{{Short description|Irish musician (born 1940)}} {{BLP sources|date=July 2007}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Seán Cannon | image = FIL 2014 - The Dublin Legends - 2511.JPG | caption = Seán Cannon in 2014 | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1940|11|29}} | birth_place = Galway, Ireland | death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} | origin = Galway, Ireland | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|mandola}} | genre = Irish folk | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1962–present<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sean-cannon.html | title=Coventry Folk Club and Acoustic Scene 1960's to Present: Sean Cannon | date=14 April 2013 }}</ref> | label = | associated_acts = The Dubliners<br />The Dublin Legends (2013–)<br />The Cannons | website = }}
'''Seán Cannon''' (born 29 November 1940) is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for The Dubliners and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lead singer of the Dubliners to hit Bridgwater |date=12 May 2009 |author=Laura Nesbitt |newspaper=Bridgwater Mercury |url=http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/leisure/whats_on/4361854.Lead_singer_of_the_Dubliners_to_hit_Bridgwater/ |accessdate=2010-07-20 }}</ref>
==Early life== Seán Cannon was born in Claddagh, Galway, Ireland. His family moved from Galway to Coventry in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web |title=‘I was a blow in’ – The Dubliners legend Sean Cannon on his way to the Palace |url=https://redditchstandard.co.uk/lifestyle/i-was-a-blow-in-the-dubliners-legend-sean-cannon-on-his-way-to-the-palace/ |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=Redditch Standard |language=en}}</ref> He travelled around Europe at an early age, rambling in England, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-14 |title=INTERVIEW- Sean Cannon houdt met Dublin Legends een traditie in stand: 'Goede liedjes blijven altijd bestaan' |url=https://www.grootsneek.nl/nieuws/cultuur-en-uitgaan/64605/interview-sean-cannon-houdt-met-dublin-legends-een-traditie-in-stand-goede-liedjes-blijven-altijd-bestaan |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=www.grootsneek.nl |language=nl}}</ref> Whilst living in Tübingen, Germany, Cannon acquired a guitar and learnt local folk songs and ballads. It was during these trips that Cannon learned to speak several languages. He moved to England and became a renowned solo artist, playing in almost every folk club in Britain.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dublin Legends - Irish Folk Singers and Musicians|url=http://dublinlegends.com/the-band/sean/|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Aaron|last=Kelly}}</ref>
==Career== By 1969, Cannon had joined an England-based folk group called "The Gaels". The Gaels consisted of three Irishmen and a Scotsman. They released an album. Cannon also released three solo albums in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seán Cannon: Discography |url=https://www.theballadeers.com/dubs/sc_01.htm |access-date=2026-01-10 |website=www.theballadeers.com}}</ref>
Cannon had known The Dubliners since the 1960s, and, like Eamonn Campbell, joined them on stage on numerous occasions. When lead singer Luke Kelly became ill in 1980, he stepped in, and became a full-time Dubliner in 1983 when Kelly departed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Aaron |title=The Dublin Legends - Irish Folk Singers and Musicians |url=http://dublinlegends.com/the-band/sean/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> Cannon is known for singing songs in the Irish language ("Peggy Lettermore", "Fáinne Gael an Lae", "Cill Cháis") and humorous a cappella songs like "The Waterford Boys", "The Pool Song" or "The Sick Note".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dublin Legends - Irish Folk Singers and Musicians|url=http://dublinlegends.com/the-band/sean/|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Aaron|last=Kelly}}</ref>
