Music
Interview
Phil Coulter on The Dubliners Encore
As The Dubliners Encore return the music and the magic of The Dubliners to the stage of the Gaiety Theatre, we chat with Musical Director Phil Coulter about the show.
The Dubliners Encore is the official stage show celebrating the story of Ireland’s beloved bearded balladeers. Since it launched last September, the show has performed to thousands of fans at sold-out venues across Europe. Now the show returns to Dublin for a seven-night run at the iconic Gaiety Theatre, a venue The Dubliners frequented, a stage they performed on for decades.
True originals, the bad boys of Irish folk were Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew, John Sheahan, Barney McKenna and Ciarán Bourke. Over the course of their 50 year career, The Dubliners released 30 original albums, selling 40 million records, and playing numerous sold-out tours.
Original member John Sheahan and his daughter, producer Ceoladh Sheahan, alongside Musical Director Phil Coulter, who produced six of The Dubliners’ albums, as well as writing two of their most loved songs, have been working to create a show that brings The Dubliners’ story to life on stage, personally overseeing every detail, every anecdote, and every musical note.
After a two-year nationwide search, five incredible musicians were handpicked to recreate the spirit, energy, and musical talent of each original band member. The five that were selected were Dublin folk singer Kilian O’Flanagan as Ronnie Drew, multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Jenkinson as Ciarán Bourke, Donegal native James Gallagher as Luke Kelly, RTÉ Folk Music Awards ‘Best Instrumentalist’ nominee Aidan Connolly as John Sheahan and renowned tenor banjoist Adam Holohan as Barney McKenna.
The Dubliners Encore (Left to Right): Aidan Connolly, Adam Holohan, Jeremy Jenkinson, Kilian O’Flanagan, James Gallagher. Photo: Gareth Chaney
We caught up with Phil Coulter to get some of his thoughts before the show embarks on its biggest run of dates yet.
How did the idea come about for the show?
Well, essentially John Sheahan and his daughter, Ceoladh. When The Dubliners packed in performing, I think John felt that there was a legacy there that should be celebrated. He had so many stories and so many adventures with The Dubliners. He and Ceoladh then came to me and said ‘would you get involved as a kind of Musical Director?’
My first involvement with The Dubliners was in 1970, so that’s 55 years ago. I have a long history with The Dubs. So I was delighted to come on board.
What can audiences expect from The Dubliners Encore?
This is a stage show, hence we’re at the Gaiety Theatre. It’s not a tribute act. It’s not like something you’d go and see in pubs. This is a theatre show. The lads are just back from a tour of Germany, of the theatres of Germany and that’s what it is. It’s an immersive experience. It’s very high tech, state of the art screens on stage. Archive footage that was never before seen, only that it was in the possession of John Sheahan and the families. So excellent footage of The Dubliners as they were each getting married, as young men, etc, and stuff that just retells the story of The Dubliners because that’s really what it is.
The songs are there. The stories are there, the happy stories, the sad stories, but they’re all building to the theatre show.
The Dubliners Encore with Phil Coulter. Photo: Jason Clarke
What is your favourite part of the show?
Well, I have to be biased. I have to be biased and say, there’s a section in the show where they sing Phil Coulter songs. James (Gallagher), who plays the Luke Kelly part, does ‘Scorn Not His Simplicity’ and ‘The Town I Loved so Well’.
All I can tell you is, when we went to go see the boys do it in Derry, there was friends of mine and as soon as ‘The Town I Loved so Well’ started, and James started to sing, they weren’t sure if he was miming to Luke Kelly. That’s how accurate it was. So my favourite part would have to be ‘The Town I Loved So Well’.
How close does The Dubliners Encore come to replicating the magic of The Dubliners?
There’s a raw energy to it. You know, these guys, when we hired these guys, we didn’t hire them from central casting or from music colleges, these lads were all busking like on Shop Street in Galway or The Cobblestone here in Dublin. They grew up in this whole tradition. They’re not kind of polished actors or performers. They are buskers. So they’ve got that passion, they’ve got that rawness and that energy that The Dubliners had and to me that’s part of the appeal.
The Dubliners Encore runs at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre for seven performances from 15 – 20 September 2025. Tickets are on sale HERE.
