ireland rocks

Snow Patrol: Moody, quiet guitars and singer Gary Lightbody's sleepy vocals create a smooth sound for introspective songs from this Irish-majority quintet. Formed in 1995, the band enjoyed breakout success in 2006 after the song "Chasing Cars" was featured on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy." (Kiera Fyles / Retna Pictures / Retna Ltd.)




The Script: Dublin pop-rockers Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power were drawn together by a shared love of American black music, as well as a diverse set of British and Irish idols ranging from U2 and Van Morrison to The Police. O'Donoghue and Sheehan had a decade of dues-paying in My Town, an earlier quartet that notched modest success, but regrouping with drummer Power as The Script, they gained traction with a breakout debut album and a string of songs featured prominently on TV and in video games, with their second album, "Science & Faith," released in early 2011, followed by a sold-out British tour.

Damien Rice: A favorite with movie and TV soundtrack editors, Dublin-born folkster Rice has parlayed his acoustic guitar and pain-thrummed lyrics into ubiquitous themes for the terminally lovelorn, such as his first hit, 2001's "The Blower's Daughter." (George Chin / Retna Pictures)

Van Morrison: The Belfast-born 1970s legend got his start with Them in 1964, breaking off as a solo artist two years later. Inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, he still performs today, including such memorable and timeless hits as "Moondance" and "Brown-Eyed Girl." (Jason Sheldon / PA Photos / Retna Ltd.)

Sinead O'Connor: Though her most famous single, "Nothing Compares 2 U," was penned by Prince, the always-daring Dubliner singer has written several albums on her own. Controversy has followed her throughout her career, from her early choice to sport a near-bald buzz cut to her infamous 1992 appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in which she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II. (SPIROS POLITIS / RETNA UK)

Bob Geldof: U2's Bono may have taken the one-two punch of rock stardom and social activism to a new level, but fellow Irishman and new wave predecessor Bob Geldof cleared the path through his activism both with his original band, the Boomtown Rats, and in his subsequent solo career. His focus on anti-poverty initiatives in Africa, galvanized by famine in Ethiopia, led Geldof to team with Scottish rocker Midge Ure of Ultravox to organize Band Aid, the supergroup behind the historic 1984 fund-raising single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" which held the title of the best selling single in UK history for 13 years. That project inspired the U.S. response, "We Are the World." Geldof and Ure were also prime movers behind the mammoth Live Aid event staged through twin concerts in London and Philadelphia, raising over 150 million pounds and earning Geldof a knighthood and a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Geldof recently released his first new album of solo material in a decade, "How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell," and is touring the U.S. behind the new material.

The Cranberries: Singer Dolores O'Riordan's signature plaintive yowls punctuated crunchy guitars for this Limerick-grown band, driving them to prominence in the early 1990s. Hits like "Zombie" and "Linger" kept the band a staple of rock radio and MTV.  (Bob Berg / Retna Ltd.) 

Them: Fronted by eventual solo artist Van Morrison, the Belfast band is best known for its 1964 hit "Gloria" (not to be confused with the same-titled song from U2.) After Morrison left in 1966, the band continued to record and tour well into the '70s. (Fiona Simon / Retna UK)

The Swell Season: When The Frames' Glen Hansard went into the studio to record his first solo album, he enlisted young Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová as his musical foil for the project's reflective, nakedly emotional songs. Hansard named the album and its title song after his favorite novel, "The Swell Season" by Josef Škvorkecký. The project's partnership, as well as much of its music, provided the focal point for Frames bassist-turned-film director John Carney's 2007 sleeper hit, "Once," which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with "Falling Slowly." Hansard and Irglová now tour as the Swell Season, their on-camera chemistry cemented by a dating stint as well as their continuing musical partnership. (Daragh McDonagh / Retna Ltd.)

Lisa Hannigan: First known for her lead vocal work with fellow Irishman Damien Rice's band, Hannigan released her debut solo album, "Sea Sew," in fall of '08, eventually getting picked up by ATO Records and distrubuted in the U.S. in early '09. Her indie-folk sound recently grabbed the ear of late night TV guru Stephen Colbert, who featured her on his show with an interview and performance. (Robb Cohen / Retna)

Clannad: Before breaking out as a solo act, Enya joined siblings Maire, Pol and Ciaran and two uncles in creating Clannad's modern Celtic pop. Though never blessed with a great deal of commercial success, the band has endured for more than 25 years, occasionally hitting the charts with breakout songs such as "Theme from Harry's Game" and "In a Lifetime," recorded with fellow native Bono. (Siobhan Hennessy / Camera Press / Retna Ltd.)

The Undertones: Bridging punk and power pop, The Undertones, like Stiff Little Fingers, got a major career boost from the late John Peel, the influential BBC disc jockey credited with sealing scores of U.K. careers with his on-air support. (Peel, who died in 2004, cited the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks," from their 1978 debut EP, as his all-time favorite song. At his funeral, Peel's coffin was carried out of the service as the Undertones' original version was played.) Formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, the Undertones disbanded in 1983, splintering into That Petrol Emotion and the solo work of former lead singer Feargal Sharkey, before reforming in 2003. (Michael Putland / Retna Ltd.)

