Johnny McEvoy, Irish Ballad Singer With Four No. 1 Hits, Dies at 81

By Tom Whitfield

Johnny McEvoy died on November 8 at 81, with four Irish No. 1 hits behind a six-decade career in ballads and original songs.

The obituary calls him a cherished figure in Irish music and an Offaly balladeer who filled halls from Dublin to Carnegie Hall with songs of home, love and longing. It credits his work with keeping traditional ballads alive for generations worldwide, but supplies no sales totals, attendance figures or awards to test that claim.

How did McEvoy become a four-time Irish No. 1 singer?

McEvoy was born on April 24, 1945, in Banagher, County Offaly. One of four children, he was the son of bus driver John McEvoy and his wife Emily, who kept the family home.

His mother encouraged his music and suggested the traditional west-of-Ireland ballad that became “Mursheen Durkin.” As an art student, he formed the folk duo Ramblers Two with fellow student Michael Crotty.

In 1965, Ramblers Two supported the Rolling Stones at Dublin’s Adelphi Cinema during the band’s Irish visit. The duo then toured Ireland and England before going their separate ways.

Following his mother’s advice, McEvoy recorded “Mursheen Durkin” in late 1966. It spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Irish charts. “The Boston Burglar” followed it to the top in 1967.

That year, McEvoy made his first United States tour, with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. In 1968, he claimed his third No. 1 with “Nora,” his version of the song featured in Seán O’Casey’s play “The Plough and the Stars.”

What did he write beyond the traditional repertoire?

McEvoy met Odette, described in the obituary as the love of his life, in 1967. They married in 1970, and he wrote “The Planter’s Daughter” for her. They raised two children, Jonathan and Alice.

Through the 1970s, he toured with a full band of guitars, bass, keyboards and fiddle. He recorded with the singer Gloria as part of the Johnny McEvoy Band, scoring a hit with “Tomorrow Is Forever.”

His chart catalogue also included “Three Score and Ten,” “Gentle Annie,” “Rose of Moray,” “Rose of Allendale,” and “Where My Eileen Is Waiting.” The last reached No. 2 in 1975.

McEvoy then turned to his own songwriting. His first composition, “Long Before Your Time,” became his fourth No. 1 in 1976. The obituary presents that success as the start of a songwriting career, not a late addition to an established repertoire.

The songs other artists recorded included:

• “Michael”
• “Going to California”
• “The Ballad of John Williams”
• “Rich Man’s Garden”
• “Never Learned to Dance”
• “The Ballad of Anne Frank”

His albums included:

• “For the Poor and the Gentry”
• “All Our Wars Were Merry, All Our Songs Are Sad”
• “Long Before Your Time”
• “Leaves in the Wind”
• “Johnny McEvoy Goes Country”
• “Since Maggie Went Away”
• “Celebration”
• “Going to California”
• “Basement Sessions”
• “Into the Cauldron”

Why did the stage remain central to his career?

McEvoy performed with an acoustic guitar and often just one other guitarist, including Philip O’Duffy. His sets mixed his own songs with traditional favourites including “Carrickfergus,” “The Boston Burglar” and “The Leaving of Liverpool.” He continued touring Ireland and the international circuit for decades.

In 2010, RTÉ marked his life with the documentary “For the Poor and for the Gentry.” McEvoy re-recorded “Mursheen Durkin” with Sharon Shannon and her Big Band for the project.

The new recording also appeared on “For the Poor and for the Gentry: The Definitive Johnny McEvoy,” a double album and DVD issued that year. The obituary reports no audience or sales figures for either release.

When Odette became ill, McEvoy set his career aside to care for her. Together they compiled his songbook, with Odette typing the lyrics. She died in 2013.

In 2017, McEvoy published “My Songs, My Stories, My Life in Music,” a tribute to the songs that shaped his life. He is survived by their children, Jonathan and Alice.

What does his death change for Irish song?

For listeners, McEvoy’s death removes the performer behind “Mursheen Durkin” and “Long Before Your Time.” His albums and the other artists’ versions leave the recorded repertoire in place; the loss is of one singer, not a body of work.

The obituary’s strongest claim concerns communal use: wherever Irish people gather and someone starts singing “Mursheen Durkin,” his music and his mother’s advice live on. That is a cultural argument, not a measured commercial record.

The songs remain; what remains unproven is who will carry them next, because the obituary names no successor, commission or institutional handover.