brought British blues, psychedelic rock and other styles to the island. By the 1970’s rock was highly in demand in Ireland. The early 70s saw a huge growth of Irish rock music and one band that rose to international prominence was the hard rocking Thin Lizzy led by Phil Lynott Another Irish band, Horslips broke new ground by mixing hard rock with traditional Irish music to create a new genre – Celtic Rock.
1. U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2’s early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. U2 are among the all-time best-selling music artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
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- Why U2 Trusted a Guy in Flip-Flops With Their Future
- The story behind how U2 were discovered – GQ
- Why U2’s One is the ultimate anthem
2. The Script
The Script are pop-rock trio from Dublin, Ireland. Members are Danny O’Donoghue (vocals and keys), Mark Sheehan (guitar and vocals), Glen Power (drums and vocals) with touring members of Ben Sargeant on bass and Rodney Alejandro on keys. The band has won three Meteor Ireland Music Awards and two World Music Awards and have received two Brit Award nominations.
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- Who are The Script? From forming in Dublin to alcohol problems and royal fans
- The Script Shares Stories Behind ‘Freedom Child’ Tracks & Biggest Hits
- The Script talks about taking breaks, getting political, and seeing the world
3. The Cranberries
The Cranberries is an Irish rock band that rocketed to fame with hit songs such as “Linger” (1993), “Zombie” (1994) and “Free to Decide” (1996). Brothers Mike and Noel Hogan, O’Riordan and Lawler—all friends from Limerick—formed the band in 1990 and signed with Island Records one year later. Their debut release, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? (1993) went platinum. Five of the band’s albums reached the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and eight of their singles reached the Top 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Be that as it may, lead vocalist Dolores O’Riordan struggled with depression and the pressure of her own success, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015. Later on, O’Riordan died from drowning due to alcohol intoxication in January 2018. She was one of the most recognizable voices in rock in the 1990s, and was known for her lilting mezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, emphasized use of keening, and strong Limerick accent.
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- Rolling Stone: Dolores O’Riordan’s Death Ruled ‘Tragic Accident’
- The tragedy that inspired Zombie – The Cranberries’ biggest hit
- The Cranberries members reflect on life, music without Dolores O’Riordan
4. Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band who formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969. The two founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met each other while still in school. Lynott, with an engaging and charismatic personality, took up the role of frontman and speaker for the band and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums. Thin Lizzy are best known for their songs “Whiskey in the Jar”, “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back in Town”, all major international hits still played regularly on hard rock and classic rock radio stations. Rolling Stone magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, “far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack”.
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5. The Corrs
The Corrs is a rock band comprising three sisters and one brother, the Corrs — vocalist Andrea, drummer Caroline, violinist Sharon, and guitarist/keyboard player Jim — blend the music of their Irish background with contemporary pop/rock elements. The band was inactive for almost ten years because Jim and Caroline were raising families, while Andrea and Sharon were pursuing solo careers while raising families of their own.
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6. The Pogues
The Pogues is a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band, including MacGowan, reformed in 2001 and has been playing regularly ever since.
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7. The Waterboys
The Waterboys is a British celtic band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. Their songs, largely written by Scott, often contain literary references and are frequently concerned with spirituality. In the late 1980s, the band became significantly more folk-influenced. The Waterboys eventually returned to rock and roll, and have released both rock and folk albums since reforming.
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Read more:
- The Waterboys on Room To Roam’s legacy: “We were a lot wilder and more exciting than the record conveyed”
- The Waterboys: From Punk to Folk
8. Them
Them was a Northern Irish rock and roll band that was formed in Belfast in 1963, They forged their hard-nosed R&B sound in Belfast, Northern Ireland, moving to England in 1964 after landing a deal with Decca Records. The band’s simmering sound was dominated by boiling organ riffs, lean guitars, and the tough vocals of lead singer Van Morrison, whose recordings with Them rank among the very best performances of the British Invasion. The band’s 1964 recording of “Gloria” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
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9. My Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine are an alternative rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1983. Since 1987, the band’s lineup has consisted of founding members Kevin Shields (vocals, guitar) and Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums), with Bilinda Butcher (vocals, guitar) and Debbie Googe (bass). They are credited with pioneering the 1990s genre shoegaze.
