For more than 60 years, The Irish Rovers have been touring the world entertaining thousands with their music that’s been played for generations of fans. “The Unicorn”, “Wasn’t That A Party” and “Drunken Sailor” are just a handful of the iconic songs that have connected the Irish music group with fans across the decades. The group is coming back to Southern Manitoba later this week for three concerts; March 6th in Winkler, 7th in Brandon and 10th in Winnipeg. The Canadian tour is actually starting in Winkler.
Canada has long been home to The Irish Rovers since their early-60s inception, with band founders George Millar and Jimmy Ferguson connecting in Toronto after both immigrated here. The Irish Rovers have been referred to as the last of the Great Irish Bands with George Millar being the last Rover standing.Â
In a conversation with Morning Show Host Chris Sumner, Millar said it’s truly amazing they have been doing this for as long as they have.
“I started at the age of 16 with Jimmy Ferguson, and we started singing together around Toronto,” reflected Millar. “I was still going to school, finishing up there, and he was working at Eaton’s. We both said, ‘Well, let’s do this for a year see how it goes.’ So after all these years, I suppose we’re still saying the same thing, we’ll give it one more year and see. What I’m saying to people now is, yes, we’re on our farewell tour, but Cher’s on her seventh, so we’ve still got a few to go to catch her.”
The Irish Rovers in Belfast while recording The Belfast Sessions. Photographer Hamish Burgess.
Sixty years of Irish music connecting with fans
“I always say it’s like a good polka song,” explained Millar when asked what it says about the music the group has created resonating with people all these years. “If you don’t like polka, but if you’re close to one, then your toe is going to start tapping. I think Irish music is a the same. You don’t have to like it, but my goodness it’s infectious in a good way.”
And it’s those fans around the world which he is quick to credit for why the group has been able to sustain such longevity in the music industry.
“You have to enjoy the people and you have to be appreciative of the people, because without the fans, well, nobody does a thing in show business,” he said. “You need that support of the fans, and in our case, we’ve been absolutely blessed that our fans let us do this job. I put that in brackets because it’s not really a job. We’ve been very lucky and very blessed, and thank you to all the fans. I’ll never ever stop thanking them.”
The group is touring in support of its latest album “The Belfast Sessions” which was recorded at Redbox Studios in Ireland. The new CD will be released on the tour. RedBox is on three floors of a Victorian house in the city and it’s run by Dónal O’Connor, the son of Irish Rovers fiddle player Gerry O’Connor.Â
“It meant everything, it was almost like a full circle,” said Millar about recording the album in Ireland. “We started off there, all those years ago, and here we are back home. You know, it’s a funny thing about home. When I’m going home to Ireland, I say I’m going home. Then, when I leave Ireland to come back to British Columbia, I’m going home to Canada. I’m a lucky man to have two homes.”
Millar is a dual citizen of Ireland and Canada, who is hoping those who come to the concerts enjoy the new music as much as they do. He noted, the group hasn’t been together since the CD was recorded before Christmas, and they are all looking forward to getting together for the tour.
“Getting together on the road you become a family, you travel together, you’re in the same hotel, you eat usually together, but you’re basically for the next four weeks going to be a family again,” noted Millar. “I think that is the other important thing for young musicians to realize that once you start a band of any type, you have to really like each other as well as you like the material, because you’re going to be living together for long stretches of time, and my goodness if you can’t get together, well then you shouldn’t to be putting a band together.
The Irish Rovers will be performing:
Friday, March 6 at P. W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall, Winkler
Saturday March 7 at Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Brandon
Tuesday, March 10 at Club Regent Event Centre, Winnipeg