When The Dubliners announced their retirement in 2012 after finishing their 50th Anniversary Tour, Cannon decided to keep on touring with former band members Patsy Watchorn and Eamonn Campbell and Banjo player Gerry O'Connor under the name of "The Dublin Legends".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Post |first=Irish |title=Sean Cannon on The Dubliners and the legacy that continues |url=https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/sean-cannon-on-the-dubliners-and-the-legacy-that-continues-37990 |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=The Irish Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Farragher |first=Danny |date=2013-03-06 |title=An Interview with Sean Cannon (formerly The Dubliners) |url=https://klofmag.com/2013/03/an-interview-with-sean-cannon-the-dubliners/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=KLOF Mag |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Cannon still manages to do some solo work in between the touring. He played gigs with Irish songwriter Pat Cooksey and more recently with his sons, James and Robert Cannon. They called themselves "The Cannons" and they performed traditional Irish folk music as well as songs by Shane MacGowan, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dublin Legends - Irish Folk Singers and Musicians|url=http://dublinlegends.com/the-band/sean/|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Aaron|last=Kelly}}</ref> In 2020, "The Cannons" ended, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-14 |title=INTERVIEW- Sean Cannon houdt met Dublin Legends een traditie in stand: 'Goede liedjes blijven altijd bestaan' |url=https://www.grootsneek.nl/nieuws/cultuur-en-uitgaan/64605/interview-sean-cannon-houdt-met-dublin-legends-een-traditie-in-stand-goede-liedjes-blijven-altijd-bestaan |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=www.grootsneek.nl |language=nl}}</ref>
== Personal Life == Cannon married Pamela Blick, and has 2 sons, James and Robert.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Post |first=Irish |title=Sean Cannon on The Dubliners and the legacy that continues |url=https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/sean-cannon-on-the-dubliners-and-the-legacy-that-continues-37990 |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=The Irish Post |language=en}}</ref> He later separated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Irish Connections - A Magazine For The Irish Worldwide |url=http://www.irishconnectionsmagazine.com/archives/v3i3/dubliners.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705145543/http://www.irishconnectionsmagazine.com/archives/v3i3/dubliners.htm |archive-date=2013-07-05 |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=www.irishconnectionsmagazine.com}}</ref> Cannon lives in Coventry, United Kingdom. His father, James Cannon, was born in Donegal, but moved to Galway, where he married Catherine Byrne who came from Ballinue, Aughrim, Co Galway.<ref>{{Cite web |title=View Record |url=https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/view/ |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=Irish Genealogy |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Discography==
=== The Gaels === * The Gaels (Midland Sound, 1969)
=== As a solo artist === * Woes of War (Mount Recording Studio, 1974) * The Roving Journeyman (Cottage Records, 1977) * Erin the Green (Ogham Records, 1979)
=== The Dubliners === * All albums from 1983 to 2012—see The Dubliners discography
=== The Dublin Legends === * An Evening with The Dublin Legends: Live in Vienna (2014) * The Dublin Legends Perform The Dublin Sessions (2016) * The Dublin Legends Perform The Dublin Sessions Vol. 2 (2017) * The Dublin Legends (2025)
=== The Cannons === * The Cannons (2011) * Live in Salzgitter, Germany 2015 (double CD, 2016)
==Trivia==
Cannon is immortalised in the Christy Moore song "Lisdoonvarna". The line "Seán Cannon Doing Back Stage Cooking" is a direct reference to when Seán travelled to all the music festivals in the late 1970s with a converted caravan and sold curry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dublin Legends - Irish Folk Singers and Musicians|url=http://dublinlegends.com/the-band/sean/|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Aaron|last=Kelly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=30 Year's A-Greying |url=https://www.theballadeers.com/dubs/dubs_1992_30years.htm |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=www.theballadeers.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{The Dubliners}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Sean}} Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish male guitarists Category:Musicians from County Galway Category:Musicians from Galway (city) Category:The Dubliners members Category:20th-century Irish guitarists Category:21st-century Irish guitarists Category:20th-century Irish male musicians Category:21st-century Irish male musicians Category:20th-century Irish folk musicians Category:21st-century Irish folk musicians Category:1960s in Irish music Category:1970s in Irish music Category:1980s in Irish music Category:1990s in Irish music Category:2000s in Irish music Category:2010s in Irish music Category:2020s in Irish music