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- My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields on the Agony and Ecstasy of ‘Loveless’ – Rolling Stone
- My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless redefined how guitar music could sound like
10. Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish American celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles, in 1997 and is currently signed to SideOneDummy Records. The band consists of Dave King (vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhrán), Bridget Regan-King (fiddle, uillean pipes, vocals), Dennis Casey (guitar, vocals), Matt Hensley (accordion, concertina), Nathen Maxwell (bass, vocals), Bob Schmidt (mandolin, banjo) and Mike Alonso (drums, percussion).
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- Celtic-rock band Flogging Molly raises a voice for the down and out
- Don’t Shut ‘em Down: An Interview With Flogging Molly
11. The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats are an Irish new wave band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985, including ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’, which reached number 1 in the UK singles chart in 1979. The group is led by vocalist Bob Geldof. The band’s fame and notability have been overshadowed by the charity work of frontman Bob Geldof, a former journalist with the New Musical Express.
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Read more:
- The Boomtown Rats’ ‘citizens Of Boomtown’ Is A Failed Stab At Relevance
- The Boomtown Rats’ Founding Member and Guitarist Garry Roberts Dies at 72
12. The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/New Wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey(vocals), John O’Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O’Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley (bass, vocals) and Billy Doherty (drums). The Undertones remain the most successful band to have emerged from Derry, and one of the most successful bands to have emerged from Northern Ireland.
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- It’s Time To Fall In Love Again, With THE UNDERTONES
- The Undertones: “We were always trying to be as good as Television or the New York Dolls.”
13. Clannad
Clannad is an Irish musical group from Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, Ireland. Their music has been variously described as being folk music, new age, and Celtic. Clannad was formed by sibblings Máire Ní Bhraonáin (Moya Brennan), Ciarán Brennan, Pól Brennan, and their twin uncles Noel Duggan (died 2022) and Pádraig Duggan (died 2016). Clannad have won numerous awards throughout their career, including a Grammy Award, a BAFTA, an Ivor Novello Award, and a Billboard Music Award.
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- How Clannad changed the world’s view of Celtic music
- ‘In A Lifetime’, Bono and Clannad’s ode to Ireland
14. Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1977. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep Purple song), doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. Jake Burns, their lead singer, is the only member to have been with the band during all its incarnations, but in March 2006, original bass guitarist Ali McMordie rejoined them following the departure of The Jam bass player Bruce Foxton after fifteen years.
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- Stiff Little Fingers’ ‘Inflammable Material’ is still the definitive political punk album 40 years later
- Stiff Little Fingers: No Going Back
15. Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the band is best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island’s 500-year Irish, Scottish, and Cornish heritage. Their hard-driving approach has not only made them popular in their homeland, where they’ve been nominated for four Juno Awards, but has brought them a growing recognition throughout North America and Europe.
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16. The Young Dubliners
The Young Dubliners are a musical group, who have developed a reputation early on for high-energy gigs fueled by musicianship, pints o’ bitter, and the thrill of a good Celtic-rock mash-up. AllMusic states, “[t]heir sound defies categorization” and describes them as “Ireland’s answer to Los Lobos, with a similar combination of traditional folk music, raucous electric rock, and forward-thinking experimentation”.
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17. Gaelic Storm
Gaelic Storm is a highly-acclaimed Celtic band. Their music ranges from traditional Irish and Scottish music to original tunes, in both the Celtic traditions. The band had its first big break in 1997, appearing in the film Titanic and recording songs on the movie’s soundtrack album.
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18. The Coronas
The Coronas is an Irish rock band who play an anthemic brand of contemporary rock in the vein of the Script and Snow Patrol. The band was initially known as ‘Kiros’, but changed its name and line-up three years later to ‘Corona’. When the Italian dance act Corona re-emerged, the band changed their name again, to ‘The Coronas’.
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Read more:
- Eight Official Irish Chart facts about The Coronas
- In Conversation: The Coronas: The full story of their irresistible rise
19. Hothouse Flowers
Hothouse Flowers is an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock. Their debut album, People (1988), was the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK.
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- Who are Hothouse Flowers, how did they become famous and when were they on Eurovision?
- Interview: Hothouse Flowers
20. Taste
Taste is an Irish blues-rock group led by influential guitarist Rory Gallagher in the late ’60s and early ’70s which re-formed after his death in 1996. Perhaps their most notable performance came in 1970 as part of the Isle of Wight Festival, joining such notable musicians as Jimi Hendrix and The Who.
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Honorable mentions
21. Bell X1
22. Juniper
23. Blaggards
24. The Frames
25. Aslan
26. Orthodox Celts
27. Pillow Queens
28. The Stunning
29. Horslips
30. Delorentos
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