The Pogues: Irish folk with punk punctuation is the signature of this groundbreaking ensemble, which shared roots--and band member Joe Strummer--with punk legends The Clash. (Gary Gershoff / Retna Ltd.)

The Boomtown Rats: Known more these days for singer Bob Geldof's political and humanitarian activism, in the '70s and '80s, the Rats were a staple of the U.K. punk and new wave scene. The band broke into U.S. success with the 1979 single "I Don't Like Mondays," written in response to a school shooting in California. (Fin Costello / Redferns / Retna Ltd.)

Stiff Little Fingers: Ireland's turbulent social history inevitably provided fertile ground for punk rock, whether socially-edged or merely rebellious. Stiff Little Fingers began their career in Belfast as Highway Star, playing rock covers. But when the quartet shifted gears to tap into punk's raw energy and write their own material influenced by "The Troubles," Stiff Little Fingers was born, aligning themselves with other politically charged late '70s artists such as Tom Robinson. (Chris Walter / Retna Ltd.)

Horslips: With Britain finding its folk-rock voice during the late '60s and early '70s, Dublin-based Horslips responded with its own alloy of jigs, reels and rock firepower beginning in 1972. The band's navigation between tradition and contemporary culture included recording their debut with the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, and providing original music for the esteemed Abbey Theatre. (Michael Putland / Retna UK)

Paul Brady: Northern Ireland's Paul Brady could serve as poster boy for the island's renascent folk scene during the '60s and '70s. His career began with stints as guitarist in Donegal R&B bands before Brady became a member of The Johnstons, a commercial folk trio, in the early '70s. Inspired by the rekindled traditions evoked by The Chieftains, he briefly joined Planxty and delved into traditional Celtic music before plugging in to craft a bracing folk-rock attack in the late '70s. He's since collaborated with Richard Thompson and Bonnie Raitt, and his songs have been recorded by Raitt, Tina Turner and Brooks & Dunn. (John Cogill / RetnaUK)

The Corrs: The town of Dundalk produced this family band: sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline and brother Jim. With modest U.K. success in the 1990s, the band broke into the American mainstream with their 2000 album, "In Blue," which featured the hit single "Breathless." (Detlev Schneider / Vanit / Retna Ltd.)

Enya: Ireland's top solo act, Enya's symphonic synthesizers have crossed genres, getting radio airplay across the dial from new age to pop, and even an Academy Award nomination for her featured song, "May it Be," in the first installment of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Her breakout 1988 single "Orinoco Flow" hit no. 1 on the U.K. charts. (Michael Powell /Camera Press/Retna Ltd.)

Thin Lizzy:  Pioneers of a dual-guitar hard rock sound that made its way through 1970s contemporaries such as Lynyrd Skynrd, the Dublin band's best-known hit is 1976's "The Boys are Back in Town." (Adrian Boot / Retna UK)

The Thrills: Formed in 2001 in Dublin, The Thrills are an indie rock quintet that found their muse during a summer spent in Santa Cruz, Calif., which informed key tracks on their successful debut album, "So Much for the City," which topped the Irish charts. That nod to U. S. pop culture aligns with the band's cited influences, which include Neil Young and The Beach Boys. Although their sophomore release was similarly well received, they were recently among artists cut by EMI Records, which cited disappointing sales for the band's third album, released in July, 2007. (Timothy Cochrane / Retna Pictures / Retna Ltd.)

Paddy Casey: Dublin singer-songwriter Paddy Casey is another alumnus of Ireland's fertile street music tradition, having honed his music busking in Dublin and Galway. Although Casey has been recording since 1999, his commercial success abroad has yet to be matched in the U.S. Looking to rectify that imbalance, Casey recorded his third album, "Addicted to Company," in Los Angeles. Released in Ireland in September, 2007, the set lands on U.S. shores in April. (CAMERA PRESS/Tristan Fewings)

My Bloody Valentine: Trippy rhythms, distortion effects and sometime-singer Bilinda Butcher's whispery voice floating over all cemented this Dublin quartet's spot in the early-'90s indie alternative pantheon. Frontman Kevin Shields brought the band back together in 2007 to tour and record a new album. (Paul Slattery / Retna UK.)

The Frames: Formed in 1990 amid Dublin's prolific local rock scene, The Frames have emerged as one of Ireland's most critically acclaimed bands as well as seeding other bands as various members have graduated to form their own groups. Their kinship to their local peers has orbited around the city's street music scene, where principal singer-songwriter Glen Hansard began his career busking as a teenager. Despite the frequent shifts in lineup, The Frames have sustained their influence and will be touring the U.S. during the summer of 2008 alongside Hansard's other project, The Swell Season. (Dolores Severson / Retna Ltd.)

Christy Moore: As a founding member of Planxty, one of the most influential Irish folk groups to rise in the wake of The Chieftains, singer, songwriter and guitarist Christy Moore has been a key figure in Ireland's music from the early '70s onward. Although he's focused mostly on solo projects since, Moore also teamed with another Planxty member, Donal Lunny, to forge a more contemporary folk-rock style in Moving Hearts. The passion is evidently a family affair, too: Moore's younger brother, Barry, is better known as Luka Bloom, a successful folk-rock figure in his own right. (Paul Stewart / Retna UK)