Cathal Hayden, Kevin Doherty, Gino Lupari and Gerry O’Connor are Four Men and a Dog. These four extremely talented men come from a variety of backgrounds and whose talents lie in many areas.
Cathal Hayden (fiddle) comes from Pomeroy, County Tyrone, an area of Northern Ireland that is steeped in traditional Irish music. His first instrument was the tenor banjo and with this he went on to win All Ireland Championships at all age levels. Cathal then turned to the fiddle and within a year of starting he became the All-Ireland Champion on the instrument. In 1990 Cathal had his first solo album ‘Handed Down’ that featured the music that had been passed down to him and demonstrated his unique trademark style of playing to the full. His second solo album was recorded in the early months of 1999, and saw the millennium in with its launch of his own label ‘Hook Label’.
Kevin Doherty (vocals, guitar), from County Donegal, first took up the guitar in his mid teens. In the subsequent years Kevin, with a clutch of self penned songs, played with several local bands and on the periphery of the thriving Donegal traditional music scene. The undoubted highlight of Kevin’s time with Four Men and a Dog was a chance meeting in Norway with Levon Helmsinger/drummer with legendary Dylan sidekicks and legends of American music, The Band. As as a result of a late night laced with songs and stories and immediate friendship was struck up, and Four Men and a Dog were invited to Helm’s recording studios in Woodstock. Two of the albums of Four Men and a Dog feature members of the Band..Kevin’s song-writing abilities meanwhile were not going unnoticed. Most notably, Mary Black recorded ‘Donegal Breeze’ for her circus album of 1996. In the later half of 1997 Kevin decided it was time to return to the life of a solo performer. A couple of discrete Dublin performances followed and his time were spent writing new material to bring to his own shows.
Gino Lupari (bodhran, vocals) comes from Magherafelt, County Derry. He is an experienced session musician. He works regularly with the top artists in the Irish music scene, sessioning with the likes of Sinead O’Connor, touring and recording with Beware of the Dog and The Liz Doherty Band, hosting regular gigs in London and still finding time to slot in the occasional TV appearance.
Gerry “banjo” O’Connor (banjo, fiddle, guitar, vocals) comes from a small village in County Tipperary. It is here that he developed his love and extraordinary talent for Irish music.
Four Men and A dog decided to go their separate ways at the end of the 1990s, but played occasionally at special events.
Discography:
Barking Mad (Green Linnet, 1991)
Shifting Gravel (Green Linnet, 1993)
Doctor A’s Secret Remedies (1995)
Long Roads (1996)
Maybe Tonight (2003)
Wallop the Spot (2007)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
